FIT FOR LIFE by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond 1985

This is not a new book but if you care about health and nutrition you will want to read this!!
It has great basic info about "how food works in your body" and the order in which you should consume certain foods each day. It is not a diet, a gimmick or a book selling gig. It is about real facts about foods and how your body uses them to serve you best.The first half of the book has nutrition info and the second has meal plans and possible recipes to implement the principles shared. Although,you do NOT have to use all the recipes to get the general benefit of the knowledge about how best to eat foods that this book will give you!!

The most important piece of information in the book is "The Energy Ladder". It is am a.m. to p.m. guide of which foods to eat and when during your day. It goes like this:
A.M.
Fresh fruit AND Fruit Juices
Fresh Vegetable juices and Salads
Fresh vegetables, Raw nuts and seeds
Grains, breads, potatoes,Legumes
Meat, Chicken,Fish, Dairy
P.M.
You start each day at the top and eat downward during the day- eating as many fruits and veggies early and saving grains, dairy and meat for later in the day.

THE AUTHORS SHARE THE THREE CYCLES OF YOUR BODY AND THE TIME THEY SHOULD OCCUR if you are eating properly:
1.ELIMINATION (4a.m. to noon) for cleansing and detoxifying
2.APPROPRIATION( noon to 8pm)
3.ASSIMILATION (8pm to 4 am)

Some other facts that caught my eye and were new to me were : never cook fruits as it makes them acidic and hard to digest( like for apple sauce or pie- they have a great recipe for no- cooking blended applesauce) and to make your own juice as concentrated juice is also very acidic. It also had a chart of how long to wait before or after eating fruit ,as the body easily digests fruit but when added with other foods it rots in our bodies rather that serving up the nutrients we are promised. In other words eat fruit early in the day and by itself or as snacks later in the day if using the times below for best nutritional and body benefits:

CHART FOR FRUIT EATING
2hrs after salad or raw veggies
3 hrs after combined meal without meat
4hrs after combined meal with meat
8 hrs after any poorly combined meal

Our usual version of a "hearty breakfast" first thing in the morning like cereal and milk or eggs and toast breaks all the rules and will sit in our bodies for up to three hours before giving us any energy at all..in fact it will make you tired!! It is all about getting energy from our foods , losing weight and having maximum nutrition benefits from our food ...I am all for that..who isn't??
It just makes sense!!

They also say tpo consume NUTS "raw" not "roasted" as roasting makes them acidic. ALSO MOSTLY CONSUME FOODS WITH "HIGH WATER CONTENT" SUCH AS FRUITS AND VEGGIES.VS OTHER "CONCENTRATED FOODS".

A typical meal plan looks like this:
Breakfast: fruit or smoothie
Lunch veggies or veggie juice, salad without meat or nuts
Supper: veggie soup, cooked veggies or starch, meat, salad or just a meat/ salad*
All of their salads are half lettuce and half spinach plus other ingredients.And most fiber comes from nuts and fruits and veggies vs flour based products.

I am amazed with all the reading on nutrition over the years i have done that i have never heard any of this??I don't think i will ever tire of reading about nutrition and how best to eat food for energy!