Joel Fuhrman - Eat To Live

Eat to Live 45

The bottom line about healthy fats is that raw nuts and seeds, av-

ocados, and unsalted olives (if you can find them) contain healthy

fats. However, you should consume a limited amount of these foods,

especially if you wish to lose weight. Also remember that oil, includ-

ing olive oil, does not contain the nutrients and phytonutrients that

were in the original olive. The oil has little nutrients (except a little

vitamin E) and a negligible amount of phytochemical compounds. If

you eat the quantities of oil permitted on the typical Mediterranean

diet, where all the vegetables are cooked in oil, you will have diffi-

culty taking off the weight you need to lose.

You can add a little bit of olive oil to your diet if you are thin and

exercise a lot. However, the more oil you add, the more you are low-

ering the nutrient-per-calorie density of your diet —and that is not

your objective, as it does not promote health.

The "Magic" of Fiber - A Critical Nutrient

When we think of fiber, we usually think of bran or Metamucil.

something that we take to prevent constipation and that tastes like

cardboard. Change that thinking. Fiber is a vital nutrient, essential to

human health. Unfortunately, the American diet is dangerously de-

ficient in fiber, a deficiency that leads to many health problems (for

example, hemorrhoids, constipation, varicose veins, and diabetes)

and is a major cause of cancer. As you can see, if you get fiber natu-

rally in your diet from great-tasting food, you get much more than

just constipation relief.

When you eat mostly natural plant foods, such as fruits, vegeta-

bles, and beans, you get large amounts of various types of fiber.

These foods are rich in complex carbohydrates and both insoluble

and water-soluble fibers. The fibers slow down glucose absorption

and control the rate of digestion. Plant fibers have complex physio-

logical effects in the digestive tract that offer a variety of benefits,

such as lowering cholesterol.^35

Because of fiber, and because precious food components haven't

been lost through processing, natural plant foods fill you up and do

not cause abnormal physiological cravings or hormonal imbalances.