The Dukan Diet by Pierre Dukan

and 8 p.m. A big glass of any liquid will often be enough to calm your hunger pangs.
    Nowadays, the world’s richest populations are confronting a new type of hunger: a self-imposed denial while surrounded by an infinite variety of foods that they dare not touch because of the risk to their health or because they have weight problems.
    It is surprising to see that at a time when individuals, institutions, and pharmaceutical laboratories dream of discovering the perfect and most effective appetite suppressant, there are so many people for whom this is an issue. They still do not know about or even worse refuse to use a method as simple, pure, and inexpensive as drinking water to tame their appetite.
The Diet Has to Be Low in Salt
Kicking the Salt Habit
    Salt is an element vital to life and present to varying degrees in every food, so adding salt at the table is always superfluous. Salt is just a condiment that improves the flavor of food, sharpens the appetite, and is all too often used purely out of habit.
    A Low-Salt Diet Is Never Dangerous You could and even should live your whole life on a low-salt diet. People with heart and kidney problems or high blood pressure live permanently on low-salt diets without suffering harmful effects. However, people with natural low blood pressure and those who are used to using salt on their food should exercise caution.
    A diet too low in salt, especially when combined with a large intake of water, can lower blood pressure. If your blood pressure is already naturally low, this can produce fatigue and dizziness if you get up quickly. People with low pressure should not go overboard with salt reduction and should limit their water intake to 1½ quarts per day.
    On the Other Hand, Too Much Salt Leads to Water Retention In hot climates, salt pills are regularly distributed to workers so that they avoid dehydration.
    However, many women, especially women intensely influenced by hormones during premenstrual or perimenopausal periods, or even during pregnancy, retain impressive amounts of water.
    For these women, this water reduction diet par excellence works most effectively when as little salt as possible is absorbed, allowing the water to pass more quickly through the body.
    By the way, we often hear people complaining that they have put on 2 or even 4 pounds in one evening after a lapse in their diet. Sometimes a weight gain like this is not due to a real lapse. When we analyze exactly what was eaten, we can never track down the 18,000 calories of food required to produce these 4 extra pounds. It was simply the combination of an oversalty meal accompanied by wine, beer, or cocktails. Salt and alcohol combine to slow down the elimination of the water drunk. Never forget that 1 quart of water weighs about 2 pounds, and 2 teaspoons of salt are enough to retain this water in your body’s tissues for a day or two.
    This being the case, if during your diet you cannot avoid a professional dinner engagement or a family celebration that will force you to put aside the rules of the Dukan Diet, then at least avoid eating salty foods and drinking too much alcohol. And do not weigh yourself the next morning, because a sudden increase in weight may discourage you and undermine your determination and confidence. Wait until the following day—or, even better, 2 days—while returning to the diet, drinking mineral water with a low mineral content, and cutting back on salt. These three simple measures should be enough to get you back on track.
    Salt Increases Appetite—Decreasing Your Salt Intake Decreases Your Appetite This is a simple observation. Salty foods increase salivation and gastric acidity, which in turn increase your appetite. Conversely, lightly salted foods have only a slight effect on digestive secretions and no effect on appetite. Unfortunately, the absence of salt reduces thirst, and thus when you follow the Dukan Diet, you need to accept that during the first days you will have to make