The author of Eat for Life is a celebrity doctor and best-selling author. He calls the diet a breakthrough program for longevity, disease reversal, and sustained weight loss. He says it is possible to prevent and cure many diseases, including cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases. He says it is a miracle in our modern world.
It would be a miracle if the diet could do that. The book didn't convince me that it was true. He provides over 40 pages of references. The evidence is overwhelming and the science is settled, but it isn't. Many of the associations shown in his references are not clear evidence of causality. The diet has not been evaluated.
Poor diet is the true cause of disease, according to him. If you follow his diet, you will be able to attain and maintain perfect health. The diet will reverse chronic diseases if you already have them.
The cause of aging.
His view of what science has done is overly optimistic. One of his statements is more circumspect.
Scientific research shows that biological aging is a manageable condition.
He operates under the assumption that science has determined the cause of aging. The science of aging has suggested a lot of possible factors but has not been able to determine which are real causes and which are just correlations. Jay Olshansky once said that the secret to aging is not a secret.
He thinks science has figured out the four processes that drive aging.
There is chronic inflammation.
Damage to the genes and the cells.
Damage to the cell's genes leads to the loss of ability to divide.
Due to stem cell function, tissue repair capacity has been reduced.
He thinks that inflammation and oxidative damage are responsible for a lot of chronic diseases. He says they are caused by eating too much calories. He claims they can be controlled by exercise. The book assumes that calories will be restricted when the focus is on micronutrients. It claims.
Caloric restriction with adequate micronutrient intake is the most consistent intervention that slows or hinders these hallmarks of aging.
Is this true? A lawyer would object to assumptions not in evidence.
What about Telomeres?
He says that telomere shortening is an indicator of biological aging. That is still controversial. Correlation isn't a cause. Telomere shortening isn't the cause of aging. In some animals, the telomeres can be shortened with age. The bat whose telomeres don't change with age is more resistant to disease than other bat species.
Is there insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals?
A study shows that Americans don't get enough vitamins and minerals. It claims that over half of Americans don't have enough vitamins C, K, A, and calcium. The study was based on self- reported estimates and average requirements. It didn't show that insufficient intake had an impact on health. We don't know what the optimum levels of micronutrients are.
He fails to mention that the study showed that a lot of Americans exceeded the tolerable upper limits for some micronutrients.
He praises the vegan diet but acknowledges that it requires supplements for adequate nutrition. His diet is a new and improved vegan diet.
To eat and to avoid.
The diet requires eating these every day.
A large salad.
A half-cup serving of beans/legumes.
There are at least three fresh fruits.
At least an ounce of nuts and seeds.
A large serving of green vegetables, steamed or as an ingredient in a soup or entree is required.
These foods are not allowed.
Red meat, barbecued meats, and processed meats.
Fried food.
Ice cream, cheese, butter, milk.
Soft drinks, sugar, and artificial sweeteners are used.
There are white flour products.
It is oil.
He claims that once you get used to the diet, you will change. It will be delicious and you will not miss the foods you used to eat. Maybe.
There are testimonials, recipes, menus, etc.
The book has testimonials from his patients. He says no one who followed his diet ever had a heart attack. He offers help in the form of recipes. He has developed many products that he sells in his online store, including foods, supplements, vitamins, salad dressings, superfood powders, nutrition bars, and much more. He offers a discount for members.
G-bombs.
The term "G-Bombs" was invented by Fuhrman as a way to remember the 6 best cancer-fighting foods. Will you avoid cancer if you eat these every day? Maybe. There is no clear evidence. Most conventional diet advice includes these foods.
The scores of the Nutrient IQ.
I was not happy with his table of scores based on serving sizes. This looks very sciencey and precise, but that is deceptive. He compiled the scores himself. Whole Foods Markets use older ANDI scores, but he says they are more reliable. The ANDI is an index that shows the amount of nutrition per calories. Who invented the ANDI scale? The man himself, Joel Fuhrman!
Many foods with low scores are good for you. Coffee, which gets a score of 2, is known to be the number 1 source of antioxidants in the American diet, and his "G-bombs" score is far lower than leafy greens. His vegan bias is shown by giving meats a score of zero.
He says the scores are for men and women, and children younger than 12 should use 1.75. How does he know? How does he know about this? There are more than 34 micronutrients, but they have not been quantified. We don't know which ones are in which foods.
Know how much each affects health.
At one point, Fuhrman admits that a healthy diet should include items that are not on the list, but that it is not enough to just track the scores.
There was insufficient evidence.
Fuhrman's claims are extraordinary, but they must be supported by evidence and the evidence he presents is not compelling. Craig Good's book Relax and Enjoy Your Food was more reasonable when I read it. Food is more than just nutrition. It is one of the great pleasures of life and its social and cultural meanings are important too.
Is Fuhrman's diet better than the standard vegan diet? We don't know yet. Where are the controlled studies comparing their results?
I don't think most people would like a restrictive diet that requires a lot of shopping and chopping. I don't like eating kale and I'm not sure giving up meat and dairy is in my best interest.
Betty White was in good health until her death at 99. She said she tries to avoid anything green.
You can buy an e-book.
Dr. Hall has a video course.
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