By Pam Killeen
Is it any surprise to learn that American consumers are being conned by the USDA? Dr. Luise Light's book, What to Eat: The Ten Things You Really Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy, reads like a detective novel, exposing scathing secrets of corporate and government malfeasance.
During her career as the nutrition director for the USDA, Light witnessed the blatantly cozy relationships that existed between the USDA and the food and agricultural lobbies and lobbyists.
Not only did she witness the cover-up of an important study describing the connection between nutrition and a major chronic disease, she also witnessed dangerous changes that were made to the 1992 U.S. Food Pyramid in order to satisfy corporate interests rather than to protect our health. In fact, she warned the USDA that the changes would cause an epidemic of obesity and diabetes.
In her new book, Light explains the connection between nutrition and many of the life-threatening, widespread chronic diseases prevalent today.
Now that she is no longer held back from exposing the truth, she describes the numerous illnesses that are connected to what she calls, "nutritional malaise," including memory loss, loss of balance, depression, sadness, anxiety, pessimism, "road rage," low energy, "mind freeze," eye strain, generalized aches and pains, migraines, abdominal discomfort, headaches, frequent colds and flu and massive weight gain.
According to Light, these are all indications of "biochemical chaos" that can be corrected with good nutrition.
The choice is clear -- you can start eating a nourishing balanced diet, based on real food, or you can let your symptoms progress and develop into more devastating chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, osteoporosis, asthma, arthritis and many others.
Light has her own testimonial to share about her struggle to regain her health after collapsing with a chronic, disabling illness.
Her very inspirational story helps to reinforce her message about the interconnection between nutrition and physical and mental health. Her story will resonate with many individuals who are struggling today with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hypothyroidism, depression and related unexplained, massive weight gain problems.
Light assures you that you're not alone if you're having problems understanding the convoluted messages in the government's Dietary Guidelines. She offers simple but easy to understand science-based guidelines of her own, such as these three (out of 10) lucid examples, along with the rationales behind them:
Also, she provides you with guidelines and her own food pyramid, which is much easier to understand and follow than the one published by the government. You will learn how to transition to real food in her chapter, "Your Diet Makeover Tool Kit." And, if you're at a loss for how to prepare real food, she also has several, quick, idiot-proof, delicious recipes in her chapter, "What to Cook."
Although her book gives a detailed, easy-to-grasp account of the problems inherent in the American food system (pesticides, GMOs, acrylamide, MSG, processed foods, etc.), she also manages to focus on simple, straightforward and realistic solutions -- from what to stock in your larder, to a week's worth of menus, meals and recipes, and practical tips on eating on the road and dining out.
Light assures us that real food is not only more nutritious than food out of a box or bag, it tastes better and is more pleasurable and satisfying. Food is meant to be enjoyed, she reminds us.
She also offers a network of solutions for what can be done to get real food back into the schools and on children's and teens' plates.
Despite the myths, children will eat and even come to prefer delicious fresh foods, simply prepared, and reject factory-made fast foods, given the chance, Light tells based on her experience.
This book will give you chills but also give you hope that you can eat better, feel better and finally, get straight talk about nutrition.
Pam Killeen covers health and nutrition on her Web site, Pam Killeen Reports.
One of the great concealed truths about conventional health in America: Its compromised, bought-and-paid-for bureaucracy isn't built to protect you from harm. Few know that compromised landscape better than Dr. Luise Light, former nutrition director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That's why you might be very interested in reading Dr. Light's expose What to Eat: The Ten Things You Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy.
If you think you're the only one who has problems with the USDA's latest and confusing food pyramid, guess again. Dr. Light exposes why it often seems to be contradictory to basic health principles -- to protect the interests of big business.
Among those "10 things" Dr. Light writes about in her book, two of them ought to sound pretty familiar to you: