CHAPTER 3

CUT OUT THE CHEMICAL CALORIES

IT’S HARD FOR ME to believe that I was once thirty pounds overweight. First as a teenager, then later as a professional management consultant in my twenties, I was fat, tired, and stressed. Always. All I did was work, work, work. If I had a spare half hour, I’d grab some fast food. If not, I’d reach for the closest sugar-packed snack I could find to fend off the hunger shakes.

I didn’t want to continue to live in this unhealthy body that stared back at me from the mirror. So I read. I studied everything I could get my hands on to figure out what was going on with me.

I eventually dropped refined sugars and most meats. I avoided processed foods like the poison they are. I fed my body fresh organic foods—fruits, veggies, grains, good fats, and other whole foods—and made time to nourish my body back to health.

The one thing I did not do was go on a “diet.” I just became more aware of the things I ate and stuck to what made sense.

I started losing those pounds and gaining more and more energy—although I really wasn’t making heroic efforts to get thinner. I got back to an attractive normal weight, and I’ve stayed there—even by eating up to 2,000 calories a day, normally a lot for a woman with my frame.

What had changed?

I was eating clean, toxin-free food, and that made all the difference.

THE RISE OF THE OBESOGENS

Everyone knows Americans are fat and getting fatter. Some startling statistics:

image   More than 65 percent of Americans are overweight, and 33 percent are obese.

image   32 percent of children are either obese or overweight.

image   It’s projected that in ten years, 43 percent of Americans will be obese.

image   After the nasty habit of smoking, obesity is America’s biggest cause of premature death, and is linked to 70 percent of heart disease and 80 percent of diabetes cases.

Why are we blimping up?

Well, it’s not just from eating too many cookies. There’s more to it than that. Now we know that the chemicals in our food are making us not only sick but fat, too, no matter how faithfully we diet.

These chemicals are called obesogens, a term coined by Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine, for certain chemicals that trigger our bodies to store fat even though we might be restricting calories.

The theory that obesogens in our food and environment could be making us fat has been gathering steam ever since researcher Paula F. Baillie-Hamilton published an article in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2002, presenting strong evidence that chemical exposure caused weight gain in experimental animals. Since then, researchers have gathered even more evidence that chemicals may make us fat, too.

“Over the past ten years, and especially the past five years, there’s been a flurry of new data,” said Kristina Thayer, director of the Office of Health Assessment and Translation at the National Toxicology Program (NTP), in an article in Environmental Health Perspectives by Wendee Holtcamp. “There are many studies in both humans and animals. The NTP found real biological plausibility.”

Robert H. Lustig, an obesity researcher and professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, notes in the book he edited Obesity Before Birth: Maternal and Prenatal Influences on the Offspring that different obesogens work differently in the body. Some plump up the number of fat cells, others expand the size of fat cells, and still others influence appetite, fullness, and how well the body burns calories. But the bottom line is that these chemicals certainly have a negative effect on our weight. They get into your body through food and screw up hormone production and metabolism. When you eat crappy chemicals, your body becomes a fat, toxic waste dump.

imageFOOD BABE ALERT: THE FATTENING CHEMICALS

Some Common Obesogens: Atrazine

Source: Pesticide

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Increases body fat in kids

Some Common Obesogens: BPA

Source: Plastic containers

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Programs fat cells to incorporate more fat, so fat cells become very large

Some Common Obesogens: Estradiol

Source: Synthetic estrogen given to dairy cows to increase milk production; may be in nonorganic milk

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Interferes with the body’s normal fat storage and fat formation mechanisms

Some Common Obesogens: Fructose (high-fructose corn syrup)

Source: Processed foods, soda

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Is metabolized in the body like a fat

Some Common Obesogens: Genistein

Source: A natural chemical in soy foods

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Mimics the action of estrogen, a fat-forming hormone

Some Common Obesogens: Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Source: Many processed foods and Asian dishes

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Flavors food to make it more appealing and addictive; consumers wind up eating more calories than they need

Some Common Obesogens: Phthalates

Source: Food packaging

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Increases waist circumference in men and creates problems handling insulin, a fat-forming hormone

Some Common Obesogens: Tributyltin (TBT)

Source: Fish and shellfish

How They May Cause Weight Gain: Triggers genes that cause the growth of fat cells

WHY I WAS FAT AND SICK

I’m sure that in my formerly unattractive and unhealthy days, I was eating every obesogen on the planet. Obesogens were packing fat on me without my permission!

