What would you think if someone suggested you drink a concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't chug-a-lug that foul mix if somebody paid me. But Beyonce used the lemonade diet, and she's not the first -- the lemonade diet (aka Master Cleanse) has been around since 1941.

Just like clothes go in and out of style, so do crazy diets. "Glamour" shows us seven decades of wacky diet trends:

• 1930's-1940's. Not only is this the era where the Master Cleanse first appeared, ad campaigns also touted smoking as a way to keep off unwanted pounds.
• 1950's. The 1950's paved the way for a kinder, gentler form of weight loss. What was it? Prayer. That's right. Pray yourself thin. "Pray Your Weight Away" was published in 1957 and was the first of many prayer-based weight loss theories.
  
• 1960's. We have the 60's to thank for the horrible cabbage soup diet. A more helpful trend that was born in the 60's is the weight loss support group. (Overeaters Anonymous and Weight Watchers were both formed in the decade.)
• 1970's. The quest for weight loss in a pill started in earnest in the 70's. Dexatrim and the unfortunately named Ayds appetite suppressants were all the rage.
• 1980's. After the unsuccessful quick fixes of the 70's, self-discipline came back into vogue in the 80's. Plans such as the super-restrictive Scarsdale Diet were the diets of the decade. Low-fat was a term that was sneaking into everyone's vocabulary.
  
• 1990's. Low-carb plans like the Atkin's diet were all the rage in the 90's.
• 2000's. We're still not immune to silly diet trends. How about the Morning Banana Diet or the Cookie Diet (which has actually been around in one form or another for quite a long time)?

What's the craziest diet plan you've ever tried?

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When a food item becomes a health trend, it starts popping up everywhere -- from energy drinks to sodas to diet pills, sometimes even in shampoo. Acai is one of the more recent nutrition trends ... but is it worth all of the fuss?

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, acai berries are rich in antioxidants and are a very nutritious food. However, Dr. Oz states that acai is as good as any other healthful food, not any better. One reporter and her husband decided to try out the acai diet -- he took capsules and she used a powdered drink mix. Not only was it expensive, the drink was gritty, and neither saw any weight loss results. And the cleansing drink that came with the acai diet was completely gag-inducing.

The lesson here is to not go overboard. When nutrition news hits the media, the marketing folks clamor on board and try to sell as many products as possible based on very limited science. Acai is a great food to incorporate into your diet but if you're expecting it to help you magically drop excess pounds, cure disease and unclog your kitchen sink, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

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While the area I live in may have made my exposure to this fruit a little slower than it was for most people, it's still a relatively new addition to the regular fruits and veggies on grocery store shelves. In a short span of time the bizarre-looking pomegranate has moved from exotic to mainstream.

The world of nutrition has its trends just like anything else, and pomegranates certainly had their day (or couple of years) in the sun. Pomegranates have been linked to health benefits for erectile dysfunction, cancer risk reduction, lung health, and other issues. And they certainly are good for you... not to mention tasty. (Though pomegranate juice can negatively interact with certain medications (such as some blood pressure meds), so check with your doctor.)

But when a food item becomes trendy, there is a bit of a halo effect; anything that has that item listed on the package automatically seems healthier and better for you. Health by association, if you will.

How often have you seen an ad or read about a new makeup trend in a magazine, only to think, "That looks great on her, but I'd never pull that off with my skin tone?" While it's true that some trends look best on women of particular ages or with certain skin tones, if there's a trend that intrigues you, there's probably a way to make it work for you.

Click through the gallery to see how Fitnessmagazine.com tailored five current makeup trends for specific skin tones -- you might find your new favorite look!

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I can't even count the ways I love George Clooney. A lot of celebrities could take a lesson from him on how to handle the media attention (at least most of the time).

He was recently interviewed for the April 2008 issue of Esquire, and when asked if it was true that he had cosmetic surgery on his eyes, he said he didn't, but went on to joke, "I did get my balls done, though. I got them unwrinkled. It's the new thing in Hollywood -- ball ironing."

