Ann Louise Gittleman is an American author and proponent of alternative medicine, especially fad diets.[1][2][3][4][5] She regards herself as a nutritionist. Gittleman has written more than two dozen books and is known for The Fat Flush Plan, a "detox" diet and exercise program that she developed into a series of books. Gittleman's ideas on health and nutrition are regarded as pseudoscience.[1][2][6]
Ann Louise Gittleman | |
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Born | (1949-06-27) June 27, 1949 (age 73) Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
Nationality | American |
Citizenship | United States |
Education | Clayton College of Natural Health, Teachers College, Columbia University |
Years active | 1974–present |
Known for | The Fat Flush Diet |
Website | annlouise |
In 2002, she was given a Ph.D. in holistic nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health, an unaccredited and now defunct diploma mill.[7]
In 1994, she was featured in an advertising campaign for Rejuvex,[8] a dietary supplement for menopause symptoms that is not supported by scientific or clinical evidence.[9]
Gittleman has written many books on alternative medical ideas for health and nutrition. Her books have appeared on popular television programs, including 20/20, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America, and The Early Show.[10][11][12] She has been criticized for promoting incorrect notions about medicine, diet, and electromagnetic radiation.[2][3]
In 2001, she released her book The Fat Flush Plan, which became a New York Times best seller, reaching #14 on the "Hardcover Advice" list.[13]
In May 2004, The Fat Flush Plan was described along with other low carbohydrate diets in a Time magazine story, The Skinny on Low Carbs.[14]
Gittleman's books have been criticized as inconsistent with the best understanding of health and nutrition,[2] and for presenting scientific research in a simplistic and one-sided manner.[3][6] According to Healthline, Gittleman's Fat Flush Plan is a fad diet that uses "convoluted science and gimmicky logic to sell its products", and that the bulk of the plan should be skipped because "a two-week juice fast is never healthy."[4]
Gittleman's suggestion to detoxify as part of the Fat Flush Plan has made her diet the subject of criticism from some nutritionists and medical doctors.[15] Dr. Judith Stern, vice president of the American Obesity Society, has called the Fat Flush Plan "pseudoscience" that promises everything, but is "a fantasy".[2]
Gittleman's 2010 book Zapped has been met with skepticism by reviewers who say the book incorporates non-scientific concepts to assert the danger of electromagnetic fields, and presents evidence in a biased manner.[3][5][1]
Gittleman has written more than two dozen books advocating an alternative medicine approach to health and nutrition.[16][17]
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