Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Program for Transitioning to a Plant Based Diet


I am a book person. I love them, read them when I can, collect them and revel in them. So naturally I am going to refer you to books, lots of them. Please, check them out at the library or bookstore before purchasing them.

I want to introduce you to some programs that have helped people switch to a healthier diet. Is it easy? It probably won't be at first. Taste buds are a curious thing. They can run your life and keep you addicted to foods that in essence are shortening your life span. If you decide however that you will make the effort, you can retrain your taste buds to appreciate foods that you may have shunned to this point. You will be able to achieve sustained weight loss for the long haul. You will be able to prevent or even reverse disease. Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a fantastic program especially designed for people needing to improve their health quickly. In the process, people experience improvements in many other areas of their health and lives as well. Dr. Fuhrman treats thousands of patients each year and he also has countless testimonials of people who, once crippled by disease, are free and able to enjoy their lives once again. What I appreciate is that this book has the science and studies to back up his claims. Dr. Mehmet Oz, and many other distinguished physicians endorse this book and highly recommend it.

Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, Revised EditionDr. Fuhrman discusses how the Standard American Diet is killing millions of people each year. Yet, people do not want to change their diet, but would rather take a pill so that they can continue living and eating the way they would like. He states that Americans are overfed and malnourished. Because their diet is so depleted of nutrition, people continue to be hungry and continue to eat their high fat, processed, carcinogenic foods.

He also debunks all the diet fads that are so popular because they cater to the American appetite for animals and animal products (e.g., milk, eggs, cheese, etc.). They don't work for long-term weight loss because they do not solve the problem of malnutrition and if they do cause weight loss, they can double your chances of getting cancer (e.g., Atkins Diet). There is a correlation between meat consumption and developing cancer as well as many other diseases. The higher the consumption of meat, the higher the incidence of disease. Show me one country that consumes high quantities of meat and has zero or low incidence of disease. You won't find it!

The solution? Consume large quantities of phytonutrients: fruits, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, legumes in as close to their natural state as possible. Eat as much raw food as you can. Get rid of processed foods, They aren't good for you.

Dr. Fuhrman has two six week programs with simple recipes in his book. One is a more aggressive program and the other is less so. They both yield phenomenal results. You won't even have to starve yourself; you can eat to your heart's content. Soon, because your body is receiving all the necessary nutrients, you will find that you won't get as hungry for food as you did before. Dr. Fuhrman also has a website, blog, and a clinic which you can check out if you would like to be treated by him.

More programs and cook books to follow!

Enjoy the Journey!