That year, a doctor at Duke University named Walter Kempner discovered by accident that a diet of rice and fruit could help patients reverse the effects of kidney disease at a time when other treatments didn't exist. As a byproduct, he found that this diet helped people lose weight, too.

The Rice Diet isn't really about rice. In fact, Kempner used to say, "It's not what's in the rice. It's what's not in the rice."

The Rice Diet, which discontinued its association with Duke in 2002, is more accurately a low-salt, low-fat, mainly vegetarian diet that's high in carbohydrates. In fact, it claims to be the lowest low-fat and low-sodium diet in the world. And with newcomers consuming just 800 to 1,000 calories a day, it's very low-cal, too.

The tradeoff in consuming so little is big weight loss. The Rice Diet boasts that people lose 20 to 30 pounds in the first month - safely and healthfully. As a bonus, it claims to prevent and even reverse disease.

The Rice Diet might well be called the anti-Atkins diet, but that would be a simplification. It's not exactly anti-meat. In fact, the limits on protein have more to do cutting out unhealthful saturated fat than in avoiding meat.

The limit on sodium is one of the crucial aspects of the diet, said Kitty Rosati, a dietitian and the program's nutrition director. Rosati and her husband, Robert Rosati, a cardiologist who helps run the Rice Diet clinic, have just published The Rice Diet Solution ($25, Simon & Schuster).

A reduction in salt not only reduces a person's water weight, but also reduces a person's appetite. "Most people know salt is a flavor enhancer," Kitty Rosati said. "They don't know that it's an appetite trigger."

The removal of added salt makes a very low-calorie diet seem satisfying, Kitty Rosati said. People sometimes have trouble eating 1,000 calories a day when they have no salt to spark their appetite, she said.

Some participants have grown accustomed to eating as much as 10,000 calories a day - and spending much of their waking hours worrying about getting enough to eat. So when they enter the program, instead of missing the salt, "they're relieved to find they're not hungry," Rosati said.

The diet is mostly carbs - fruit, vegetables, grains and beans, which s are designed to fill you up without a lot of calories.

The Rice Diet limits fats in general and severely limits saturated fats, associated with increased risk of heart disease. Because saturated fat is prevalent in animal products, its restriction means a restriction on the protein found in meats.

The diet is designed to give 800 to 1,200 calories a day, and it has three phases, the last of which allows for more calories for people able to maintain their weight loss.

Phase One is designed to detoxify the body. It lasts just a week and consists of just grains and fruit one day a week and grains, vegetables, fruit and 1 non-fat dairy food the other six. (Because the one day's diet of just grains and fruit is very low in sodium, it is not recommended that anyone eat this way for more than one day a week.)

A sample menu in the first phase, on the "basic rice diet" day of only grains and fruit could be oatmeal with peaches and raisins for breakfast; brown rice, pineapple and grapes for lunch; and brown rice, berries and melon for dinner.

Phase Two still has one day of the basic rice diet: five days with lots of grains, vegetables and fruit and one nonfat dairy; and one day in which 3 ounces of protein is allowed at dinner.

A menu for one of the five days of the lacto-vegetarian (vegetarian plus dairy) diet in Phase Two might consist of milk, cereal and fruit for breakfast; pasta with tomato and a spinach and Mandarin orange salad for lunch; and rice, broccoli and split-pea soup for dinner.

Phase Three is like Phase Two but has just four days of the lacto-vegetarian diet and two days in which 3 ounces of protein, such as fish or chicken, is allowed at dinner.

A menu for the diet on a day in which protein is allowed might have oatmeal and banana for breakfast; black beans, rice, baby greens and roasted bell peppers and fruit for lunch; and baked flounder, corn, red potatoes, bok choy, tossed salad and an orange for dinner.

By Phase Three, people will eat 60 percent to 71 percent carbs, 14 percent to 18 percent protein and 15 percent to 21 percent fat.

"Our point of view is you get cleaned out in One, and lose weight in Two, and then in Three add one or two new foods a week and see," Kitty Rosati said. "If you find it's not easy to overeat and your blood pressure doesn't go up, eat some foods you enjoy."

The 170 recipes in The Rice Diet Solution contain no added salt or refined sugar. The few sweets, such as blueberry-peach cobbler and sweet potato pie, primarily use fruit or a bit of honey.

Other dishes include tomato-basil bruschetta, red bell pepper with orzo stuffing, J.R's crabfree crab cakes, risotto with grilled swordfish, quinoa veggie salad, and Rachelle's Mexican baked beans.

