Health Through Diet

For most of my adult life, I have been suffering from a lack of energy. The first breakthrough came when I discovered the evils of high glycaemic index foods (at the time, thought of them as simple carbohydrates). I decided that I had a moderate case of relative hypoglyemia, caused by excess sugar consumption in childhood.
The classic book on this subject is published in Australia (there are U.K. and U.S. versions now):
the G.I. Factor "the G.I. factor (the glucose revolution)", Brand Miller J, Foster-Powell K, Colagiuri S, Leeds A, Hodder, Sydney 1998. This is the second edition of the book; some prefer the more detailed GI tables at the back of the first edition (now out of print). Very readable; good tables; lots of recipes. Has information for people with diabetes, overweight, sport people, a chapter on heart disease, and a small chapter on hypoglycaemia. ISBN 0-7336-1239-3.

None of the diets I tried for many years proved ideal. Most likely the reason is that I have been ignoring the glycemic index of foods. For a popular account of carbohydrates, which is probably way too hard on sugar itself, see:
sugar busters! "Sugar Busters!", Andrews A, Balart L, Bethea M, and Steward L, Vermilion, London 1998. ISBN: 0-09-181678-4. The glycemic indexes in this book are not terribly complete and contain a few errors; use these from Rick Mendosa's page.
Chana Dahl I found some Chana Dahl in Australia; quality unknown . Picture here. [According to Rick's page, Gram Dal (chana dal) has the lowest glycaemic index on the planet. The product pictured may not be the same as the actual South African chana dal.]

Here are some older books I have read on the hypoglycemia; not that these are no longer recommended, since they predate the Glycaemic Index concept:
 
"Hypoglycemia, A Better Approach", Airola P, Health Plus, Phoenix 1977. ISBN: 0-932090-01- X. Dr Airola has written many other books, with such titles as "How to Get Well", and pushes the idea of natural foods. In his opinion, ordinary milk from the grocery store is unfit for human consumption.
"The Hypoglycemic Connection", Samra G, MINT Enterprises, Sydney 1984. ISBN: 0011-1- 602-9920589. Somewhat technical. 
"Low Blood Sugar", Budd M L, Thorsons Publishers Limited, Wellingborough 1981. ISBN: 0- 7225-0589-2.

After one week on a low sugar diet and some exercise, I felt fabulous; full of energy. Alas, it did not last, and I have not been able to recreate this state of energy.

Many years later I read a sequel to the classic Pritiken book:

"The Pritikin Programme for Diet and Exercise", Pritikin N, (to be completed).

In this book, Pritikin claims that fats (among other evils) can cause low availability of glucose to the brain (the main cause of symptoms such as forgetfulness, which has plagued me for years). I had not been concerned at all with the amount of fat in my diet, and here it is claimed that it (basically) causes hypoglycemia! This gave me an extra reason to join my wife in using the Pritikin diet. Here is a more modern book by Nathan Pritikin:

"The Pritiken Promise (28 Days to a Longer, Healthier Life)", Pritikin N, Bantam Books, New York 1985. ISBN: 0-553-17157-7. Very readable. Includes recipes.

The following book is written by his son Robert, but I don't think it adds anything to his father's work.

"The New Pritikin Program", Pritikin R, Simon & Schuster (in US) 1990. ISBN: 0-451-17185-3.

I had changed my views somewhat after reading this remarkable book:

"Cancer Proof your Body", Horne R, Angus and Robertson, Sydney 1996. ISBN 0-207-18900-5.

Horne is not a medical doctor, which is more or less required for his critical stance. What he says made a lot of sense, and I was ashamed of the medical profession for hiding the cure for cancer, which has been known for over 50 years. This book claims that a healthy body simply can't get cancer, and so the solution is to remain healthy by means of diet. He is somewhat critical of the Pritiken diet, although he acknowledges that it is probably the best of the well known diets.

I can recommend this Australian manual on general dieting:
Diet Manual "Allan Borushek's Diet Manual", Borushek A, Family Health Publications 1992. ISBN: 0- 947091-04-1. Publisher's address: PO Box 250, West Perth, Western Australia 6872. Includes recipes. Allan's calorie counter is one of the best and most comprehensive.

A good source of recipes (most are quite low fat):
Healthy Heart Cookbook "Healthy Heart Cookbook", The Australian Women's Weekly, Sydney 1990. ISBN: 0-949892- 66-1. Endorsed by the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

There is a great FTP site for fat free recipes in Germany ; all the recipes have a .gz extension so make sure you have gzip (there are PC and Mac versions) to decompress them. A good recipe index is in New Zealand (not necessarily fat free). There is a newsgroup called alt.food.fat-free . Here is a fat-free FAQ.

Last updated: 17th Dec 2000: Removed large pictures linked to icons..
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