British author, whose book about the high-fibre eating regimen became a bestseller, described as ‘utterly unique’

Audrey Eyton, the woman who created the F-plan diet, has died at the age of 82. The British author, who also founded Slimming magazine in 1970, was found dead at her home in Canterbury, Kent, on Monday.

News of her passing was confirmed by a trustee at the Matthew Eyton Animal Welfare Trust, which was set up for Eyton’s son in 1991. He paid tribute to the “committed champion for farmed animals” who promoted veganism long before it became mainstream.

Eyton invented the F-plan, a high-fibre, 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, in the 1980s, and published a book on it in 1982 that became an international bestseller. At the time it was considered a revolutionary idea and became a cultural phenomenon, a feat that the low-carb Atkins diet would repeat in 2000s.

Because adherents of the F-plan tend to feel fuller for longer than those eating other foods, the diet was found to reduce urges among people to overeat.

Since then, research has continued to indicate the health benefits of eating wholemeal bread and bran flakes, with a 2014 study suggesting that people who suffered a heart attack benefited from increasing their intake of fibre. Other studies have found links between high-fibre diets and the prevention of stroke and heart failure, as well as decreasing blood glucose and weight.

However, some followers of the diet found that they experienced excessive flatulence, while others disliked the texture of fibrous food. Nonetheless, it was lauded as a way to lose weight without going hungry.

The trustee, who did not give a name, said Eyton was “razor-sharp, extremely funny, and utterly unique” and would be “missed by all of us who knew her”.

“Audrey was a committed champion for farmed animals. She instinctively spotted a great campaign or great idea, and would work tirelessly on it until it succeeded,” the trustee said. “She was also a champion of women, and sought out female pro-animal campaigners to mentor and support.

“Audrey was a woman ahead of her time. She backed veganism and vegan organisations long before the movement became mainstream, and had faith that groups like Veganuary would drive the changes that protect animals and slow down climate change.”

Explaining why she created Slimming magazine in a 2013 interview with Lancashire Live, Eyton said: “My husband and I started what was the first magazine entirely devoted to dieting and slimming – there was no such thing then, though there’s quite a few now. No one imagined you could have a magazine just on slimming generally.”

On publishing the F-Plan Diet book, she said: “People really didn’t understand much about dietary fibre. It was the first British diet to be a big bestseller and sold four million copies. I toured the world. It was very successful in America and Australia and New Zealand – there were a lot of overseas editions. It was fun, but again, incredibly hard work.”

Later in life Eyton worked in animal welfare and campaigned against the animal agriculture industry. “I’m very committed to animals – factory farming is something I absolutely hate,” she told Lancashire Live.