The banana diet craze that swept Japan...

...is being promoted by the banana distributor, Dole.

The banana diet was created by an Osaka pharmacist, whose husband dropped 38 pounds by following it. Word spread and Japanese grocery stores couldn’t keep bananas on the shelves.

Now, Dole is trying to get Americans to join the bandwagon but with a healthier banana diet that helps you lose weight while enjoying the benefits of increased fruit consumption.

The Dole banana diet substitutes well-balanced meals and nutritious recipes for the “all you can eat” approach.

I've always felt that bananas got a bad rap in diet literature. When you think of it, so did fruits. The sugars in all fruits were considered dietary villians. But apply commonsense and fruits should be a large part of your losing weight strategy.

• The vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in fruit work synergistically with each other, so much so that your body absorbs these essentials much easier than in supplement or 'fortified' food form.
• You can attack hunger cravings a lot easier with a piece of fruit than with a granola bar or other snack food.

The Dole Banana Diet may be a little extreme, but the recipes on the web site include a lot of fruits which I give a two thumbs up.