The diet was discovered in 1939 by a German-born Dr. Walter Kempner who was treating a woman for high blood pressure, renal disease and a gamut of other medical problems. The Duke University (Durham, N.C.) physician, learned that his diet not only caused her medical condition to improve, but she also lost weight!

We followed the diet from an out-of-print book that was written by one of Dr. Kempner’s patients and decided to travel to Durham (North Carolina) in search of a successful approach to diet and wellness in the 21st century.

During our visit, we learned that health care is Durham’s primary industry. The city is home to more than 300 companies whose businesses relate to diet and medicine. Thousands of people travel to the city each year from around the world to participate in a diet program.

Our hotel, The Millennium, even offered a free shuttle service and made stops at the various diet and medical facilities around town.

The Duke facility is designed to provide an intensive educational experience emphasizing key components of successful lifestyle change through nutrition, fitness, behavioral health, medical management and lifestyle coaching. They still use many of the principles of the Rice Diet program but have expanded their menus to appeal to a larger group of overeaters.

Our next stop was the Structure House located on a 21-acre wooded campus. The facility provides a comprehensive, multi-component, residential weight-loss program that strives to help patients break the patterns that prevent them from overcoming obesity. Programs teach them the techniques that will allow them to make healthy food choices.

We saved the Rice House for last. Dr. Robert Rosati, an associate professor emeritus of medicine at Duke University and board certified in cardiology and internal medicine, and his wife Kitty Gurkin Rosati, a registered dietitian and the former Nutrition Director of the Rice Diet at Duke University, are in charge of the program.

The Rice House is located in a home in a wooded area surrounded by trees. At meals program participants write down their choices from a selection on a chalk board, and servers bring the food to them in the dining room.

More than just rice, the Rice Diet is consists of mainly vegetables, fruit and rice or pasta and strictly limits salt and sodium-rich ingredients. We found the staff - from the dieticians and psychologists, to the yoga instructors - to be top notch.

All three of the diet programs in Durham offer sessions of varying lengths from a week to several months. Although the diets differ between the three weight loss centers we visited, the theme of each of them is the same - to help clients make a lifestyle change in our eating habits.

The Rosatis have also written a book about the diet. It is called "The Rice Diet Solution: The World-Famous Low-Sodium, Good-Carb, Detox Diet". It was first published in January 2006 by Simon & Schuster.