Re: Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman

[Guest guest]

On 5/31/2011 10:58 AM, Dacia wrote:

>Has anyone tried the "Eat

to Live" way of eating proposed by Dr. Fuhrman? (http://www.drfuhrman.com/)

Some friends of ours visited us recently. They follow this way

of eating. Have lost a lot of weight and say they are feeling

healthier too.

They cooked meals for us -- and we are going to be giving it a

try for the summer. Bought two of the books.

Basic principles: Eat veggies and fruit. Eat lots of beans.

No animal products of any kind (except chicken eggs). Goal is

to eat 1 pound of raw veggies a day and 1 pound of cooked

veggies a day.

Actually, his goal is to get people off ALL animal foods and allows

those eggs only for beginners and not daily. His plan is one of the

stricter vegan no added fat (including oil for cooking), very

limited starch (potatoes, whole grains, etc.) plans out there. He

also limits salt as well as just about every processed food out

there except for those he sells at his site, all low salt, vegan. He

also highly recommends various nutritional supplements &

vitamins, also for sale on his site.

He charges for his on-line forums, but there's a busy Eat to Live

group:

Eat-2-Live/

and their archives are loaded with recipes.

He does have a free weekly newsletter and frequently sends other emails in-between. You can sign up at his web site:

http://www.drfuhrman.com

and a blog:

http://www.diseaseproof.com/

Most people quit his program before long because they really need miss starches, and switch over to the McDougall program:

http://www.drmcdougall.com

The McDougall forum is filled with threads from people who left Fuhrman's program.

Voisin has been putting info and recipes for Eat to Live on her websites for years. This page from her main site has this description of the program:

http://fatfreevegan.com/fatfree-faqs/

and you can find loads of appropriate recipes at:

http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/01/10/eat-to-live-recipes/

From 's site:

What is a fatfree vegan diet?

People who follow a fat-free vegan diet (technically a very

low-fat diet) eat no animal products or added oils; most either

limit or eliminate high-fat plant foods such as nuts, seeds,

avocados, and coconuts.

All foods contain some fats, so there is no such thing as a

completely fat-free diet, nor is one desirable. The body needs

fat, but it’s best to get it from healthy sources such as nuts,

seeds, avocados, beans, and the trace amounts that are in all

fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, recent studies have

suggested that our bodies absorb the nutrients from vegetables

better when we ingest some fat at the same time, so it’s wise to

include some healthy fats in salads. (For more information, see

Dr. Greger’s newsletter.)

Why follow a fatfree vegan diet?

Diets low in animal protein and fat but high in legumes,

vegetables, and fruit have been shown to help people lose

weight, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, protect against

cancer, and reverse diabetes.

What foods are allowed/not allowed?

Low-fat vegan diet plans vary, but the guidelines for this

website are as follows:

Ingredients Not Permitted:

Meat

Poultry

Fish/Seafood

Meat stocks

Honey

Gelatin (product of animal bones)

Marshmallows (a gelatin product)

Bonito flakes (seafood product)

Worcestershire sauce (usually contains anchovies, use veg

version)

Cheese

Milk (from animal sources)

Sour cream/yogurt/other milk products

Eggs

Mayonnaise

Fat/margarine/lecithin/oils (including olive oil, canola

oil, coconut oil)

Chocolate bars, chips or morsels

Carob bars, chips or morsels

Restricted Ingredients:

The following are high-fat vegetable foods that should be

limited. They should not make up a large portion of the dish (a

good benchmark is that the overall dish should be less than 15%

fat) and there should be a good reason for including one or more

of these items (i.e. it’s a spectacular dish that would suffer

without it).

Nuts (except chestnuts, water chestnuts, and ginko nuts)

Nut butters

Sesame oil (in tiny amounts–i.e. drops, rather than

teaspoons)

Seeds

Seed butters (e.g. tahini)

Olives

Avocados

Coconut

Full-fat tofu and tempeh

Note: The following soy products are permitted without

restriction:

nonfat/lowfat soymilk (less than 15% fat by calories)

TVP (textured vegetable protein — defatted soy)

Please indicate vegan versions of ingredients; for instance,

use “soy milk” instead of “milk” or “rice syrup” instead of

“honey.”

What are the different low-fat vegan diet plans?

While there are several plans that advocate vegetarian or

near-vegetarian low-fat diets, the three that are basically

vegan (or recommend a vegan option) are Dr. McDougall’s McDougall

Program and Maximum

Weight Loss Program and Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat

to Live. All three eliminate processed oils and fats (such

as margarine) and focus on eating unrefined plant foods.

What are the differences between these programs?

The two McDougall programs are discussed in detail at the fatfree.com

website, and a complete description of the program is available

at the McDougall

website. Basically, both McDougall plans are starch-based;

that is, most of the daily calories come from grains, potatoes,

and winter squash, while beans and fruits are limited.

The Eat to Live 6-Week

program is similar to the Maximum Weight Loss Plan in that foods

containing refined flours (breads, etc.) are eliminated. The

goal of Eat to Live is to eat foods that have a very high

nutrition to calorie ratio and avoid foods that don’t provide

much nutrition for the calories they contain. Fruits and

vegetables pack the most nutrition, so the diet is based on

them. The goal is to try to eat at least 1 pound daily of raw

vegetables; 1 pound of cooked, non-starchy vegetables; 4

servings of fruit; and 1 cup of beans. Those foods are

unlimited.

The plan limits other foods: 1 cup maximum of starchy

vegetables or whole grains, 1 ounce of raw nuts and seeds, and 1

tablespoon of ground flaxseeds. All animal products and refined

oils are off limits, and refined grain products, such as bread,

are not encouraged. After a person has reached a healthy weight,

very limited amounts of less-healthy food may be added in (for

those who absolutely will not give them up.)

This plan is somewhat like McDougall’s Maximum Weight Loss

program (MWLP). The biggest difference is that while McDougall

limits beans and allows unlimited unprocessed grains, it’s the

opposite for Eat to Live. Dr. Fuhrman says that beans provide

more nutrition (not just protein, but micronutrients and

phytochemicals) per calorie than grains and potatoes do. On the

MWLP, McDougall doesn’t allow any nuts or seeds, but Fuhrman

says that the good fats in limited amounts of (unroasted,

unsalted) nuts and seeds are important. One more difference is

that Fuhrman doesn’t limit fruit, while McDougall limits it to 2

per day. Fuhrman does say to stay away from dried fruit until

you’ve lost all the weight you need to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you don't think you could become a no-added fat vegan, then this

isn't the program for you. It's a whole new way of living.

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

In doing the reading of what Dr. Fuhrman advocates; I know that this is not a lifestyle that I can follow for the rest of my life. He says we are to be eating a lot of beans. I HATE beans. Always have. Always will. Won't willingly pass my lips. (Unless of course they are from Jelly Belly!)My hope is that in trying to follow Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations as well as I can and adapt to my tastes; that I will be making vegetables and fruit the main focus of my eating/meals. There are some things that I am just not sure that I want to completely eliminate from my life for the rest of my life. But I have purchased some vegetarian cookbooks and will start incorporating those

recipes into our eating. Dacia<>< ". . . some people brought a deaf man to Jesus." Mark 7:32Lutheran Deaf Mission Societywww.LDMSPah.typepad.comSee Jesus . . . Serve Jesus