Living Touch

Developed by Ron Rosedale and Carol Colman, the Rosedale Diet is a diet plan designed to help control leptin, the key hormone that regulates appetite. It is a high fat, very low carbohydrate, and low protein diet and in that similar to the South Beach Diet, the Hampton’s Diet, and also the Atkins Diet. However, it places emphasis on eating good, unsaturated fats and avoiding saturated or trans-fats. The diet begins with a 3-week phase where all starchy carbohydrates are to be avoided. After that, some starchy carbohydrates are allowed, but only in restricted amounts.

The Rosedale Diet Book

Basically, the book „The Rosedale Diet“ is divided into three sections. In the first section the principles and logic to a healthy life are outlined and the concept of leptin is explained. The authors argue that most people’s leptin levels are out of control which causes them to overeat and store fat instead of burning it.

In the second part, the different types of fat are discussed, beneficial and harmful fats are listed and the principles of a healthy diet are introduced. The authors suggest to begin the diet with a 3-week phase and follow the prescribed menus. The 3-week diet consists of a daily food plan, with breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. The diet can thus be easily planned. Further, they introduce the A-, B-, and C-list. The A-list specifies the healthiest meals and snacks, the B-list is a list with foods to be eaten in limited quantities, and the C-list contains foods which should be avoided altogether. The authors also recommend a supplement plan and a supplement plan plus and they promise that nobody will have to leave the table hungry.

In the last part of the book, the issue of protein is discussed. The authors show how much protein one should eat every day, and protein requirements for men and women are given. The protein recommendations are calculated as – on an average – 1 gram per half an individual’s lean body mass. This equates to around 50-75 grams of protein per person per day. There are more diet recipes and some product information, as the diet plan includes special products, like for example „Manna from Heaven“. Finally, laboratories are listed where leptin levels can be tested.

The Rosedale Diet Principles

There are five key principles to the Rosedale Diet:

• Avoid most starchy carbohydrates and sugars.
• Eat good, unsaturated fats and avoid saturated or trans-fats.
• Eat the right amount of protein.
• Eat slowly and don’t eat again three hours before bedtime.
• Eat when you are hungry, and don’t count calories and carbohydrates.

The Rosedale Diet Summary

While the Rosedale diet plan is easy to follow as it provides guidelines, for the first 3 weeks you pick foods from the A-list and afterwards add foods from the B-list, the protein recommendations seem too low. Also, the recommended supplementation plan would be quite expensive to realize. Considering the fact that Dr. Rosedale has business in the supplement industry, this part is highly suspicious.