July, 2003
Recently, LivingRight.com interviewed Dr.
Diana Schwarzbein, founder of the five-step Schwarzbein
Principle. Dr. Schwarzbein wrote the foreword to Suzanne
Somers' blockbuster books Get the Skinny on Fabulous
Food and Eat, Cheat and Melt the Fat Away.
It's no wonder. In today's culture of skipping meals and
what Dr. Schwarzbein calls "damaged foods," fast
food and prepared food, this bestselling author of four
books (The Schwarzbein Principle, The Schwarzbein
Principle II, The Schwarzbein Principle Cookbook,
The Schwarzbein Principle Vegetarian Cookbook)
told us carried a bag of healthy food when she was a busy
medical resident. We asked her for advice for harried people
in today's hurry-up eat-late no-time-for-nutrition times.
She said to carry around a cooler with cottage cheese, nuts,
seeds and raisins, and munch healthily during the day.
The emphasis on good nutrition is a huge part
of Schwarzbein's five steps:
Using these 5 steps someone could heal their
metabolism. This is called the Transition, which in Type
II diabetic people with damaged metabolisms might take years.
Dr. Schwarzbein said her emphasis is working with metabolism
rather than calories in = calories out, or the medical community's
and the diet industry's total hyperfocus on energy rather
than the total picture of structure, function, and energy,
which contribute to rebuilding the body.
Instead of "junk" science, fad diets
and innumerable quick fixes, Dr. Schwarzbein offered this
wisdom: "You might be overweight because you're not
rebuilding your structure and your function." A rebuilt
body and metabolism is healthy, and as Dr. Schwarzbein told
us, "You cannot lose weight to be healthy. You must
be healthy to lose weight."
We were astonished to hear Dr. Schwarzbein's
remark, "Just because you're thin doesn't mean you're
healthy." You could easily be a size 2 fashion model
and be insulin-resistant with burned-out adrenal glands.
You could, later in life, have Type II diabetes, all due
to poor eating habits.
Dr. Schwarzbein's emphasis is on eating well
to regulate hormones, since hormones determine the rebuilding.
She said the number one rule of Hormone Replacement Therapy
is to only take a hormone when it is low or missing. However,
if your body can still make it, it is better to change eating
habits to consume enough protein and healthy fats to rebuild
the hormones of the body. The body's basic principles will
ensure you get healthy if you (a) eat to rebuild, (b) have
smaller meals (and snacks) more frequently (although healthier
metabolisms can stand three full meals a day), and (c) eat
real carbohydrates and non-starchy vegetables, avoiding
hydrogenated
food, which probably includes all the cakes and cookies
you sometimes crave.
Dr. Schwarzbein explained that onr of the
reasons you want "comfort food," sugary hydrogenated
food such as cakes and cookies, is the rising stress in
our culture. As your serotonin or beneficial hormone levels
go down, you are out of balance, and when you eat to calm
yourself, you further damage your metabolism. On the other
hand, you can eat well and exercise well, but if the stress
in your life is high, you'll get a "tension buzz"
and clenched jaws. Lack of real, nourishing food compounds
the problem.
Many different foods promise to be the solution
for boosting health and lowering stress: wheatgrass, soy
and soy products, smoothies, plenty of water, calcium-enriched
soy milk, lots of fruits and vegetables, in particular organic
and raw.
Which foods are actually the best for you?
Dr. Schwarzbein tells us next
month!
Visit Dr. Diana Schwarzbein on the Web: http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com
Next: Living
Right with the Schwarzbein Principle, Part II
