I read about the Shangri-la diet on the Freakonomics website and downloaded the PDF that contains Seth's description of what he did, how he felt and why he thinks he felt it. No, I haven't read the book.
I thought that it might be a good appetite suppression aid because it satisfies hunger without spiking your appetite. I think Seth mentioned even holding his nose to take the oil and so he made sure it WAS absolutely tasteless.
I've been taking swigs of vinegar during the day (before meals) and it doesn't taste any better than the oil would. Could it be that vinegar acts the same - no one ever craves vinegar. No one ever has a craving for oil by itself.
The vinegar has the same effect as metforman (sp?), a drug my doctor recommended. It's just cheaper. I read about it when I read about studies done by Carol Johnston at Arizona State, Mesa. The vinegar increases insulin sensitivity; losing a few pounds was just a side effect.