Just recently, I decided to analyze my diet as a teenager to see what kinds of chemicals and obesogens I was ingesting. It was shocking. Here’s my analysis of a typical day of eating. I was eating all of the Sickening 15 every single day (the offending chemicals and obesogens are highlighted in bold):

Breakfast

Florida lemonade: Water, lemon juice, sugar, grapefruit juice pulp. (27 grams of sugar!)

Apple Cinnamon Nutri-Grain Bar: Crust: whole grain oats, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid, whole wheat flour, soybean and/or canola oil, soluble corn fiber, sugar, dextrose, fructose, calcium carbonate, whey, wheat bran, salt, cellulose, potassium bicarbonate, natural and artificial flavor, cinnamon, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, wheat gluten, niacinamide, vitamin A palmitate, carrageenan, zinc oxide, reduced iron, guar gum, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B1 (thiamine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin). Filling: invert sugar, corn syrup, apple puree concentrate, glycerin, sugar, modified corn starch, sodium alginate, malic acid, methylcellulose, dicalcium phosphate, cinnamon, citric acid, caramel color. (12 grams of sugar!)

Lunch

Buddig Turkey Meat: Turkey, mechanically separated turkey, turkey broth, salt, less than 2% of: modified food starch, potassium lactate, dextrose, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, honey, natural flavoring. (I was eating WHITE SLIME—leftover turkey scraps—and nitrates almost every day in high school!)

Nature’s Own Whitewheat Bread: Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, sugar, wheat gluten, fiber (contains one or more of the following: soy, oat, cottonseed, or cellulose), yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: calcium sulfate, soy flour, salt, soybean oil, cultured wheat flour, calcium carbonate, dough conditioners (contains one or more of the following: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides and/or diglycerides, distilled monoglycerides, calcium peroxide, calcium iodate, DATEM, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, enzymes, ascorbic acid), vinegar, guar gum, citric acid, monocalcium phosphate, sodium citrate, soy lecithin, niacin, iron (ferrous sulfate), thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, ammonium sulfate, natamycin (to retard spoilage).

Fruit Roll-Up: Pears from concentrate, corn syrup, dried corn syrup, sugar, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, citric acid, sodium citrate, acetylated mono- and diglycerides, pectin, malic acid, natural flavor, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), color (Red 40, Yellows 5 & 6, Blue 1).

Doritos: Corn, vegetable oil (sunflower, canola, and/or corn oil), maltodextrin (made from corn), salt, whey, monosodium glutamate, buttermilk, romano cheese (cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), onion powder, natural and artificial flavor, dextrose, tomato powder, artificial color (including Yellow 6, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Red 40 Lake), spices, sodium caseinate, lactose, lactic acid, citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, red and green bell pepper powder, skim milk, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. Contains milk ingredients.

Dinner

Lasagna noodles: Semolina, durum flour, niacin. (Processed flour!)

Ragú sauce: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), diced tomatoes in tomato juice, sugar, vegetable oil (corn and/or cottonseed and/or canola), salt, onion powder, spices (basil, oregano, spice), dehydrated garlic, citric acid, dehydrated parsley, and flavoring. (Inflammatory oils!)

Polly-O ricotta: Pasteurized milk, whey, milkfat, salt, vinegar, guar gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum. (Possible hormones plus antibiotics!)

Kraft shredded mozzarella: Low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), cream cheese powder (milkfat, nonfat milk, milk, sodium phosphate, salt, carob bean gum, cheese culture); cellulose powder added to prevent caking; natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor). Contains: milk. Cellulose powder is wood pulp! (Possible hormones plus antibiotics!)

My Typical Snacks

Fruit—various kinds, but I loved apples: Thank goodness my mom would cut fruits that she got from the farmers’ market or local grocery store when I got home from school; we didn’t buy organic, so this means a nice dose of pesticides.

Fruit, however, was never my main snack. I ate snack cakes and Cheetos, mostly—all foods loaded with chemicals, trans fats, oils, sugar, MSG, artificial flavorings, acids, and all sorts of questionable ingredients.

 

This was my daily diet when I was a teenager. My skin looked horrible, and I was chubby and felt terrible and sick. I rest my case: I was a chemical stockpile of obesogens.

