A leading osteopath and natural wellness physician unveils a three-step program for losing weight-and keeping it off. In this revolutionary guide by the director of the Optimal Wellness Center in Illinois who has a wildly successful natural health care Web site, www.mercola.com, readers will discover how to shed those unwanted pounds-healthfully and nutritiously. According to the latest research, the current USDA food pyramid is misleading and incorrect: It is primarily carbohydrates, not fats, that contribute to increased weight gain and lead to a variety of illnesses and disorders. With Dr. Mercola's grain-free diet, readers will discover the key to permanent weight loss and healthy living, beginning with: * The 3-Day Diet-Eating every two hours to rid the body of grains, sweets, and starches * The 50-Day Diet Plan-Eating four to six meals a day to normalize cholesterol levels * The Lifelong Maintenance Plan-Following specific food guidelines that allow certain grains to be slowly brought back into the diet * Plus: The Emotional Freedom Technique-a craving-busting tool for eliminating carbohydrate cravings and addictions once and for all. Forget the pain and frustration of high-protein, low-fat diets that don't work and aren't even good for you. You'll watch the pounds come off as The No-Grain Diet takes you to the next level of health, fitness, and well-being.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is an osteopathic physician and director of the Optimal Wellness Center for his medical clinic outside of Chicago. Trained in both alternative and traditional medicine, he has served as the chairman of the family medicine department at St. Alexius Medical Center for five years.

Chapter 1 The Obesity EpidemicAfter more than three decades of consuming less fat and more carbohydrates, the average American is gaining weight at an alarming rate. We are eating sixty pounds more grain and thirty pounds more sweeteners than we did twenty-five years ago. The effects are clear: over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. With excess weight the single, most important factor in the onset of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, we now face an epidemic with health costs skyrocketing to $1.5 trillion. As medical experts desperately seek answers, I am thankful I can offer an effective and time-tested solution in The No-Grain Diet. For over a decade, the No-Grain Diet has been the centerpiece of my medical practice, used by hundreds of thousands of patients who visit my wellness center and my website at www.mercola.com. While the medical debate has simmered below the surface of media attention, I've been quietly refining my dietary strategy with nearly miraculous results. And finally, both doctors and the general public are recognizing a growing body of scientific evidence that supports what I've advocated all along. Eating certain kinds of carbohydrates, not fats, causes escalating weight gain and wide-ranging health problems.According to writer Gary Taubes, in his cover article in the July 7, 2002, New York Times Magazine, new research confirms that the USDA food pyramid, the low cholesterol heart disease diet, and the medical recommendations to eat less fat and more carbohydrates "are the cause of the rampaging epidemic of obesity in America."The Culprits in Weight Gain Fats aren't to blame for weight gain! In studying our endocrine system, new research I'll detail more fully in the next chapter finds that the real culprits are grains, starches, and sweets. These foods trigger a hormonal cycle of grain and sugar addiction, weight gain, and diabetes. That's why eliminating all grains, starches, and sugars for a limited period of time is the best way to reprogram your cells to burn fat. Erasing the signals that prompt you to eat will help you overcome cravings and addictive food urges. Combining these two approaches, the No-Grain Diet provides a comprehensive strategy that will help you rewire your physical and emotional hardware so you can lose weight and conquer carb cravings forever.My program comes complete with: The No-Grain Food Plan: A twenty-first-century diet in which you'll learn how to eat healthy foods amply while burning off poundage. The No-Grain Recipe and Menu Directory:Gourmet dishes and meals that satisfy your taste buds and nourish your cells. In compiling these recipes, I've incorporated a wide range of meat and vegetable dishes from all ethnic and healing food sources. The "Cravings Eraser":A mind-body toolbox (cited throughout as EFT) that will include instructions on how to: Conquer grain and sugar cravings Eliminate the emotional causes of overeating Banish the post-diet "yo-yo" effect that puts the weight back onBut How Is This Different from Atkins? Dr. Robert Atkins, whose diet was first introduced back in 1972, deserves the credit for his tremendous efforts in bringing the low-carb diet into the national spotlight. But just as the Atkins program built upon and improved previous dietary wisdom, the No-Grain Diet improves upon Atkins by overcoming certain built-in weaknesses in Atkins's plan, which impede your ability to lose weight and keep it off in a healthy sustainable fashion.I provide a solution to the excess animal protein consumption featured on the Atkins's diet, which is cause for concern because: * Hormones given to meat and dairy cattle create a surplus of estrogens in humans-and my meat recommendations eliminate this concern. * Antibiotics in animal feed contribute to antibiotic r