Written by Lindsay Kalter
This article was medically reviewed by Kailey Proctor, MPH, RDN, CSO, a board-certified oncology dietitian at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine California.
Medically Reviewed
Our stories are reviewed by medical professionals to ensure you get the most accurate and useful information about your health and wellness. For more information, visit our medical review board.
- The cabbage soup diet is considered a fad diet that's not sustainable or effective, and no prominent doctors or medical institutions promote it.
- Because liquids can lead to fullness, as can fiber-filled cabbage, the concept behind the diet is to minimize hunger and cravings.
- Although cabbage is a healthy diet component, the plan calls for such an intense caloric deficit that it may lead to weakness, muscle loss, and water-weight loss, which is easily regained.
Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Advertisem*nt
The cabbage soup diet is designed for rapid weight-loss and is considered one of the oldest fad diets, originating in the 1950s. The plan allows for unlimited consumption of cabbage soup with small amounts of other foods included in a strict schedule.
In the 1980s, this diet was touted as theDolly Parton Diet, the Trans World Airlines Stewardess Diet, and the Model's Diet. It typically cycles through every 10 years or so with a new name.
There is no science backing the effectiveness of the cabbage soup diet, and no prominent doctors or medical institutions promote it. However, some elements of the diet can be appropriated in healthier ways — like consumption of more filling, vegetable-based soups – says Laura Zeratsky, registered dietician and nutritionist for the Mayo Clinic.
"It falls under being a fad diet for the fact that it is not considered sustainable," Zeratsky says. "Any diet that has a purpose to produce rapid weight loss is a concern."
Here are more details about the cabbage soup diet, along with its pros and cons.
Advertisem*nt
What is the cabbage soup diet?
The meal plan for the cabbage soup diet is as follows:
Day 1: Cabbage soup and raw fruit (but no bananas)
Day 2: Cabbage soup and raw or cooked vegetables but not potatoes
Day 3: Cabbage soup and raw fruit and vegetables, but no bananas or potatoes
Day 4: Cabbage soup, skim milk, and as many as eight bananas
Day 5: Cabbage soup, six tomatoes, and 20 ounces of chicken or beef
Day 6: Cabbage soup, unlimited beef, and unlimited vegetables (excluding potatoes)
Day 7: Cabbage soup, brown rice, and sugar-free fruit juice
The soup is meant to serve as a filling, low-calorie primary food source, Zeratsky says. Because liquids can lead to fullness, as can fiber-filled cabbage, the idea is to minimize hunger and cravings. Between the fiber and the fluid, this typically limits the appetite, making it easier to adhere to a strict calorie deficit. The diet provides fewer than 1,000 calories a day on days one through three, about 1,000 or slightly more on days four and seven, and more than 1,200 calories on days five and six. That is well below the recommended range of 1,600 to 2,400.
Several variations on the soup recipe have been published, but most include cabbage, onions, tomatoes or tomato juice, celery, and carrots.
Advertisem*nt
Pros and cons of the cabbage soup diet:
As with most weight-loss plans, there are both healthy elements and drawbacks. The cabbage soup diet is no exception.
Pros:
- Cabbage is in the cruciferous vegetable family and contains vitamins E and C, which are antioxidants that protect cells from damage. These vegetables have been found to protect against breast and colorectal cancer and reduce tumor growth.
- Cabbage also has a high fiber content, which is good for weight loss because it keeps you feeling full.
- Due to the dietary fiber in the soup, it could help lower cholesterol and help constipation.
- The soup is relatively inexpensive given the low price of cabbage and the few ingredients needed.
Cons:
- Cabbage commonly causes bloating and flatulence because of its high fiber content. It also contains raffinose, a complex sugar that is hard to digest. Both of these can make you feel very uncomfortable.
- The diet is strict, allowing only relatively bland foods. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, diets this strict should be avoided because critical nutrients are missing.
- The diet may cause weakness and fatigue due to low-calorie and low protein intake.
- The diet may lead to muscle loss because it is a rapid weight-loss program, which may lead to loss of water weight and muscle atrophy. Most of the weight lost on this diet is water weight and will likely be regained once a dieter resumes their normal food intake.
- Depending on the recipe or a dieter's taste preference, this cabbage soup may contain high amounts of sodium, making it risky for people with hypertension and kidney disease.
- The weight loss linked to such low-calorie diets is usually not sustainable.
Advertisem*nt
Insider's takeaway
Like many other short-term, low-calorie diet plans, the cabbage soup diet is not recommended by medical experts.
Although cabbage is a healthy diet component, the plan calls for such an intense caloric deficit that it could lead to weakness and muscle loss.
"It's nothing I would recommend, but there are points of it someone could use within an otherwise balanced diet," Zeratsky says. "Including a low-sodium [kind of] vegetable soup could be a step in the right direction in terms of feeling full."
Related articles fromHealth Reference:
- Science-backed benefits of saffron — the world's most expensive spice
- Many health claims about bee pollen are unproven —here are 3 benefits backed by science
- 7 science-backed benefits of drinking water — and how much water you should drink each day
- Many health claims about celery juice are false — here are 4 proven benefits backed by science
- 6 proven health benefits of beets: How the root vegetable may improve athletic performance and help you lose we
Lindsay Kalter is a health freelancewriter and contributorto Insider who has held positions withPolitico, the Boston Herald, and the American Heart Association. Her work has appeared in publications including The Washington Post, Hour Detroit Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, and WebMD.She has covered topics from mental health and opioid use to cutting-edge medical research and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisem*nt
