Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman Page A

have overweight members—consume more than 75 percent of their calories from unrefined plant substances. This is at least ten times more than what the average American consumes.
UNREFINED PLANT FOOD CONSUMPTION VS. THE KILLER DISEASES 8

     
    So why is this the case? Why do we see so much heart disease and cancer in wealthier societies? Is it animal products that are so deadly? Are refined carbohydrates solely to blame? Or is it just that plant foods are so miraculously wonderful at protecting us against disease? Or is it all three?
    Obviously, the economically poorer regions of the world have significant public health problems: poor sanitation; poverty and malnutrition; high infant-mortality rates; high rates of infectious disease, including AIDS, parasitic diseases, and even tuberculosis. However, in spite of all these things that cause an early death, if we look at the cause-of-death statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) for people between the ages of fifty-five and seventy-five, we find very few cancer deaths and heart attack deaths in those poor societies.
    The diseases of poverty are mostly infectious diseases and are found in areas of the world with compromised nutrition. Heart attacks and the most common cancers (breast, colon, prostate) are found in rich societies where nutritional extravagance is the rule. Nowhere in the world today can we find a society that combines economic wealth with a high intake and variety of unrefined plant foods.
    Can you imagine the health potential of a society that would be able to enjoy excellent sanitation, emergency medical care, refrigeration, clean water, flush toilets, and availability of fresh produce year-round and yet avoid nutritional ignorance and nutritional extravagance? We have this opportunity today, an unprecedented opportunity in human history, the opportunity to live a long and healthy life without the fear of disease. This opportunity can be yours.

Nutritional Powerhouses: Plant Foods
     
    Natural plant foods, though usually carbohydrate-rich, also contain protein and fats. On average, 25 percent of the calories in vegetables are from protein. Romaine lettuce, for example, is richin both protein and essential fatty acids, giving us those healthy fats our bodies require. For more information about essential fats and the protein content of vegetables and various other foods, see chapter five.
    Many large-scale epidemiological studies have shown conclusively that certain plant foods play a role in protecting the body against diseases that affect—and kill—at least 500,000 Americans each year. There is no longer any question about the importance of fruits and vegetables in our diet. The greater the quantity and assortment of fruits and vegetables consumed, the lower the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. 9 There is still some controversy about which foods cause which cancers and whether certain types of fat are the culprits with certain cancers, but there’s one thing we know for sure: raw vegetables and fresh fruits have powerful anti-cancer agents. Studies have repeatedly shown the correlation between consumption of these foods and a lower incidence of various cancers, including those of the breast, colon, rectum, lung, stomach, prostate, and pancreas. 10 This means that your risk of cancer decreases with an increased intake of fruits and vegetables, and the earlier in life you start eating large amounts of these foods, the more protection you get.
    Humans are genetically adapted to expect a high intake of natural and unprocessed plant-derived substances. Cancer is a disease of maladaptation. It results primarily from a body’s lacking critical substances found in different types of vegetation, many of which are still undiscovered, that are metabolically necessary for normal protective function. Natural foods unadulterated by man are highly complex—so complex that the exact structure and the majority of compounds they contain are not