THE DIET DILEMMA

More than 80 million of us are dieting, yet without a lot of success. What is it about diets that don’t work? Any diet book will tell you to eat right and exercise, but what does that really mean? I’ve seen people “eat right” by eating unlimited amounts of red meat and fat, and I’ve seen people “work out” daily for more than four hours, exhausting their body and pushing themselves too far.

I decided to search for some answers. My search was inspired not by any diet book, but rather by an eye-opening article in The Atlantic titled: “Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner Is Real Food.” The article summarized an independent study, published in the Annual Review of Public Health in 2014, that reviewed every major diet and concluded, “A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention.”

I was pumped just reading the full study. It supported and validated what I had been doing and preaching for years: A natural, plant-based diet is the secret to staying in shape, feeling vital, and being healthy. Other diets just don’t cut it long-term, and one reason is that they induce you to eat a lot of chemical calories and lock you into habits that kill your ability to maintain your weight. At the end of each section below, I’ve listed the chemicals that you might eat on a particular diet, and I’ve boldfaced the worst offenders. Take a look.

1. THE LOW-CALORIE DIET

What it is: A low-calorie diet is based primarily on cutting up to 500 calories a day or more. It operates on the theory that “a calorie is a calorie.”

Why I think it’s flawed: All calories are not equal. For example, you can choose to eat a 100-calorie flavored yogurt cup, or an apple, also 100 calories. However, when you look at the ingredient list on most yogurts, you’ll find that it contains artificial sweeteners—sucralose and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K). Both of these ingredients work against you by making you crave more. There may be other unhealthy ingredients in the yogurt, too, whereas an apple is a natural, high-fiber food. The low-calorie diet is also difficult to stick to, and many people end up gaining back weight after they go off it.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Diet Pepsi—Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), caffeine, citric acid, natural flavor, acesulfame potassium.

Yoplait 100-calorie Greek yogurt—Vanilla-pasteurized grade A nonfat milk, sugar. Contains 2% or less of: cornstarch, potassium sorbate (added to maintain freshness), natural flavor, yogurt cultures (L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus), sucralose, acesulfame potassium, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3.

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Enchilada—Chicken Enchilada (filling consists of white meat chicken, dark meat chicken, water, salt, isolated soy protein, modified cornstarch, and sodium phosphate); water, enchilada seasoning (modified cornstarch, emulsifiers [modified cornstarch, corn maltodextrin, soy lecithin, sodium stearoyl lactylate, xanthan gum, guar gum], masa corn flour, nonfat milk, dehydrated onion, salt, garlic powder, chicken fat, cultured whey, spices, whey, artificial flavor [corn maltodextrin, modified cornstarch, partially hydrogenated cottonseed/soybean oil, citric acid, calcium disodium EDTA, BHA], dehydrated chicken broth, natural smoke flavor, corn maltodextrin], green chili flavor [salt, autolyzed yeast extract, dehydrated green bell peppers, corn maltodextrin, spices, natural flavor], dehydrated jalapeño peppers, citric acid, chicken flavor [hydrolyzed corn, soy, and wheat gluten protein, autolyzed yeast extract, dehydrated chicken broth, chicken fat, thiamine hydrochloride, corn syrup solids], dehydrated cilantro, green chiles (green chile peppers, citric acid), modified cornstarch, cornstarch, methyl cellulose, egg white powder, xanthan gum, guar gum], tortilla [white corn flour, water, modified food starch, mono- & diglycerides, salt, xanthan gum, guar gum, lime]), sauce (water, light sour cream [cultured skim milk and cream, modified cornstarch, gelatin, disodium phosphate, guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum], green chiles [green chile peppers, citric acid], nonfat milk, onions, jalapeños [jalapeño peppers, citric acid], modified cornstarch, cream, enriched wheat flour.

Gatorade G2 Low Calorie Sport Drinks Grape—water, sucrose syrup, high-fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose syrup), citric acid, sodium citrate, salt, natural and artificial flavors, monopotassium phosphate, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, red 40, blue 1.

2. THE LOW-FAT DIET

What it is: This type of diet counts fat grams and keeps fat intake at 20 percent (or less) of your daily calories. The diet is often followed to reduce heart disease, but also to lose weight.

