Product Description

Don't settle for a diet that's mainly beige or white! Add some color to your diet and enjoy a level of health and energy you never dreamed possible.

In What Color Is Your Diet? renowned medical researcher David Heber, M.D., introduces Eat for Your Genes food plans -- revolutionary approaches incorporating the latest breakthroughs in nutritional and genetic research -- and his unique 7 Colors of Health food-selection system, which groups fruits and vegetables by the colorful, beneficial chemical substances they contain.

This groundbreaking book includes:

• DNA-compatible food plans that supercharge your health and help you lose excess body fat
• The ten best herbal remedies for everyday health problems
• Tips on colorizing your diet and twenty fully Color-Coded recipes
• Sample weekly menus, tips for dining out, and shopping lists

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #193341 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-01
• Released on: 2002-06-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.com Review
"Most Americans eat far too few foods with any color in them," says David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Instead, we tend to eat a high-fat, highly processed "beige diet" full of snack foods and refined grains (bread, cake, pastries) that don't fit the requirements of our genes. The average intake of fruits and vegetables is only 3 servings a day, when it should be 7 to 11 servings a day.

According to Heber, the varied colors in fruits and vegetables indicate "specific beneficial substances that help to prevent the common diseases that affect many of us as we get older." Damage to DNA leads to changes in our genes as we age that can result in diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Substances found in plant foods protect our DNA.

Heber has coded plant foods into seven colors, all of which have different health-protecting qualities: red, red-purple, orange, orange-yellow, yellow-green, green, and white-green. "Colorize your diet" to protect your DNA by eating at least one serving (one-half cup cooked or one cup raw) of a fruit or vegetable from each color each day. Huber also suggests that at least half your protein intake be soy. He includes diet plans for men (1,800 to 2,000 calories) and women (1,200 to 1,400 calories) and 19 recipes to get you started. Though the emphasis is on plant-based foods, most of his recipes are not vegetarian. --Joan Price

About the Author
David Heber, M.D., PH.D., is at the cutting edge of medical research, investigating how nutrition and genes interact to prevent common diseases. The founding director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, he is one of the most respected and widely published medical researchers in the country. He has been on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine since 1978 and is currently professor of medicine and public health. Dr. Heber is a director of the American Board of Nutrition. His main research interests are obesity treatment and nutrition for cancer prevention and treatment. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

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Customer Reviews

The Best Weight-Loss Plan
I cannot say enough good things about this book. Almost a year ago, my husband decided he needed to lose weight (his doctor had been telling him to do so for years; he was verging into diabetes despite being on Glucophage, Glucotrol, and Lipitor). My husband's one criterion was he wanted a diet that allowed him to eat frequently during the day because he didn't want to be hungry. Enter Heber's book!

Merely by increasing the number of vegetables and fruits that my husband ate, he crowded out the crap he'd been obliviously living on. He began to count calories because the results from merely eating more healthily a la Heber made him feel very positive. In six months, he lost sixty-five pounds. His cholesterol went from 220 (a number achieved with the help of those meds) to 125. He's kept the weight off five months now, but we are determined that he will be eating this way for life. We have a word in our household: Heberific. My husband's Park Avenue doctor phoned me and said: "I didn't recognize your husband from his numbers [meaning his blood test numbers]. They've never looked like this! You've added at least ten years to your husband's life, and really fifteen quality years. You are a hero!" I accepted the compliment because it's I who do most of the food preparation.

Now I go to the fruits-and-vegetable market almost every day. I too have made a game of tracking what color fruits and vegies my husband is eating (I composed a daily chart; I've noticed another reader said he did the same thing). I keep meaning to write Dr. Heber a thank-you letter but then I thought perhaps I should simply post my praise on Amazon.

I know Dr. Heber formulated this way of eating primarily to safeguard people from the major chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer) that are diet related, but this way of eating is fun and has had extraordinary results in my family. I've given this book to my parents (who are not overweight) and recommend it incessantly. I am not being hyperbolic when I say that five stars for this book isn't enough.

No gimmicks, but excellent direction
We're often told to "eat a good variety of vegetables and fruit" but that's not very specific. Heber makes it specific with his seven categories, asking you to eat at least one serving from each category each day. I made a little weekly checklist that I carry with me and treat the challenge as a game. As a result, I'm eating a much greater variety of vegetables and fruit and *more* vegetables and fruit--which crowds out other, less healthful foods. A very fine book, highly recommended.

Going for the Red (green, yellow and orange)!
At last! Not a "diet" book offering tricky schemes and cagey food manipulations but a nutritional lifestyle program based on scientific research and clinical investigations. Dr. Heber, a physician and researcher, tells us the story about the evolution and chemistry of food. He explains how our genes predict certain health and eating patterns. Why some of us hang onto fat (a survival adaptation). And what ancient man knew instinctively: how the vital colored substances found in fruits and vegetables helped us survive and how by consuming enough of the right quantities and colors today we can fight modern diseases and prolong life. Susan Bowerman's recipes are fabulous-delicious, and most importantly, easy to follow! That means even I-a notoriously uninspired cook-can serve up healthful dishes that look glamorous as well. Additionally, Dr. Heber's crayon box concept is a great way to start children on nutritious yet fun-filled paths to a lifetime of healthier choices and better eating habits. "What Color is Your Diet" is an essential read for anyone concerned about enhancing and protecting their health and the health of their family.