Background

The "cake diet" is described in an eating and lifestyle plan book written by Dean Kapsalakis. The cake diet does not advise individuals to stop eating foods they like, simply because they are unhealthy. The book offers modified recipes for common high-fat, high sugar, and high salt foods such as meatloaf, manicotti, and cake. This process of recipe modification is known as "extra-fortification."

There are no mainstream health organizations which endorse the cake diet.

Safety Safety definitions

Lactation: There is insufficient reliable evidence about the safety of the cake diet in pregnancy and lactation. Avoid use.

Effectiveness Effectiveness definitions

There is insufficient reliable evidence about the efficacy of the cake diet for any condition.

Natural Medicines rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate.

Dosing & administration

Adverse effects

Interactions with pharmaceuticals

None known.

Interactions with herbs & supplements

None known.

Interactions with foods

None known.

Interactions with lab tests

Interactions with diseases

Mechanism of action

Dean Kapsalakis wrote the cake diet book under the assumption that people crave sugary junk foods, and that most people will not abandon these foods for health benefits alone. Rather than struggling with eliminating cravings and avoiding these foods, Kapsalakis encourages the modification of junk food recipes, adding nutritional value and making them "extra-fortified". In this process, extra ingredients are added to store-bought foods and mixes in order to increase nutritional value without compromising taste.

Dean Kapsalakis theorized that high fat, sugar, and cholesterol content of food is not problematic as long as these foods are extra-fortified.