Book Review: Food Sanity

In his book, Dr. David Friedman, holistic practitioner and syndicated radio health expert, explores research behind controversial nutrition topics and underlines his message on how to eat to add years to your life.  He presents the research with over 700 references and allows you to make the choices.  The recommendations are not intended to substitute for your own physician and healthcare provider.

Here are some of Dr. Friedman's findings:

The Caveman Diet
Fossilized grains of food found in teeth include plants, barley, beans, roots, tubers, palm dates and small amounts of animal foods. Human anatomy is not designed to eating large quantities of meat.

Milk
Humans are deigned to drink milk from our own species. Breastfeeding is good.  Osteoporosis is non-existent in Africa where only 350 mg calcium on average is consumed in 1 day.  The recommendation of 2/1 Calcium/Magnesium is not found in cows milk which has a 9/1 ratio.  He recommends drinking non-soy milk alternatives to cows milk.

Poultry
Don't eat under cooked poultry.  Prevent cross contamination of raw poultry with other foods and equipment.  Keep poultry at proper temperature.  Eat pasture raised poultry and eggs. 

Seafood
Choose wild seafood.
Be wary of dark red color in salmon.

Pork
Limit processed meat.  Buy grass fed, free range pork.  Avoid cured with added sodium and nitrates.  Avoid additives,  Choose lean pork;  dispose of the fat.  Limit the portion size to 3 ounce.  Cook pork to 170 degrees.  Never microwave.  Avoid cross contamination.     

Plant Based Diets
Grains, vegetables, seeds, nuts and fruit are the foods humans were intended to eat.  Eating a variety of these foods is crucial.  

Avoid GMOs
Avoid soy and corn that is not labelled organic.  Eat whole wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, barley and sorghum.
Eat produce with a 5 digit code beginning with 9.
Grow your own vegetables, buy organic and eat locally grown.

Vitamins
Eat whole foods instead of supplements.  
Include calcium rich foods (green leafy, sea vegetables, chia and sesame seeds, prunes)
Include Vitamin D rich foods  (mushrooms, tuna, egg, sea vegetables)
Include Vitamin E rich foods (wheat germ, nuts, olives, spinach)

Weight
Don't count calories-make calories count.  Abstain from white foods (white bread, pasta, flour and rice, potato and corn chips, sugar and soft drinks).
Sleep 7 hours a day.

Avoid obesogens.
Avoid BPS containers, nonstick pans and artificial sweeteners.

I too am a proponent of eating a variety of nutrient rich vegetables, grains and whole foods.  His research supports buying locally from vendors committed to organic practices.  Those locally bought foods include eggs, poultry, lean uncured pork and small amounts of beef from grass fed, pasture raised animals.  I support limiting cured meats and eating only small portions of meat.  I too advocate cooking and storing hazardous foods at proper temperatures and avoiding cross contamination.  While I am a proponent of drinking milk with every meal, I will take care to perhaps increase magnesium rich foods (green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains) to balance that ratio.  

Thank you Barbara Teszler PR for the complimentary review copy.  The above post is my own.  I received no other compensation for this review, other than the pleasure of reading!