by Gail M Feldman

Created on: September 15, 2010   Last Updated: September 16, 2010

Not every diet is a weight-loss diet.  There are diets to counteract the effects of existing illnesses, or prevent their onset; there are diets for gaining weight; there are diets to right genetic or acquired nutritional imbalances.  However, in the absence of allergies or other special dietary needs, there is a way of eating that suits most people, as it is easy, flexible and moderate.  It doesn't involve restricting yourself to one food, or drinking supplemental shakes, or popping pills.  It is really more of a lifestyle than a diet in the sense of a special measure taken for weight loss; it is a diet in its broader sense, meaning simply what you eat.

Here is the formula in a nutshell, and then I shall elaborate, for it is easy to turn simple things into complex ones, and misread intentions. (For example, when Adele Davis advised that the human body needed the equivalent of three - I think it was three! - tablespoons of oil a day in order to process fat-soluble vitamins, adding that most people take in more than that from their diets, and advising that those who don't get it that way get it by drinking the dregs of their salad dressing after finishing the salad, some copycats wrote that everyone should open a bottle of oil and drink three tablespoons a day. That's not what Ms. Davis said, and it's ridiculous!) So please look at the nutshell, but then read on, to reveal the actual kernel.

*  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it should include all five food groups. Yes, Virginia, there are five.

*  Avoid fried foods, especially deep-fried foods.

*  Eat all you want of meats (as lean as possible) and (especially) fish, vegetables (note: corn is not a vegetable, but a grain) and, if you are not allergic, dairy, but limit (not eliminate) grains.

*  White sugar and white flour are your enemies. Do not collaborate with them. They want to make you fat and sick, and they can if you let them.

*  Don't eat right before bedtime.

*  If possible, exercise. Walking counts. Wild sex counts. Pressing the keys of the remote control doesn't count.

That is it in the aforementioned nutshell. Now to elaborate:

Eat breakfast. If you eat nothing else (which would be a bad idea), eat breakfast. "But I am too tired, busy, in a hurry, not hungry, blah blah blah," you moan. Get over it. You had to get used to whatever it is you're currently doing; you can get used to this too. You should be ready and even eager

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