The Starch Solution

I think it's time to start talking about some health issues, so let's begin with the health of the planet. I was listening to a lecture given by Dr. John McDougall yesterday, and he was talking about the individual and planetary benefits of a starch-based diet. The lecture is available on the Get Healthy Now! DVD, and you can also read about it in his newsletter archives.

Scientists have said that carbon emissions need to be 350 parts per million or less in order for life on this planet as we know it to survive. Right now we're averaging 380. These are desperate times.

It takes 2 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of starch (grain, legumes, tubers). It takes 80 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of meat. By switching to a starch-based diet, we could reduce the fossil fuel consumption used to produce food forty-fold.

On a starch-based diet, you eat grains (rice, wheat, barley, rye, millet, etc.), legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy or eggs. You can eat as much as you want (with the exception of nuts, seeds, olives and avocados, which should be eaten in small quantities) and not be fat. And you get all the protein that you need with no excess. Cooking can be simple or complex, according to your lifestyle, desires and time.

Contrary to popular belief, starch does not make you fat. Fat makes you fat. People have lived on starch-based diets for tens of thousands of years, and billions of people in the world still do. It is only people in the west who eat a rich diet of meat, eggs, dairy, and processed foods, and who have problems with heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

If you want to know more, Dr. McDougall's latest book addressing this problem, The Starch Solution, will be coming out soon. I highly recommend subscribing to his monthly newsletter, which is always full of useful and interesting information regarding food and health. It's not just about individual health -- it's about the health of the entire planet and every living being.