Why I think it’s flawed: A low-fat diet focuses on the percentage of fat in your food, and not on anything else that you may be eating. It also sanctions replacing full-fat versions of a food with a fat-free counterpart—such as fat-free salad dressing. The problem with these fat-free alternatives is that they are nothing more than processed garbage full of sugar, starches, and gums. Consequently, you’ll be eating a lot of unhealthy carbs such as sugar and white flour, which can wreak havoc on your insulin levels, increase your diabetes risk, and ironically, increase your chances of a heart attack. The low-fat diet has proven unsuccessful in helping people lose weight. We need a certain amount of fat in our diets, anyway. It helps us absorb vitamins A, D, K, and E. Unsaturated fats from nuts, olive oil, sesame oil, and avocados prevent heart disease. Coconut oil helps lower cholesterol and reduce abdominal fat.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Lean Cuisine Apple Cranberry Chicken—Blanched whole wheat orzo pasta (water, whole durum wheat flour), cooked white meat chicken (white meat chicken, water, modified tapioca starch, chicken flavor (dried chicken broth, chicken powder, natural flavor), carrageenan, whey protein concentrate, soybean oil, corn syrup solids, sodium phosphate, salt), water, carrots, green beans, wheat berries, apple juice concentrate, dried cranberries (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), apples (apples, citric acid, salt, water), 2% or less of butter (cream, salt), modified cornstarch, chicken broth, orange juice concentrate, apple cider vinegar, sugar, soybean oil, sea salt, ginger puree (ginger, water, citric acid), yeast extract, spices, lemon juice concentrate, citric acid.

Skinny Cow Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich—Skim milk, wafer (bleached wheat flour, isomalt*, malitol*, caramel color, sorbitol*, palm oil, cocoa, corn flour, modified cornstarch, salt, baking soda, natural flavor, soy lecithin), maltodextrin, polydextrose, sorbitol*, cream, stabilizer (mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, carrageenan), sucralose (Splenda brand), vitamin A palmitate, acesulfame potassium, natural flavor, artificial flavor. *Sensitive individuals may experience a laxative effect from excess consumption of this ingredient.

Nestlé Nesquick Low Fat Chocolate Lowfat Milk with Vitamin A Palmitate and Vitamin D3 Added—Sugar, less than 2% of cocoa processed with alkali, calcium carbonate, cellulose gel, natural and artificial flavors, salt, carrageenan, cellulose gum. Contains: milk ingredient.

Special K Low-Fat Granola with Honey—Whole grain oats, sugar, corn syrup, oat bran, rice, contains 2% or less of honey, modified cornstarch, soy grits, molasses, soluble wheat fiber, natural flavor, corn flour, acacia gum, salt, soy protein isolate, oat fiber, evaporated cane juice, malt flavoring, BHT for freshness. Vitamins and minerals: niacinamide, reduced iron, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12. Contains soy and wheat ingredients.

3. THE LOW-CARB DIET

What it is: This type of diet is fairly high in protein and fat and very low in carbs. It focuses on controlling insulin levels to lose weight and prevent diabetes—both worthy goals.

Why I think it’s flawed: You eat large amounts of high-fat meat and cheese on this diet. The meats may be heavily processed with nitrates (bacon) or be from hormone- and antibiotic-injected cows. Also, the reduction in carbs means you’ll be eating fewer fruits and vegetables, resulting in nutrient deficiencies. This is why vitamin and mineral supplements are often recommended on these diets.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Atkins Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry—Grilled seasoned chicken strips (Chicken breast meat, water, less than 2% lemon juice concentrate, vinegar, salt), water, broccoli, green beans, red bell pepper, canola oil, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt, alcohol, vinegar, lactic acid), contain less than 2% of the following: chicken stock, toasted sesame oil, garlic puree, chicken fat, ginger puree (ginger, water), raisin juice concentrate, modified food starch, wok oil flavor (safflower oil, sesame seed oil, rice bran oil, natural flavors), toasted sesame seeds, apple cider vinegar, caramel color, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, spices, sucralose.

Atkins Advantage Dark Chocolate Almond Bar—Roasted almonds, toasted coconut, dark chocolate flavored coating (palm kernel oil, maltitol, milk protein concentrate, cocoa [processed with alkali], dextrose, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), polydextrose, maltitol syrup, water, sunflower oil, salt, natural flavor, sucralose. Contains almonds, coconut, soy, and milk. This product is manufactured in a facility that uses eggs, wheat, seeds, peanuts, and tree nuts.

4. THE PALEO DIET

What it is: Based on a “caveman” style of eating, this diet recommends eating lots of proteins and fewer carbs while restricting dairy foods and beans. Although vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds are allowed, the emphasis is on meat and fats.

