150 years ago William Banting published a short letter outlining a cure for obesity. This prescription was drawn up by William Harvey, Banting’s ear doctor. Harvey in turn had based this prescription on a series of lectures he attended in Paris, outlining early discoveries involving the liver, glucose, and diabetes.
The prescription? Remove sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet. Eat meats and above-ground vegetables. This prescription worked so well that this diet plan today is simply called “Banting”. Variations are also called the “Atkins”, “Paleo” or “Keto” diet.
Banting is not a calorie-reduced diet. Indeed, it calls for 4 meals a day. For within reason, portion size is not controlled. Banting recognized that obesity is not dependent upon the quantity of food, but rather upon the quality of food. In this Banting was one of the first to recognize that Macros, not Calories are what control a person’s weight.
With few exceptions, Banting remains valid today. Banting eliminates bread and butter, likely because they are so often used together. Macros tell us that bread and grains should be eliminated, but butter need not be. Banting eliminates beer, but not alcohol.