I have many to thank for encouraging and facilitating the evolution of my thinking, which has led to The South Beach Diet Wake-Up Call. To begin chronologically, I vividly recall a lecture in the mid-1990s by the late Dr. Fred Pashkow (who was then director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at the Cleveland Clinic). That lecture first sparked my interest in the concept that when it comes to our modern lifestyle, we should focus on how our DNA was designed as reflected in the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived. Reading the work of Dr. S. Boyd Eaton and Dr. Loren Cordain has also greatly advanced my education in this area.
My research colleagues, Drs. Keith Webster, Paul Kurlansky, and Robert Superko, were very helpful in expanding my knowledge of the pivotal roles that inflammation, stem cells, and genomics play in the modern degenerative diseases of the West.
Pediatricians David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston and Ricardo Restrepo of Miami Children’s Hospital increased my understanding of the terrible toll poor nutrition is having on the health of our kids. And Dr. Andrea Vazzana of the NYU Child Study Center was invaluable in contributing her expertise to the parenting sections of this book.
I am very grateful for the tireless work of Danielle Hollar, PhD, Michelle Lombardo, and Sarah Messiah, PhD, and my nutrition director, Marie Almon, MS, RD, who were incredible forces behind our Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS) research program. Marie continues to be invaluable in keeping me up to date on the latest nutrition science.
Ira Harkavy, PhD, Frank Johnson, PhD, and program director Danny Gerber are the engines that have advanced the work of the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for University Community Partnerships.
The work of Jamie Oliver has been an inspiration. I first met and listened to Jamie several years ago, when he participated in our Childhood Obesity Initiative symposium in Miami Beach, and I have been consistently impressed by his persistence and creativity over the years in improving nutrition, first in the UK and now in the United States.
My gluten adventure actually began with some basic education from my uncle, Dr. Robert Agatston, a retired geologist now in his late eighties, who learned he had celiac disease many years ago. He was the first to tell me that gluten was the cause of a much larger health problem than was appreciated by the medical community, and he was right. His tutelage increased my awareness of gluten sensitivities, which helped me recognize the reason for many of the health benefits of the gluten-free first phase of the South Beach Diet. I have since learned a great deal from the writings and research of Dr. Peter H. R. Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, and from my colleague at the University of Miami, pediatrican Dr. Natalie Geary, who increased my understanding about the difference between celiac disease and gluten intolerance and the extent of wheat and gluten sensitivities in children.
Dr. Holly Atkinson, a fabulous internist, has done a wonderful job in keeping me and our research team current on all the medical areas discussed in this book, providing daily literature reviews and helpful discussions.
While I read more about the serious health effects of missing a good night’s sleep, it was sleep specialist and longtime colleague Dr. Alejandro Chediak, the medical director of the Miami Sleep Disorders Center, who brought me up to speed in this area.
I learned a lot about how we grow and raise our food from personal conversations with Maria Rodale, publisher of this book, and from the writings of Michael Pollan. My friend Leonard Abess, an avid organic gardener and producer of organic maple syrup, also taught me a great deal about methods of organic farming.
My agents, Mel Berger and Eric Zohn, have provided me with excellent guidance and support along the way. Our publicist, Sandi Mendelson, has been an exceptional resource in advancing my message of prevention and health. Sandi, along with Cathy Gruhn of Hilsinger-Mendelson, has made my mission her mission.
At Rodale, I would like to thank executive vice president and general manager Karen Rinaldi for her unflagging support of our books, and Pam Krauss, vice president and publishing director, who has added her expert advice to this project. Diane Salvatore, editor in chief of Prevention, has also been a great supporter of my mission and enthusiastic about getting my message out. Thanks also to project editor Nancy N. Bailey and designer Christina Gaugler for their work on the book and to Amy King, executive director of art and design, who spent many hours creating a cover that would help convey the book’s message. I also extend thanks to Kate Slate and Sandra Rose Gluck for their help in developing and testing the healthy recipes.
Finally, I have had constant and invaluable input from my live-in editor—my wife, Sari—and from our South Beach editorial director, Marya Dalrymple, who, in addition to editorial support, has worked tirelessly on keeping me focused on moving forward with the manuscript and in bringing the book to completion.