Why I think it’s flawed: In truth, the meat you eat on this diet is not at all like the meat of our caveman ancestors. Theirs wasn’t factory-farmed, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. You would need to have access to pastured-raised, organic meat all the time for this diet to work, and that’s just not realistic if you plan to ever leave your home or travel. What’s more, you aren’t allowed to eat grains, beans, or legumes—which can be important sources of fiber and nutrients. Advocates of Paleo diets claim that legumes contain “antinutrients.” One is lectin, a protein that binds to cell membranes and supposedly destroys tissue. The flaw in this reasoning is that this reaction happens mostly in animals, not humans.

I can’t believe that a diet would tell you to eat no beans. There is irrefutable evidence that beans reduce the risk of cancer and enhance longevity. Plus, because they’re full of fiber, they help you lose weight, as all natural fiber-rich foods do.

Another antinutrient is phytic acid, a compound that prevents the body from absorbing minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. Legumes are only moderately high in phytic acid. Does that mean you should stop eating them? No! Just eat a variety of plant foods, and you’ll moderate how much phytic acid you eat.

What’s more, unless you eat an abundance of vegetables, these diets are also low in health-giving probiotics and can be acid-forming. An acidic diet can cause cancer cells to thrive. Also, animal protein stimulates the growth factor IGF-1, a naturally occurring protein produced by the liver. Similar to insulin, high levels of IGF-1 may accelerate aging and growth of cancer cells later in life. Protein-rich plant foods like seeds, nuts, beans, and dark leafy greens do not raise IGF-1.

Unlimited helpings of meat, oil, eggs, and fish could get you slim but not healthy in the long run. Also, if everyone ate a Paleo diet, we’d run out of meat. Paleo seems like a great idea, but it’s not sustainable, unless you make vegetables the main component.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet: Hormones, GMOs, antibiotics fed to livestock, pesticides, carrageenan, synthetic vitamins, and natural flavors.

Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened Almond Milk—Almond milk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, and D-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E).

5. THE RAW FOODS DIET

What it is: This regimen is a plant-based diet of unprocessed raw foods (vegetables, fruits, sprouted grains, nuts). This is also known as the living food diet—as the theory of this diet is to keep food as alive as possible.

Why I think it’s flawed: The raw foods diet has a lot going for it, and I recommend that you eat raw fruits and veggies frequently—at least 50 percent of the time. This sort of diet also eliminates your exposure to most of the Sickening 15. But a 100 percent raw diet is difficult to maintain. It’s so limited in food choices, and excludes some healthy superfoods such as cooked quinoa, beans, and sweet potatoes. While most veggies are best eaten raw, the nutritional content of some foods, particularly carrots and tomatoes, actually increases when cooked. Also, this kind of diet can be dangerously deficient in nutrients such as calcium, iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Pesticides found in fruits and vegetables.

Raw agave nectar (a form of refined sugar).

Carrageenan used as a stabilizer and thickener in some raw desserts.

6. THE GLUTEN-FREE DIET

What it is: This diet completely eliminates foods that contain gluten, a protein in wheat, barley, and rye. A gluten-free diet is medically necessary for people with celiac disease (1 percent of the population) or who have an allergy to gluten. Other people try this diet because they might be intolerant of gluten. It is possible that gluten causes digestive problems and other disorders, or that the diet will help them lose weight. The reason these diets don’t work for people who want to lose weight is because an entire ingredient is eliminated, making you choose lesser-quality ingredients to replace it and consuming processed foods just because they are “gluten free.”

Why I think it’s flawed: My biggest beef with the gluten-free diet is that it encourages the use of processed foods such as refined sugar, white rice, soda, and oil. The popularity of the gluten-free diet has given rise to an industry of gluten-free convenience foods that contain suspicious additives, added sugar, and ingredients such as insulin-raising, nutrient-empty potato starch and tapioca starch. Brown rice is often substituted in gluten-free breads, pastas, and cakes, but it can be contaminated with arsenic. You can go gluten-free without exposure to these ingredients. If you have a sensitivity to gluten, choose naturally gluten-free food such as quinoa, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Pillsbury Gluten Free Thin Crust Pizza Dough—Water, modified tapioca starch, whole sorghum flour, whole millet flour, rice flour, fructose, egg white, brown sugar, soybean oil. Contains 2 percent or less of: salt, extra virgin olive oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, xanthan gum, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, baking soda), guar gum, natural and artificial flavor, yeast, yeast extract.

Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread—Udi’s Best Blend (tapioca and potato starch, brown rice and teff flour, modified tapioca starch), water, non-GMO vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, or safflower oil), egg whites, evaporated cane juice, tapioca maltodextrin, tapioca syrup, yeast, flaxseed, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), cultured corn syrup solids (natural mold inhibitor), dry molasses, enzymes.

Gluten Free Honey Nut Chex Cereal—Cornmeal, sugar, whole grain corn, honey, salt, barley malt extract, brown sugar molasses, rice bran and/or canola oil, color added, natural and artificial flavor, natural almond flavor.

Glutino Gluten Free Covered Pretzel Fudge—Fudge coating (sugar, palm kernel oil, nonfat dry milk solids, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor), pretzel (corn starch, potato starch, rice flour, soluble corn fiber, palm oil, sugar, salt, cellulose gum, soy lecithin, yeast extract, sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid).

7. THE VEGAN DIET

What it is: Vegans eat a strict plant-based diet that excludes anything that has come from an animal (meat, eggs, dairy, even honey). This diet is typically adopted for ethical reasons, rather than for its health benefits or to lose weight.

Why I think it’s flawed: The vegan diet generally does not take into account whether the food is organic or non-GMO. Vegans are at risk for developing a vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 can only be sourced from animal products, so supplementation is necessary. Vegans often rely heavily on processed meat substitutes and an abundance of soy products that can mess with hormones and could be GMO-derived. There are definitely right and wrong ways to be vegan, but as a generalized plan to lose weight, the vegan diet has many pitfalls, unless you follow the principles outlined in the chapters ahead.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Beyond Meat, Beyond Beef Feisty Crumbles—Water, non-GMO pea protein isolate, non-GMO expeller-pressed canola oil, spices, beef flavor (yeast extract, maltodextrin, natural flavoring, salt, sunflower oil, onion powder), chicory root fiber, rice flour, tomato powder, caramel color (natural), sugar, contains 0.5% or less of: calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, lime juice concentrate, citric acid, onion extract, chili pepper extract, garlic extract, paprika extract.

Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds—Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller-pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller-pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegan natural flavors, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, citric acid (for flavor), annatto, titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral).

Original Vegan Boca Burgers—Water, soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% of methylcellulose, salt, caramel color, dried onions, yeast extract, sesame oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, natural and artificial flavor (non-meat), disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate.

8. THE PESCETARIAN DIET

What it is: A pescetarian eats fish but excludes all other animal proteins.

Why I think it’s flawed: This diet does not fully emphasize the dangers of processed foods. Plus, you can still eat farmed salmon that’s been fed antibiotics, GMOs, and dyes.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Farmed salmon—Antibiotics, GMOs, and dyes, often contaminated with PCBs. Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and tuna have higher amounts of mercury.

Trans-Ocean Crab Classic Flake Style Imitation Crab (commonly used in California rolls)—Alaska pollock, water, egg whites, wheat starch, sugar, cornstarch, sorbitol, contains 2% or less of the following: king crab meat, natural and artificial flavor, extracts of crab, oyster, scallop, lobster, and fish (salmon, anchovy, bonito, cutlassfish), refined fish oil* (anchovy, sardine), rice wine (rice, water, koji, yeast, salt), sea salt, modified tapioca starch, carrageenan, yam flour, hydrolyzed soy, corn, and wheat proteins, potassium chloride, disodium inosinate and guanylate, sodium pyrophosphate, carmine, paprika, color added. *Adds a trivial amount of fat. Contains pollock, salmon, anchovy, bonito, cutlassfish, sardine, crab, lobster, soy, egg, wheat.

9. THE DETOX DIET

What it is: A detox diet promotes the elimination of toxins in the body—a process that is indeed important—through the use of fiber, juices, vegetables, and herbs. On some detox diets, fasting is recommended.

Why I think it’s flawed: My major criticism of most types of detox diets is that they fail to prepare your body beforehand and do not give you long-lasting advice on how to eat afterward. For a diet to be effective, it needs staying power; it needs to be something you can do for the rest of your life. I’m all in favor of occasional juice cleanses, but you need a plan before and after that makes sense to follow in the long-term. A detox diet tends to be short-term and can set you up for harmful yo-yo dieting. It usually eliminates several ingredients and foods that could be healthy long-term. Fasting is not always healthy, especially for people with diabetes or heart disease. If you are eating the right foods from the get-go, your body will always be naturally detoxing. The Food Babe Way will show you how.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet: Pesticides sprayed on nonorganic produce and additives in juices. Supplements are often suggested that may contain synthetic or chemically processed ingredients.

10. THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

What it is: This diet is based on a pattern of eating followed in Mediterranean countries, such as Greece and Italy. Foods emphasized include fruits, vegetables, grains (including refined grains—white flour!), nuts, seeds, and beans. The main sources of fat are olive oil, cheese, and yogurt. You’re allowed to eat some red meat and drink wine—all in moderation. A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that a Mediterranean-type diet, with its emphasis on olive oil, nuts, and red wine, could reduce the risk of stroke by up to 30 percent.

Why I think it’s flawed: The Mediterranean way of eating is fairly well balanced, and it discourages processed foods. My issue with this diet is that it generally doesn’t emphasize where the food comes from, whether it’s organic, or whether it contains GMOs. You eat a lot of grains on this diet, so if you have problems with gluten, you’d have to find substitutes. Refined white bread and pasta are like sugar, so you don’t want to consume them on a regular basis. Here’s a big uh-oh, too: If you eat too much olive oil, cheese, nuts, and wine on this diet, you’ll pack on pounds.

The chemicals you might eat on this diet:

Added sulfites in wine

Fake olive oil with added GMO oil fillers

Pesticides

Antibiotics and GMOs in conventional yogurt and cheese

Refined white pasta and white bread

EAT REAL FOOD, AKA THE FOOD BABE WAY

Maybe the whole diet thing hasn’t worked out for you. Maybe you eat well for a few days or a few hours but then find yourself face-first in a gallon of ice cream or stuffing yourself with cookies. Or maybe you’re doing your best to live a healthy, active life, but you just keep riding the rollercoaster of dieting for years on end.

Isn’t it time to quit your back-and-forth battle with food? As I explained earlier in this chapter: Losing weight and getting healthy don’t have as much to do with calories or fat grams or carb counting as you’ve been led to believe.

The secret is to break free from food additives and obesogens that are getting in your body’s way as it tries to burn fat and keep you healthy. You can do this by eating 100 percent pure, toxin-free, real food. You won’t have to worry about sugar, artery-clogging fats, calories, carbs, or chemicals—all the stuff that comes from poisoned, processed foods. If you follow the recommendations in this book, your weight—and your health—will take care of themselves.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS…

The Food Babe Way is a twenty-one-day program designed to launch you into better health and a new, thinner, fitter body. It’s designed for high-speed healing and slimming. It requires forming some new habits and breaking some old ones. And it is something you can do easily and successfully.

Psychologists say it takes twenty-one days to form good habits, and holistic nutritionists say it takes twenty-one days to change the chemistry of the body. This program is designed around those two premises. Each day, I’ll give you a new habit to practice, or an unhealthy pattern to give up (like eating fast food), along with a meal. Everyone wants menu planning and weight control to be brainless. Always thinking about what to eat next can be overwhelming, so I have done everything for you, from the menus to the recipes. Day by day, you’re going to gradually replace fatty, sugary, chemical-laden food with wholesome, nutrient-intact, organic food. This program will not only keep you on track; it will help you lose weight if you need to and/or maintain the healthy lifestyle you may have already built.

You won’t have to count anything or obsess over calories or carbs, either. You just have to read labels, change some food-buying and food-prep practices, and enjoy food the way it was meant to be—natural and whole.

Everyone can eat the Food Babe Way, I’m convinced. The only reason I’ve been able to maintain my ideal weight for over ten years now and feel amazing is because of my habits, food choices, and routine. And now I want to share that with you.

Once you get started, expect to feel revitalized even after the first day. And after the second day, expect your digestion to improve practically overnight and your energy levels to zoom. I promise! Keep going, and you’ll start feeling the tune-up of a lifetime, regaining lost horsepower within a day. Your body will be humming along like a sports car, complete with a new paint job. Watch out, though: You may find that you need to be quite humble when people start to compliment you on how fit, attractive, sexy, and vibrant you have become.

Let me ask you: Do you like the lifestyle you’ve set for yourself and your family? If not, it is never too late to change, and it takes only twenty-one days.

Day 1 starts now.