Eating Rules

The following are four sets of "Eating Rules" that may be of assistance to JRC staff members in their projects to lower cholesterol and/or lose weight.

For cholesterol lowering, we recommend you follow the rules proposed by Dr. Esselstyn, who has had the best success in reversing heart disease.

For lowering weight, we give two sets of recommendations - a set by Dr. Fuhrman and a set by Dr. McDougall. There are some differences between the recommendations by Drs. Fuhrman and McDougall for maximal weight loss. We cannot say which set is the better set of recommendations.

1. Four Lifestyle Rules (based on Michael Anderson's acronym, RAVE

   1. No Refined products (This is a very difficult rule to follow strictly. A number of refined foods have been approved by Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. McDougall. So the interpretation of this should perhaps be to minimize the use of refined, as compared with unrefined foods.)

   2. No Animal products

   3. No Vegetable oils

   4. Exercise at least 30 minutes per day
       

2. Eating Rules to Lower Cholesterol (Approved by Dr. and Ann Esselstyn)
   
   The items in this list are arranged in order of importance:

   1. Do not eat animal food (this includes fish and chicken)

   2. Do not eat dairy (including yogurt, sherbet, skimmed milk)

   3. Do not eat oil (including olive oil)

   4. Do not eat white flour products. The ingredients must be whole grain:  whole wheat, whole rye, spelt, brown rice, etc.

   5. Do not eat avocados (including guacamole) or coconuts. Eat olives in moderation.

   6. Do not eat nuts (including peanut butter). Small amounts of walnuts are all right if you do not have heart disease or if you are exercising and losing weight.

   7. Eat sugar rarely

   8. Do not drink fruit juices. Instead eat fruit.

   9. Do not drink beverages with added sugar

   10. When eating out, ask for food that contains no animal food (meat, fish, dairy) and that is prepared without oil and that has no added oil.
        

3. Eating Rules suggested in Dr. Fuhrman's book, "Eat to Live"

   1. Give preference to foods with high nutrient and fiber density. The relative nutrient densities of major food types, are explained in Eat to Live, pp. 120-121

   2. Eat unlimited quantities of raw vegetables, including raw starches such as carrots. Begin each lunch and dinner with a salad or some raw vegetables. Also eat as much eggplant, onions and mushrooms as you want.

   3. Eat the salad and green vegetables first, before eating other parts of the meal (to fill up the stomach first)

   4. Try to eat a pound of salad a day. Dr. Fuhrman suggests the motto "The salad is the main course." Change your understanding as to what is the main course in your lunch or dinner.

   5. Try to eat a pound of green vegetables a day. One suggestion is to eat a huge portion of steamed green vegetables with dinner. Dr. Fuhrman states that frozen vegetables are fine to eat. He encourages eating a variety of greens and says they go well with mushrooms, onion, garlic, and stewed tomatoes.

   6. Eliminate refined starches, such as white bread, white rice and ordinary pasta (made from refined flour) or limit them to once per week.

   7. If necessary to help you lose weight, also limit unrefined, cooked, high-starch grains and vegetables to one cup per day (e.g. one corn on the cob, one baked potato, one cup of brown rice, or one sweet potato). This rule is only for those who need to lose weight at a rapid rate or who have a metabolism that makes it very difficult to lose weight. Dr. Fuhrman suggests that most of your unrefined starch composition should come from starchy vegetables (such as butternut or acorn squash, corn, turnips, parsnips, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes) rather than from starchy grains such as pasta and rice.
      
      When you do eat starchy grains, be sure you eat the unrefined grains.
      (1) For pastas, eat those made with whole wheat.
      (2) When eating breads eat whole wheat bread (the list of ingredients must say "whole wheat" or "sprouted wheat" as the first ingredient). Thin whole wheat pita is a good choice of bread because it is less bread and can hold healthful stuffings such as vegetables, eggplant and bean spreads.
      (3) When eating rice, eat brown rice or wild rice, rather than white rice.

   8. Eat a cup of beans everyday - more if you want. Suggestions:  put a cup of canned chickpeas or other beans on your lunch salad and/or eat vegetable soups that contain beans; and eat main dishes such as eggplant and beans, mushrooms and beans, greens and beans. Soup consumption has been found to be associated with weight loss. Soups reduce appetite by filling your stomach.

   9. Avoid high fat vegetables (e.g., avocados, guacamole, olives, nuts--other than the 1 ounce recommended below--peanut butter, coconut).

   10. Eat at least 4 servings of fruit a day -- more if you want. The best dessert to eat is fruit or blended frozen fruit.

   11. Eat whole fruit in preference to fruit juice. E.g., eat apples rather than apple sauce  and apple sauce in preference to apple juice.

   12. Eat no more than 1 ounce (about 1 handful) of raw nuts and seeds a day. They are healthful foods with anti-cancer properties. You may eat more of them when you reach your ideal weight, and they are ideal for young children, athletes and those who wish to gain weight.

   13. Drink 3 or more glasses of water a day. Drink even more if you are not eating a diet that has high fruit and vegetable content, and low salt content, such as the one that is recommended in these rules.

   14. Take a vitamin B12 supplement daily (desirable for those on a vegan diet)

   15. Eat a tablespoon of ground-up flaxseeds everyday.

   Dr. Fuhrman recommends this basic skeleton of a diet:

   1. Breakfast:  fresh fruit

   2. Lunch:  salad, beans on top, more fruit

   3. Dinner:  salad and two cooked vegetables
       

4. Eating Rules proposed by Dr. McDougall for maximum weight loss (from McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss)

   Foods To Eat

   1. All whole grains and whole-grain cereals, such as brown rice, corn, oatmeal, barley, millet and wheat berries; many packaged grain cereals, puffed grains and other healthful cereals.

   2. Squashes, such as acorn, butternut, buttercup, pumpkin and zucchini

   3. Root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams

   4. Legumes such as peas, split peas, black-eyed peas, string beans, and such beans as chick-peas, lentils, and adzuki, navy, pinto and black beans

   5. Green and yellow vegetables, such as collard greens, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, various types of lettuce, and watercress; celery, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, and tomato.

   6. Fruit, such as apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, and pears. (Limited to two servings per day.)

   7. For most people, simple sugars, salt and spices used sparingly at the table rather than in cooking.

   Foods to Avoid

   1. Avoid all red meat, including beef, pork, and lamb. All are rich in fat, cholesterol, and other harmful constituents.

   2. Avoid all poultry and fish. Poultry has about the same amount of cholesterol as red meat, while fish varies, depending on type. Some fish are higher in cholesterol than red meat, others lower.

   3. Avoid all dairy products, including milk, yogurt and cheese. Low-fat dairy products are not recommended because of potential health hazards including allergies, childhood diabetes, arthritis and lactose intolerance.

   4. Avoid all oil, including olive, safflower, peanut and corn oil. Oil is simply a liquid form of fat.

   5. Avoid eggs. Eggs are abundant in fat and cholesterol.

   6. Avoid nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and soybean products (including tofu, soy cheese, and soy milk). Soybean products are high in fat, unless they have been specially processed (low-fat varieties are also not recommended).

   7. Avoid all dried fruit and fruit juices. (Eat the whole fruit instead).

   8. Avoid all flour products, such as breads, bagels and pretzels. The less a food is processed the better it is for weight loss. Flour products are composed of fragments of grain, or relatively small particles, which increase absorption and slow weight loss.