William Banting

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William Banting

Born 1797
Died March 16, 1878
Kensington, London, England
Occupation Undertaker, coffin maker
Nationality England, United Kingdom
Genres Nonfiction
Subjects Low-carbohydrate diet
Spouse(s) Mary Ann (wife)
Children Amelia (daughter)

William Banting (1797 – 16 March 1878)[1][2], was an obese English undertaker who may have been one of the first people to reduce his weight by going on a formal low-carbohydrate diet.[3] His method for doing so was supervised by Dr. William Harvey, who notified the public of his success in 1863.[4][3]

"Only three men in history have been immortalized by having their names enter the English language as verbs. ... the third was the subject of this article—William Banting..." —Barry Groves, PhD[3]


In 1863, Banting wrote a booklet called Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public which contained the particular plan for the diet he followed. Banting accounted all of his attempted fasts and diets in his past, and ultimately proposed his own plan. His plan called for four meals per day consisting of protein, greens, fruits, and dry wine. It urged his followers to avoid foods containing starch or saccharine matter. It also included milk, sugar, beer, and butter. Banting’s pamphlet was incredibly successful for years to come, and would be used as a model for modern diets. [5][4] Initially, he published the booklet at his personal expense. The self-published edition was so popular that he determined to sell it to the general public. The third and later editions were published by Harrison, London. The pamphlet's popularity was such that the question "do you bant?" referred to his method, and eventually to dieting in general.[3] Banting's booklet remains in print as of 2007.[6]

[edit] Modern view

Banting was publicly vilified for advancing a low-carbohydrate diet and false rumors were spread, claiming his diet had destroyed his health.[7] Banting's work influenced contemporary physicians and scientists investigating low-carb diets. The attacks on Banting prefigured similar rumors spread about Robert Atkins, and the Atkins Foundation maintains Banting's works on its website.[5]

Gary Taubes' recent study of carbohydrates begins with a prologue entitled A brief history of Banting and discusses Banting at some length.[8] Discussions of low-carbohydrate diets often begin with a discussion of Banting.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Banting was a distant relative of Frederick Banting, the co-discover of insulin.[8] Banting's body is buried with his wife's and daughter's at Brompton Cemetery, London, England.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ (2006) Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. ISBN 0-141-02715-0. 
  2. ^ William Banting Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Archived from the original on 2004. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  3. ^ a b c d Groves, PhD, Barry (2002). WILLIAM BANTING: The Father of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet. Second Opinions. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  4. ^ a b "CORPULENCE". Britannica (11). (1911). Retrieved on 2007-12-26. 
  5. ^ a b Letter on Corpulence by William Banting, 4th Ed. (1869). Atkins. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  6. ^ Banting, William [1863] (2005). Letter on Corpulence. USA: New York: Cosimo Classics, 64 pages. ISBN 978-1-59605-085-3. Retrieved on 2007-12-28. 
  7. ^ William Banting (1869). Letter On Corpulence, Addressed To The Public, 4th, London, England: Harrison. Retrieved on 2008-01-02. 
  8. ^ a b Taubes, Gary (2007). Good Calories, Bad Calories. New York City and Toronto: Borzai Books, division of Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-4078-0. Retrieved on 2008-01-02. 
  9. ^ Astrup A, Meinert Larsen T, Harper A (2004). "Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets: hoax or an effective tool for weight loss?". Lancet 364 (9437): 897–9. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16986-9. PMID 15351198. 
  10. ^ Bliss M (2005). "Resurrections in Toronto: the emergence of insulin". Horm. Res. 64 Suppl 2: 98–102. doi:10.1159/000087765. PMID 16286782. 
  11. ^ Bray GA (2005). "Is there something special about low-carbohydrate diets?". Ann. Intern. Med. 142 (6): 469–70. PMID 15767625. 
  12. ^ Focardi M, Dick GM, Picchi A, Zhang C, Chilian WM (2007). "Restoration of coronary endothelial function in obese Zucker rats by a low-carbohydrate diet". Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 292 (5): H2093–9. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.01202.2006. PMID 17220180. 
  13. ^ Arora S, McFarlane SI (2004). "Review on "Atkins Diabetes Revolution: The Groundbreaking Approach to Preventing and Controlling Type 2 Diabetes" by Mary C. Vernon and Jacqueline A. Eberstein". Nutr Metab (Lond) 1 (1): 14. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-1-14. PMID 15535891. 
  14. ^ William Banting. Find A Grave. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.

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