Our diet is spreading- and so are the waistlines of those eating it

In the book "Eat To Live," Joel Fuhrman discusses how the human body can adapt to any diet- whale blubber, hunter-gatherer (nuts, fruits, veggies), seafood and rice (Japan), Mediterranean diet (hummus, eggplant, lamb, olive oil) and live quite well. Any diet except one: the American diet.

This diet is referred to by alternative medicine practitioners as the Standard American Diet ("SAD" for short). Yes, sad indeed. Processed foods devoid of nutrients and packed with calories, sugar, preservatives, salt, the standard American diet is a sure path to weight gain and diabetes.

Now that our diet is spreading around the globe and indigenous populations are beginning to suffer from the same diseases Americans suffer from, it's getting harder and harder to deny that our diet is a major contributor to the suffering and disease in this country (and now beyond, as McDonald's and KFC work their way into more and more countries).

Here is an article by a man who treats soldiers all over the world, and comments on the differences in body type (due entirely to diet) in different parts of the world:
http://tinyurl.com/4mbhzos

I mean seriously, how bad for you is junk food when you can use a junk food diet as evidence in a legal defense?
http://www.snopes.com/legal/twinkie.asp
Contrary to popular belief, the defense was not arguing that the defendant murdered because he was eating junk food; he was arguing that the defendant was eating junk food because he was not in his right mind! The fact that the previously health-conscious man was now existing on twinkies and junk food was proof something was very, very wrong. Hmm.

You know, I can really relate to this. When I feel balanced, and grounded, and at peace, I eat well. It's kind of a chicken-egg thing. Do I feel that way because I'm eating well or am I eating well because I am more conscious? Perhaps both.

Don't get me wrong. I love junk food. I'm a reformed crapatarian, and I still indulge in a little crap from time to time, as it keeps me from completely falling off the bandwagon and eating crap all the time.

There are however 3 things I never compromise on: I never eat gluten (because of my autoimmune conditions) and I never eat MSG or nutrasweet. Because of these choices, and my practice of chi gung, I am able to live pain-free with no immune suppressants.

I was very sick- kidney failure, anemia, peripheral neuropathy, congestive heart failure, stroke, migraines, fever, joint pain, pleurisy, etc. So don't think "Oh she just wasn't very sick." I was very sick. I was on 9 drugs and chemo.

I am now on one drug- a half-dose of blood pressure medication. And I believe if I would clean up my diet just a little more and also relax more/ work less/ have more fun, I could be off that one pill as well, and feel even better.

Yes, eating junk food makes you feel good for a short while. I will not deny that I love a sugar high. But I'd rather feel great all day than feel giddy for an hour then crash, and pay for it with my health. Don't be seduced by a twinkie! It's not worth it!

Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient,
is the author of "How Can You *Not* Laugh at a Time Like This?"
Get Carla's Book at Amazon.com
www.thesingingpatient.com

The only diet book you'll ever need

Of all the diet books i've read, this one is the most grounded, non-faddish book. it is full of citations (references to research) and matter-of-fact, down-to-earth, solid advice. Dr. Fuhrman researched more than 2,000 studies on diet before writing this book. He is a lifelong athlete and -hard to believe in America- has never had a sip of soda. He really practices whawt he preaches.

Frequently cited is the China study, research on folks in rural china who live very long, healthy lives.

It's becoming clearer all the time that a great deal of the health problems in the US are caused or at the very least aggravated by what we put in our mouths. The good news, then, is that we can reverse a lot of illnesses that modern medicine has "no cure" for by simply changing what we eat.

Of course the problem is, most of us are actually addicted to the very things that are killing us, so it's going to be hard to give those things up. Just like an alcholic, or a smoker, sometimes there's a food monkey on your back.

Dr Fuhrman, after much research, has come up with a simple but effective plan. It can be summed up in one sentence: eat plants, nuts, and beans, and nothing else (and your health will vastly improve, possibly even reversing illness altogether).

It ticked me off at first, but that was because i knew he was right and i didn't want to change my diet yet again. but i am mostly following his suggestions and while I have not seen a sudden reverse trend in my lab tests to the better, i look better- i get lots of compliments lately! and i've lost a few pounds. i've got to get chocolate out of my life, and stop soda altogether (I gave up diet soda 2 years ago, and have 1 or 2 regular sodas a week)- those are my last remaining vices. nothing redeeming in soda, and no one needs chocolate daily, even in small amounts. sigh.

The only shortcoming in this book, in my opinion, and it's a very small shortcoming, is that Dr. Fuhrman never ate junk food, so he has no idea how hard it is to change your evil ways and engrained habits. At first, I thought his book might be better received if he would be less hardcore about it, and let people slowly change their habits. But now I think that would have watered down his message, and that the only way for him to say what he needed to say was to be completely uncompromising.

In a nutshell, best book about diet out there. It's not so much abotu weight loss, but changing your habits for the purpose of improving your health. A lot of people say they want to lose weight "for health reasons" but really, they just want to lose weight without sounding vain. This book tells you how to eat for health reasons and oh by the way you'll probably lose weight.

there is also the book the lupus recovery diet, which suggests a low fat vegan (no animal products) diet. that author worked with the author of eat to live so there is some overlap.

Eat to live is slightly cheaper and has more scientific content. The lupus recovery diet has more patient testimony. Both have recipes.