Dole has increased its banana imports to Japan by more than 25%, yet there's still a shortage of the fruit in this island nation. So what's the reason behind this sudden spike in demand? A fad known as the Morning Banana Diet. It's so popular that one young woman has been waiting to start the diet for a month because her local OK Store is always out of bananas.The run on bananas began last month when former opera singer Kumiko Mori who weighs more than 200 pounds announced on the television show Dream Press-sha that she lost 15 pounds on the Morning Banana Diet. After the show aired there was a 70 to 80 percent increase in banana sales versus last year at supermarkets run by Life Corp.
The regimen itself is pretty simple: Allow yourself as many bananas and room temperature water for breakfast; eat anything you like for lunch, 3 p.m. snack and dinner; stop eating by 8 p.m. and get to bed before midnight. It's the brainchild of Osaka pharmacist Sumiko Watanabe who designed it to increase the metabolism of her husband, Hitoshi, who lost 37 pounds. There's even a web site for the diet. It appears to be down right now, but this amusing video describing how the diet works complete with a techno version of The Banana Boat Song is still working.
This isn't the first time a fad diet has caused shortages in Japan. Last year the natto diet stripped supermarket shelves of the funky, slimy fermented soybeans. Who knows whether either of these diets works, but a morning banana beats natto any day.

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10-20-2008 @5:14PM Jerry said... Bananas contain resistant starch, which ferments in your large intestine, creating by-products that actually block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel, so replacing ordinary carbs with the resistant starch in bananas can boost fat burning. And banana fiber bulks up in your stomach, so you feel full for longer. The healthy way to do the banana diet makes sense and includes exercise. You can read about it here http://www.dolenutrition.com/bananadiet/bananadiet.htm
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10-22-2008 @10:38AM Marsha said... does having one coffee with skim milk before banana breakfast spoil the effect of the banana diet?
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10-21-2008 @3:17PM Jerry said... Yeah, the coffee is ok.
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