The diet limits protein because it often comes with lots of saturated fat.

"The problem with high protein diets is people never learn to eat grains, beans, fruits and vegetables , the diet of developing nations where they don't suffer from chronic diseases," Rosati said.

The diet limits fat, she said, because research shows that lower-fat diets are associated with long-term weight-loss maintenance.

The percentages of fat and protein are lower than the government's Food Pyramid and the recommendations of many nutritionists. But the Rosatis say in the book that the body needs just 20 grams of protein a day, and that can easily be obtained from grains, beans and nonfat dairy. For meat eaters, that's less than 3 ounces of ground beef, or one hamburger.

The Rosatis also say that the body does not need more than 14 grams of fat a day to get enough essential fatty acids. A person can get those 14 grams from seven 1/2 cup servings of starchy foods. "It is almost impossible to get an essential fatty acid deficiency in someone with a functioning mouth and gut," they wrote.

The Rice Diet boasts that a person following the diet can lose 20 or more pounds in the first month. The diet also is used to treat coronary artery disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension (high blood pressure).

People who sign up for the program pay $4,800 for four weeks of medical checkups, meals and classes. Lodging for people who don't live near Durham drives the cost up further.

The Rice Diet Solution allows people on more limited budgets to try the diet. But the Rosatis caution that such an extreme diet should be undertaken only with a doctor's supervision.

"This diet is not just about quick weight loss," Kitty Rosati said. "Forty-four percent of people who went through the program maintained their weight loss or lost more after six years.

"We're in it for the long haul."

Red Bell Pepper With Orzo Stuffing

Recipe adapted from The Rice Diet Solution. 3/4 cup orzo
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
4 red bell peppers, tops removed
8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato puree, no-salt added
1 tablespoon fresh basil, diced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook (and drain) orzo according to directions on package.

2. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and up to 1 1/2 cups water, as needed, and continue to cook four to five minutes. Mix in cooked and drained orzo, reduce heat to low and continue to cook until most of the moisture is gone. Allow to cool for five minutes.

3. Stuff peppers with orzo mixture and place in a 2-inch-deep baking dish. Add a little water to pan (just enough to create steam while the peppers bake), cover and bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Makes four servings.

Nutrition information for one serving: 128 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 8 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber and 13 mg sodium.

Rice Diet allowances: 1/4 fat plus 1 starch plus 1 1/2 vegetables.

Risotto With Grilled Swordfish

Recipe adapted from The Rice Diet Solution, which says that this is one of Robert Rosati's signature dishes. Arborio is an Italian type of short-grain rice best suited to producing the creamy texture in risotto. It's sold in most supermarkets.

6 cups (no-salt-added)vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Red pepper flakes
3/4 pound swordfish, grilled and cut into small pieces or mashed

1. Heat the stock in a pot and keep hot.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft. Add the rice, stir, and cook three minutes. Add the wine and cook until the wine is almost gone. Add enough stock to just cover the rice and cook, stirring, until the stock is almost completely absorbed. Continue adding stock, stirring and cooking in this manner until the rice is tender (about 25 minutes total).

3. Stir the swordfish into the rice and cook one to two minutes. Add parsley and red pepper flakes to taste, and serve.

Makes six servings.

Nutrition information for one serving: 274 calories, 8.6 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 22 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber and 134 mg sodium.

Rice Diet allowances: 1 fat plus 13/5 proteins plus 13/5 starches plus 1/8 vegetable.

Marinated Vegetables

Recipe adapted from The Rice Diet Solution. The anchovies cannot be tasted in this dish, but it is important to use them because they help season the dish, taking the place of table salt.

This versatile dish can be served by itself or as a side dish. It's also good for sandwiches and bruschetta toppings and tossed into pasta or risotto.

2 eggplants, cut into 1/2 -inch slices lengthwise
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow bell peppers, sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing vegetables
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, sliced
1/2 pound asparagus
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 pounds tomatoes
3 Vidalia (sweet) onions, sliced
1 pound new potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
8 garlic cloves
2 anchovies
3 tablespoons oregano, chopped
Black pepper

1. Brush vegetables with olive oil and grill (or broil) until tender.

2. Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, garlic, anchovies, oregano and pepper. Mix well. Pour mixture over the vegetables, cover and marinate overnight.

Makes eight servings.

Nutrition information for one serving: 230 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 7 g protein, 36 g carbohydrates, 10 g dietary fiber and 72 mg sodium.

Rice Diet allowances: 1 1/2 fats plus 1 starch plus 3 vegetables.