William Banting

Infobox Writer
name = William Banting


imagesize = 175x261px
caption =
birthdate = 1797
deathdate = March 16, 1878
deathplace = Kensington, London, England
occupation = Undertaker, coffin maker
nationality = England, United Kingdom
genre = Nonfiction
subject = Low-carbohydrate diet
spouse = Mary Ann (wife)
children = Amelia (daughter)

William Banting (1797 – 16 March 1878)cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006] cite web
url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101001320
title = William Banting Biography
accessdate = 2007-12-26
publisher = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
archiveurl = http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101001320
archivedate = 2004 ] , was an obese English undertaker who may have been one of the first people to reduce his weight by going on a formal low-carbohydrate diet.cite web
url = http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/banting.html
title = WILLIAM BANTING: The Father of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet
accessdate = 2007-12-26
last = Groves, PhD
first = Barry
year = 2002
publisher = Second Opinions ] His method for doing so was supervised by Dr. William Harvey, who notified the public of his success in 1863.cite encyclopedia
year = 1911
title = CORPULENCE
encyclopedia = Britannica
edition = 11
accessdate = 2007-12-26
url = http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/COR_CRE/CORPULENCE_Lat_corpus_body_or_O.html]

"Only three men in history have been immortalized by having their names enter the English language as verbs. ... the third was the subject of this article—William Banting..."—Barry Groves, PhD

"Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public"

In 1863, Banting wrote a booklet called "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" which contained the particular plan for the diet he followed. It was written in the form of an open letter. Banting accounted all of his attempted fasts and diets in his past, and ultimately proposed his own plan. His plan called for four meals per day consisting of protein, greens, fruits, and dry wine. It urged his followers to avoid foods containing starch or saccharine matter. It also included milk, sugar, beer, and butter. Banting’s pamphlet was incredibly successful for years to come, and would be used as a model for modern diets. cite web
url = http://carbscount.org/corpulence/index.html
title = Letter on Corpulence by William Banting, 4th Ed. (1869)
accessdate = 2008-01-05
publisher = Atkins ] Initially, he published the booklet at his personal expense. The self-published edition was so popular that he determined to sell it to the general public. The third and later editions were published by Harrison, London. The pamphlet's popularity was such that the question "do you bant?" referred to his method, and eventually to dieting in general. Banting's booklet remains in print as of 2007.cite book
last = Banting
first = William
title = Letter on Corpulence
origyear = 1863
url = http://www.cosimobooks.com/bookstore_a/book_description.php?book=83
accessdate = 2007-12-28
year = 2005
publisher = Cosimo Classics
location = USA: New York
isbn = 978-1-59605-085-3
pages = 64 pages ] [See also ISBN 0-9543975-1-7.]

Modern view

Banting was publicly vilified for advancing a low-carbohydrate diet and false rumors were spread, claiming his diet had destroyed his health.cite book
url=http://2020ok.com/books/25/letter-on-corpulence-addressed-to-the-public-19925.htm
title = Letter On Corpulence, Addressed To The Public|author=William Banting
publisher= Harrison|location=London, England|date=1869 |edition=4th
accessdate=2008-01-02] Banting's work influenced contemporary physicians and scientists investigating low-carb diets. The attacks on Banting prefigured similar rumors spread about Robert Atkins, and the Atkins Foundation maintains Banting's works on its website.

Gary Taubes' recent study of carbohydrates begins with a prologue entitled "A brief history of Banting" and discusses Banting at some length.cite book | last = Taubes | first = Gary |title=Good Calories, Bad Calories|isbn = 978-1-4000-4078-0| publisher=Borzai Books, division of Random House|year=2007
location=New York City and Toronto|url= http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400040780
accessdate=2008-01-02] Discussions of low-carbohydrate diets often begin with a discussion of Banting.cite journal |author=Astrup A, Meinert Larsen T, Harper A |title=Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets: hoax or an effective tool for weight loss? |journal=Lancet |volume=364 |issue=9437 |pages=897–9 |year=2004 |pmid=15351198 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16986-9 |accessdate=2008-01-02] cite journal |author=Bliss M |title=Resurrections in Toronto: the emergence of insulin |journal=Horm. Res. |volume=64 Suppl 2 |issue= |pages=98–102 |year=2005 |pmid=16286782 |doi=10.1159/000087765 |accessdate=2008-01-02] cite journal |author=Bray GA |title=Is there something special about low-carbohydrate diets? |journal=Ann. Intern. Med. |volume=142 |issue=6 |pages=469–70 |year=2005 |pmid=15767625 |doi= |accessdate=2008-01-02] cite journal |author=Focardi M, Dick GM, Picchi A, Zhang C, Chilian WM |title=Restoration of coronary endothelial function in obese Zucker rats by a low-carbohydrate diet |journal=Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. |volume=292 |issue=5 |pages=H2093–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17220180 |doi=10.1152/ajpheart.01202.2006 |accessdate=2008-01-02] cite journal |author=Arora S, McFarlane SI |title=Review on "Atkins Diabetes Revolution: The Groundbreaking Approach to Preventing and Controlling Type 2 Diabetes" by Mary C. Vernon and Jacqueline A. Eberstein |journal=Nutr Metab (Lond) |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=14 |year=2004 |pmid=15535891 |doi=10.1186/1743-7075-1-14 |accessdate=2008-01-02]

Banting was a distant relative of Frederick Banting, the co-discover of insulin.Banting's body is buried with his wife's and daughter's at Brompton Cemetery, London, England. [cite web
url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9022610
title = William Banting
accessdate = 2007-12-27
publisher = Find A Grave ]

ee also

*Low-carbohydrate diet
*No-carbohydrate diet
*Paleolithic diet
*Vilhjalmur Stefansson

References

External links

* http://www.thehistoryof.net/the-history-of-dieting.html
* cite web
url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9022610
title = William Banting
accessdate = 2007-12-27
publisher = Find A Grave