The Plant Plus Diet Solution is a user-friendly synthesis of where nutrition is going in the 21st century. It will help you make sense of dietary confusion, give you suggestions on how to personalize your approach to food and bring the practice of mindfulness to bear on that relationship.

Dr. Joan Borysenko, a Harvard-trained researcher and psychologist, offers us the latest view of nutritional research and common sense tips on how to develop a food plan that is both good for you and is pleasing to the taste and experience of fine food.

Here’s the problem: In 1960 the United States was 16th in life expectancy compared to 191 other countries worldwide, and is now 51st in life expectancy, behind Bosnia and Herzegovina (barely nosing out Guam). American children born in 2014 are the first generation slated to live shorter lives than their parents–69 years on average. At the other end of the spectrum, the elderly are already losing their minds to an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease. Further, health care costs trillions of dollars every year in the US alone.

Here’s the cause: Poor quality fats, too many carbohydrates (especially refined grains, sugar, and even whole grains), pesticide-ridden crops, and factory-farmed meat with a poor fat profile have all unleashed an epidemic of chronic disease.

Here’s the solution: The healthiest diets, according to recent research, are predominantly “plant plus”-based. The basis of a good diet for every person is a whole foods diet of vegetables and protein that is relatively low in carbohydrates (and preferably organic). The “Plus” part of a PlantPlus diet are proteins that range from fish to meat, tofu to tempeh, and dairy. Plus foods are based both on personal choice and unique physiology.

As much as 90% of what’s called evidence-based medicine is based on faulty research. In a section featuring fascinating science bites the reader will learn how to vet a study, and how to avoid succumbing to nutritional and medical snake oil.

Lastly, this is more than teaching and practices about health and weight. It’s about respect for the planet, the animals who sustain us if we’re among the 96% of Americans who eat dairy, eggs, meat, or fish, the integrity of our environment, and the health and wellbeing of our children and our children’s children.

A few of the cutting edge nutritional topics and practices included in this module are:

• Genetics: When our diet matches our genome we’re more likely to lose weight and improve our health. Understanding what genes can and can’t tell us in terms of diet is a fledgling new science called nutrigenomics.
• Microbial Health: Our 100 trillion friendly microbes outnumber our mammalian cells 10 to one. These microbes contain 99% of our genetic material and are the elephant in the room of health They determine in large part what we weigh, how our metabolism works, whether our gut will develop leaks predisposing to autoimmune disease and inflammation, and even whether we’re prone to depression. What we eat determines what kind of bugs we live with and which of their genes are expressed.
• Epigenetics: Since our mammalian genetic code changes slowly, but our environment changes fast, factors like the food we eat and how its sourced (whether it’s sprayed with pesticides or comes from factory-farmed animals) determine how our genes express themselves.
• Maintaining new habits concerning food: This is where Joan’s expertise as a psychologist comes in. 95% of people who lose weight gain in back within a year. Joan offers coaching to people interested in making a real, lasting lifestyle change instead. In this section the two phases of the PlantPlus Dietare laid out. Phase 1 is followed by everyone for four weeks. It’s a whole-foods, plant-based, grain-free diet enriched with good fats and with whatever organically grown, humanely raised Plus foods they choose, including fish, meat, and dairy. I identify 20 Superfoods that feed the person as well as their gut microbes, some of which have the ability to change metabolism. And hopefully I provide plenty of information about eating mindfully that will lead to success.
• 30 Day Re-boot: A good basic diet to be followed by everyone for four weeks. It’s a whole-foods, plant-based, grain-free diet enriched with good fats and with whatever organically grown, humanely raised. Plus foods you can choose, include fish, meat, and dairy. Superfoods are identified that feed the person as well as their gut microbes, some of which have the ability to change metabolism.
• Phase 2 of the PlantPlus approach is personalized on the results of the reader’s self-tests, weight, and the common blood tests specified.
• The Three Constrictions: Why your PlantPlus Re-boot could fail.