Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman
Authors: Joel Fuhrman
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had always considered myself a vegetarian but never liked vegetables! So at first, the whole vegetable thing was difficult for me. In the beginning I ate a lot of the same things over and over again because I liked them the best. It probably took me a month to get over the toxic cravings. Then I began to enjoy the natural flavors of food, and I liked everything. Kale, which I had never tried before, became my favorite vegetable. I never felt hungry.
I enjoy every day of my life now. I exercise. I garden. I cook. I do everything that I couldn’t do for more than ten years of my life. I look and feel healthy. It’s wonderful. I’m having a love affair with a plant-based diet.
When I think back to how sick I was, it is frightening. In addition to my cardiac ailments, I suffered from daily migraines and had bleeding ulcers from all the medications that I was on. Today I weigh 120 pounds, walk three miles a day, go to yoga classes, and enjoy life immensely. I know I would not be alive if it was not for Dr. Fuhrman’s program. I am so grateful.
You have to just do it. Keep your eyes on the prize. I always said that to myself every day—“Think of what lies ahead.”
T here are clear reasons why heart attacks and cancer prevail as our number one and number two killers. Let’s examine them.
The American Diet: Designed for Disease
Americans currently consume about 25.5 percent of their calories from fiberless animal foods and another 62 percent from highly processed refined carbohydrates and extracted oils. 1 Almost half of all vegetables consumed are potatoes, and half of the potatoes consumed are in the form of fries or chips. Furthermore, potatoes are one of the least nutritious vegetables.
The same studies that show the anti-cancer effects of green leafy vegetables and fruits and beans suggest that potato-heavy diets are not healthy and show a positive association with colon cancer. 2 Possibly this association exists because of the way potatoes are consumed—fried or with butter or other dangerous fats. Excluding potatoes, Americans consume a mere 5 percent of their calories from fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
U.S. FOOD CONSUMPTION BY CALORIES 3
100 CALORIES OF
BAKED POTATO
BAKED SWEET POTATO
FROZEN SPINACH
Protein
2.1 g
1.7 g
12.2 g
Fiber
1.6 g
3.0 g
17.36 g
Calcium
5.4 mg
28 mg
462 mg
Iron
.38 mg
.45 mg
8.5 mg
Magnesium
27 mg
20 mg
242 mg
Zinc
.31 mg
.29 mg
1.8 mg
Selenium
.32 mcg
.7 mcg
5.8 mcg
Vitamin C
13.8 mg
24 mg
100 mg
Vitamin E
.43 mg
.28 mg
4.0 mg
Vitamin A
near zero
21,822 IU
32,324 IU
Volume
1 cup
½ cup
3 cups
Cheese consumption increased 180 percent between 1970 and 2003, and cheese is the primary source of saturated fat in our diet. 4 Convenience foods have probably been the driving force behind this increase. In fact, two-thirds of our nation’s cheese production is for commercially prepared foods, such as pizza, tacos, nachos, fast-food meals, spreads, sauces, and packaged snacks.
From convenience foods to fast-food restaurants, our fast-paced society has divorced itself from healthful eating. It may be convenient to pick up soda, burgers, fries, or pizza, but that convenience is not without its price; the result is that we are sicker than ever, and our medical costs are skyrocketing out of control.
I insist that our low consumption of unrefined plant foods is largely responsible for our dismal mortality statistics. 5 Most of us perish prematurely as a result of our dietary folly.
THE MAJOR KILLERS OF AMERICANS
PERCENT OF ALL DEATHS 6
Heart attacks, diabetes, and strokes
40
All cancers
22
MAJOR FOODS: U.S. PER CAPITA FOOD SUPPLY, 2008 7
PERCENTAGE BY CALORIES
Meats
14.7
Eggs
1.4
Dairy
11.9
Fruits and vegetables
5.4
White potatoes
2.5
Refined oils
21.1
Sweeteners
17.2
Wheat flour (over 95% white)
16.3
Other processed foods
9.6
Populations with low death rates from the major killer diseases—populations that almost never
I enjoy every day of my life now. I exercise. I garden. I cook. I do everything that I couldn’t do for more than ten years of my life. I look and feel healthy. It’s wonderful. I’m having a love affair with a plant-based diet.
When I think back to how sick I was, it is frightening. In addition to my cardiac ailments, I suffered from daily migraines and had bleeding ulcers from all the medications that I was on. Today I weigh 120 pounds, walk three miles a day, go to yoga classes, and enjoy life immensely. I know I would not be alive if it was not for Dr. Fuhrman’s program. I am so grateful.
You have to just do it. Keep your eyes on the prize. I always said that to myself every day—“Think of what lies ahead.”
T here are clear reasons why heart attacks and cancer prevail as our number one and number two killers. Let’s examine them.
The American Diet: Designed for Disease
Americans currently consume about 25.5 percent of their calories from fiberless animal foods and another 62 percent from highly processed refined carbohydrates and extracted oils. 1 Almost half of all vegetables consumed are potatoes, and half of the potatoes consumed are in the form of fries or chips. Furthermore, potatoes are one of the least nutritious vegetables.
The same studies that show the anti-cancer effects of green leafy vegetables and fruits and beans suggest that potato-heavy diets are not healthy and show a positive association with colon cancer. 2 Possibly this association exists because of the way potatoes are consumed—fried or with butter or other dangerous fats. Excluding potatoes, Americans consume a mere 5 percent of their calories from fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
U.S. FOOD CONSUMPTION BY CALORIES 3
100 CALORIES OF
BAKED POTATO
BAKED SWEET POTATO
FROZEN SPINACH
Protein
2.1 g
1.7 g
12.2 g
Fiber
1.6 g
3.0 g
17.36 g
Calcium
5.4 mg
28 mg
462 mg
Iron
.38 mg
.45 mg
8.5 mg
Magnesium
27 mg
20 mg
242 mg
Zinc
.31 mg
.29 mg
1.8 mg
Selenium
.32 mcg
.7 mcg
5.8 mcg
Vitamin C
13.8 mg
24 mg
100 mg
Vitamin E
.43 mg
.28 mg
4.0 mg
Vitamin A
near zero
21,822 IU
32,324 IU
Volume
1 cup
½ cup
3 cups
Cheese consumption increased 180 percent between 1970 and 2003, and cheese is the primary source of saturated fat in our diet. 4 Convenience foods have probably been the driving force behind this increase. In fact, two-thirds of our nation’s cheese production is for commercially prepared foods, such as pizza, tacos, nachos, fast-food meals, spreads, sauces, and packaged snacks.
From convenience foods to fast-food restaurants, our fast-paced society has divorced itself from healthful eating. It may be convenient to pick up soda, burgers, fries, or pizza, but that convenience is not without its price; the result is that we are sicker than ever, and our medical costs are skyrocketing out of control.
I insist that our low consumption of unrefined plant foods is largely responsible for our dismal mortality statistics. 5 Most of us perish prematurely as a result of our dietary folly.
THE MAJOR KILLERS OF AMERICANS
PERCENT OF ALL DEATHS 6
Heart attacks, diabetes, and strokes
40
All cancers
22
MAJOR FOODS: U.S. PER CAPITA FOOD SUPPLY, 2008 7
PERCENTAGE BY CALORIES
Meats
14.7
Eggs
1.4
Dairy
11.9
Fruits and vegetables
5.4
White potatoes
2.5
Refined oils
21.1
Sweeteners
17.2
Wheat flour (over 95% white)
16.3
Other processed foods
9.6
Populations with low death rates from the major killer diseases—populations that almost never
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