ABSTRACT
The Rice Diet ran contrary to the traditional rules governing food and weight reduction. The diet was developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s by Walter Kempner, M. D., then a member of the Duke University School of Medicine faculty, with the aim of assisting patients suffering from critical kidney disease. The rice diet had the advantage of being easy to prepare. In addition, its blandness tended to work in its favor by discouraging overeating. Those using the diet also reported that it kept down hunger pangs as the next mealtime rolled around. The medical fraternity was favorably disposed because of the "protein-sparing effect of carbohydrates". The aforementioned blandness required a great deal of willpower in order to stay with the diet for the long haul. Nevertheless, it has remained popular into the 1990s, aided by the fact that rice has become far more familiar to Americans as a starch substitute than was the case immediately following World War II.
