The Flavor Point Diet

What it is: The Flavor Point Diet was developed by nutrition expert Dr. David Katz and his wife Catherine as a way for dieters to learn to control their hunger and lose weight. The diet is based on research in the field of “sensory specific satiety” and looks at the science of flavors and how they impact your appetite.

How it works: The idea of the flavor point diet is to limit different flavor categories within a meal (salty, sweet, and savory) because the authors believe that a more diverse flavor profile leads to brain stimulation and appetite stimulation as a result. Katz completed a study with 20 patients who were trying to lose weight. He had them all try the flavor point approach, and subsequently, they all lost weight.

What you do: In order to help you become accustomed to the idea of flavor point satiety, the diet runs in phases. The first phase, which lasts four weeks, requires dieters to eat accordingly to a daily flavor theme. The diet outlines a detailed menu for each day with recipes and a nutritional analysis. There are alternatives listed and three weeks in, dieters are allowed to indulge in coconut or chocolate.

The second phase of the diet broadens the variety of the daily flavors, but each meal or snack still follows a theme. The third and final phase of the diet encourages dieters to use what they have learned about flavor point satiety and read labels when shopping and choose whole, unprocessed foods.

Benefits: The diet includes many fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy. The diet is nutritionally balanced and allows for sensible calorie consumption each day.

The Down Side: The diet requires a sizable time commitment for following the specific guidelines and creating the recipes recommended. And while the Katz studies did show weight loss, doctors say they are eager to see more studies that prove the link between flavor point satiety and weight loss.