By Scarlett Morao
Maryland Newsline
Tuesday, May 14, 2002

1.  Dr. Dean Ornish emphasizes the value of losing weight without 
     counting calories, decreasing portion size or eating less. In fact, he
     maintains one can sustain weight loss even if one eats more food more
     frequently. How is this possible?

Ornish stresses a regimen of intensive exercise for at least three hours every
     week.
Ornish's diet program consists of whole, plant-based foods, without meat and
     with minimal sugar.
Ornish recommends eating high-fat foods in the absence of complex    
     carbohydrates, enabling the body to use these as the sole source of energy.
Magic! With a wave of your wand, say, “Abracadabra!” If a rabbit comes
     out of your hat, the weight will have disappeared.

2.  Which animal-based foods are allowed in the Atkins diet?

Chicken and fish
Beef and chicken
Fish and pork
All of the above

3.  Are all sugars prohibited in the Sugar Busters! Diet?

Yes, all sugars are prohibited.
No, sugars that do not trigger high insulin production are allowed.
No, sugars that trigger high insulin production are allowed.
No, only refined sugars found in candy and other junk food are prohibited.

4.  What is the New Beverly Hills Diet?

The head of lettuce the cast of “Beverly Hills 90210” shares for lunch
An expensive diet consisting of tiny servings and fancy, unpronounceable
     names
A diet based on the notion that eating certain combinations of foods in specific
     orders leads to weight loss
A new way to binge and purge

5.  What is the “zone” in The Zone diet?

A state of feeling increased energy and better mental focus
The area of the body that undergoes the highest rate of metabolism when the
     diet is followed properly
Zone, Ohio, where the diet was developed
A mantra that, when chanted slowly and repeatedly during the first 28 days of
     the diet, will produce a groovy feeling

6.  Which of these people has an M.D.?

Barry Sears, founder of The Zone diet
Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers
Judy Mazel, founder of the New Beverly Hills Diet
Robert Atkins, founder of the Atkins Diet Revolution

7.  What is the blood-type diet?

A diet where specific foods are said to be good for some blood types but not
     others
A diet where individuals of specific blood types must eat specific foods on 
     particular days of the week
A diet where sucking on those annoying paper-cut wounds actually
     reduces weight
A diet where the individual should eat meat from an animal of a specific blood
     type to produce an optimal metabolic rate. The blood type is dependent on
     the individual's medical history.

8.  What is the Pritikin Principle?

A program that incorporates a diet combining plant-based, unrefined
     carbohydrates with an herb called pritikin to produce weight loss.
The philosophy that a diet high in fiber and absent of meat will produce weight
     loss.
An approach that combines a low-fat diet that is high in plant-based,
     unrefined carbohydrates with exercise and stress reduction techniques,
     emphasizing the density of calories in a given food.
A program that maintains the end justifies the means.

9.  In general, which of these is not a principle of the Mediterranean
     Diet?

Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Eat egg proteins as often as possible.
Use plenty of olive oil, even if it has all that monounsaturated fat.
Eat more fish and much less meat.

10.  If a diet looks good, should you do it right away?

Yes, everyone knows that the best way to lose weight is to choose the one  
     that is quickest or easiest.
No, what may be the right diet for one person may be wrong for someone
     else.
Yes, especially if you plan to wear that tiny swimsuit at the beach this
     weekend.
No, there is no such thing as a healthy diet.