Love What You Eat presents an eating plan that encourages people to change their habits and their lives-one food at a time. If you're looking for weight loss, more energy, better overall health, or all of the above, this book will be your guide. Love What You Eat educates the reader about the many factors that contribute to overeating and obesity, while teaching the importance of mindful eating for long-term health and wellness. Learning to eat differently without starving your body or your wallet is my unique approach. I believe this book will give the reader options they want and the simplicity they desire. As a physician, I am familiar with how the body works and what it takes to make it work properly. As the obesity epidemic continues to rage out of control and the number of people developing metabolic syndrome increases, more and more lives are at risk. We need to have a different relationship with food and what we call fuel for or bodies. Love What You Eat will show the reader how to do that. Love What You Eat Choosing Foods That Will Change Your Life By Nicholette M. Martin AuthorHouse LLC Copyright © 2014 Nicholette M. Martin, MD, HC All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4969-3562-5 Contents Acknowledgments, vii, Preface, ix, Introduction, xi, Chapter One The Mysterious Ways Of The Food Industry, 1, Chapter Two Why It Matters What You Eat:, 13, Chapter Three How Primary Foods Affect What You Eat, 35, Chapter Four Yes, There Is Another Way And It's Not A Diet!, 44, Chapter Five Staying On Track, 66, Chapter Six How We Eat, 95, Chapter Seven What Have You Tried In The Past?, 111, Epilogue, 123, Appendix A, 125, Appendix B, 129, References, 131, CHAPTER 1 The Mysterious Ways Of The Food Industry I have used the word, "mysterious," in the title of this chapter for a reason. In my experience, I have found that there is a lot of confusion about which foods are actually healthy and what qualities constitute a healthy food product. If a packaged food product is labeled, "Zero Trans-Fats," "Gluten-Free," "Non-Fat" or "Heart-Healthy," doesn't that make it a healthy choice? How many grams of sugar, sodium and fat are acceptable anyway? Aren't foods with added vitamins and minerals healthy? And what are all those other unpronounceable ingredients? What the heck is a GMO and why is it bad, or is it? It may be obvious that sugar encrusted cereals are not a healthy choice, but what about the cereals that claim to lower cholesterol levels? Isn't that a good thing? American consumers are generally savvy, but there are so many false claims made in advertising campaigns for food products, and there are so many conflicting declarations from "experts" about what is healthy and what is not, that it's almost impossible to figure out what to eat to maintain good health, never mind what to eat to actually cure disease. It's easy to understand why big food companies want to appeal to your best impulses or your genuine health concerns by claiming that their foods are healthy; but, isn't it illegal to misrepresent their products and aren't there government regulations in place to keep those companies honest? If the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) approve of a product or advocate the consumption of a certain kind of food, doesn't that mean it's healthy? Politics of Food The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is a federal regulatory agency, does in fact offer Dietary Guidelines to the general public. Older guidelines used a Food Pyramid, which was first introduced to the public in 1992 and then updated in 2005. The original Pyramid orders the food groups horizontally, with the largest group at the base of the Pyramid being the grains group: bread, rice, pasta and cereal. The second level up represents vegetables and fruit. The third level represents protein and dairy. The protein group includes meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, nuts and eggs, and the dairy group includes cheese, yogurt and milk. The top of the Pyramid represents fats, oils and sweets. In 2005, the Pyramid was redesigned so that the food groups were represented by vertical bands of color, each delineating one of the food groups. The grains, vegetables and milk groups are about equal and altogether represent 73% of the total. Fruits represent 15%, meats and beans represent 10%, and oils represent 2%. Currently, the guidelines come in the form of something called: MyPlate (http://www.choosemyplate.gov/), which was introduced in 2011. The MyPlate website includes information about nutrition as well as a diagram of a plate of food and a cup. The plate is separated into four (almost equal) sections that delineate four separate food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains and protein, with the cup representing dairy. The USDA nutritional guidelines are taught in public schools, and used as a template for what gets served in public schools, to the military