This was the same interview in which he went online to see what rumors were circulating about him, and in response to one that said he was "GAY, GAY, GAY," he left a comment saying, "No, I'm gay, gay. The third gay -- that was pushing it."

The man clearly has a good sense of humor about himself, his fame, and the public's response to all that is George Clooney. If only more celebrities could be that secure -- we'd have more jokes than drugs, and more bouts of uncontrollable laughter than bouts of depression.

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What exactly is VirtualGym TV? It's an online gym with a huge variety of top quality instructors, and when you subscribe, you have access to all those instructors and all of their "classes" at your convenience. Oh, and all of this is available at a fraction of the cost of a gym membership. Sound good?

Well, I think it has some good possibilities, but as to their claim of being the future of personal fitness ... I'm not entirely convinced. This is a great option for companies that want to provide fitness opportunities for their employees who are scattered across various locations, making the provision of gym memberships difficult. And, for the motivated but busy individual, it could probably work.

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Of course there will always be a market for convenient packaging and processed foods, but thankfully it seems that food trends are moving more towards natural foods that people prepare themselves in more natural ways. Cooking Light has put together a list of 5 of the healthier food trends we're seeing:

• Flexitarianism
• Locally grown foods
• Functional foods
• Organic foods
  
• Slow foods

If you want more information on any of those (I, for one, had to read what they meant by "functional foods") then see the complete article on CNN.com. Which ones are you already on board with? Are you bucking the trends or happy to be part of them?


Via Slashfood

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We've all fallen for a fad diet at some point in our quests for health and fitness, and maybe even tried a crash diet or two before a big event (you can read about all of our personal dieting foibles in the Meet the Bloggers feature) but obviously fads and instant fixes aren't the way to go for healthy, long lasting results. But are all the different crazy diets out there completely bad? Most of them are just different spins on the same basic principle of eating fewer calories than you burn, with crazy creative ways to go about it, so it seems there may be some good to be found!

Women's Health is helping us out by breaking down 4 common "fad" diets and separating the good from the bad. In a sense, you can build your own personalized plan by taking just the best parts of all the different trends and leaving the unhealthy 'fad' stuff behind. Here's a little of what they found:

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When it comes to fashion, not every trend or style is for everyone. Part of being fashionable is knowing what looks good on you, being willing to wear the correct size and working what you've got with confidence. Having said that, there are some looks that really don't look good on anyone.

One fashion don't that I really can't stand is the "muffin top", which Martha Edwards recently talked about banishing forever. I think what bugs me so much about it is that most of the people I see rocking the muffin top do so needlessly. It's more about clothing size than weight, as even a tiny size 2 runs the risk of developing Dunlap Syndrome if they insist on squeezing into size 0 jeans and wearing a too-short t-shirt to finish off their ensemble.

Five other major don'ts include:

• Jean on Jean: Lovingly and hilariously referred to as the "Canadian Tuxedo" in my homeland, this fashion sin is especially terrible when the demin colors don't match.
• Sunglasses Indoors: It's unnecessary and makes you come across as either shady or pretentious. Or both.
• Sneakers with skirts: As the article points out, the only acceptable reason for this is if you're walking to work and are going to change when you get to the office. Otherwise, there are lots of more appropriate yet comfy options.
• Blatant Cleavage: There is a difference between sexy and sleazy and a time and place for everything (but in this case, never at work if at all possible). Every woman needs to figure out for herself how much boob is too much, although if your shirt is so low that you're running the risk of a nipple slip, you've probably gone too far.
• Panty Lines: Almost every woman has been guilty of this fashion sin. To avoid panty lines, wear clothes that fit (too-tight pants mean your undies will show through), try a thong or seamless underwear or, if you're comfortable with it, go commando.

Are there any fashion don'ts that you absolutely can't stand?

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