Overweight has always been a problem faced by many people across the world. It invariably leads to health issues such as hypertension, cardiac troubles, sleep apnea and diabetes. The only way out of this mess is to shed those extra pounds around your waist by embracing some weight loss diet plans and follow it religiously. Of which, the most popular and successful technique is the Rice diet program, formulated by Walter Kempner of Duke University. Hence it is also known as Duke University Rice Diet. The highlighting point is about Rice diet is that, unlike other popular diets, the Rice Diet is medically supervised.

Unlike the name, Rice diet program has little relation with rice. To say simply, Rice diet program is a low-fat, low-salt diet reducing obesity and maintaining good health. It is a primarily vegetarian diet which works wonders if followed punctually for two to four weeks of dieting. It is served as 3 meals a day.

The Rice diet program mainly has 2 phases:

Phase 1 - In this phase, the diet mainly comprises of fruits and grains. It is highly recommended that you undergo this phase under medical supervision. It is also recommended to continue at least for half the time you plan to do the dieting.

Phase 2 ? This phase incorporates a lot more vegetables and other carbohydrate rich foods along with fruits and grains. Also you could consume fish once a week.

It is advisable to avoid dairy products, meat and fish throughout the time of Rice Diet program, until medical condition allows you to.

Salt is completely avoided in Rice Diet at Home. As per experts, while only half a gram of salt is required for the normal functioning of the human body per day, we generally consume 4-5 grams per day, which is more than 8 to 10 times the optimum amount needed daily. The excess salt in the blood can lead to swelling of body, kidney disorders, and hypertension. Hence by limiting salt you can reduce the risk of these diseases.

To conclude, rice diet program is much effective than most of the text book diets proposed by the so called expert nutritionist and dietitians. But the ultimate result depends on how effectively one has followed its recommendations.