What is Nutritarian Diet?

You’ll lose weight, keep it off and reach peak health – without counting calories – through whole-plant and nutrient-rich foods by following the Nutritarian diet, according to the doctor who created it.

Break out the salad bowl: Filling up with plant-based, nutrient-dense, disease-fighting superfoods, while limiting animal protein and processed choices – even olive oil – resets and retrains your palate to savor more natural, healthier foods. You’re empowered to reach your ideal weight while warding off heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and autoimmune conditions, Nutritarian guidebooks suggests. And you could live to be 100.

Through his books on healthful eating, including the 2011 “Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss,” Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a family physician and president of the Nutritional Research Foundation, builds his program on findings from more than two decades of research on which foods and diets are most effective for promoting health and longevity.

Four core principles rule. “Nutrient density” ranks foods on how nutrient-packed they are per calorie. Cruciferous greens such as kale, collards and mustard greens garner top nutrient-density scores, while cola drinks scrape the bottom. “Nutrient adequacy” means taking in all the individual vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids you need. “Toxin avoidance” occurs as chemicals, carcinogens and infectious agents sometimes found in processed foods are naturally reduced. “Hormonal favorability” involves choosing carbohydrates with a lower glycemic load and reducing animal protein to keep low blood levels of hormones that have been linked to an increased risk of cancer (especially breast and colon cancer), hardening of the arteries and increased fat storage. Foods supplying the right amount of macronutrients – protein, fat and carbohydrates – as well as vital micronutrients – vitamins, phytochemicals and nutrients – and fiber will unleash the body’s power to heal itself and slow the aging process.

Pros & Cons

How does Nutritarian Diet work?

To get started on the Nutritarian diet, the first step is to pick your plan. You can use the Nutritarian diet as an ongoing, more-flexible “Eat to Live” method, a six-week jump-start plan or a fast weight-loss “detox” diet. Choose the level that suits your needs.

The fastest weight-loss “10 in 20” detox program is geared toward a 10-pound weight loss in 20 days, as you rid your diet of unhealthy foods. As you break away from familiar processed foods, for the first few days you may feel tired and weak as you overcome cravings for sugar and salt you’ve been used to, the plan notes. But any withdrawal symptoms should ease after the first three days as your palate is reintroduced to natural textures and flavors.

The downloadable “10 in 20” plan spells out every detail, from your prediet shopping list to unique meal plans for each day, one to 20, complete with recipes. From day one, you’ll jump right into full detox with both feet. Say goodbye to salt, sugar, dairy products and soda – including diet soda. Water is great; decaffeinated tea is cool, but if you can’t quit regular coffee altogether, limit yourself to a single daily cup.

The diet focuses on raw or cooked vegetables, and you can eat those foods in unlimited amounts, with caveats. Try hard not to eat between meals, the diet recommends, and during meals, stop eating before you feel full or stuffed. Cooked, starchy vegetables are allowed in limited amounts, as are raw nuts and seeds and avocados.

You might as well cover your grill – barbecued meats are strictly off-limits, along with cured and processed meats. Consider animal products such as fat-free dairy, eggs, wild fish and organic meat as flavorings or condiments rather than entrees. A daily multivitamin plus a DHA/EPA supplement (omega-3 fatty acids) is recommended.

With the more flexible, but still fairly strict, six-week jump-start plan, the average person will lose about 20 pounds, according to Fuhrman.

For both the 20-day and six-week weight-loss plans, you eat all the raw veggies, cooked greens and other nutrient-rich veggies, beans, legumes, bean sprouts, tofu and fresh fruit you want (or more). Your goal is to consume 1 pound of raw vegetables; 1 pound of cooked vegetables such as eggplants, mushrooms, onions, carrots, tomatoes and cauliflower; 1 cup of beans, legumes, bean sprouts and tofu; and at least four fresh fruits daily.

You eat limited amounts of cooked, starchy vegetables and whole grains, as well as raw nuts and seeds, avocados, dried fruit and ground flaxseeds. Forbidden foods include dairy, meat and animal products, between-meal snacks, fruit juice, oils and added salt.

The overall long-term “Eat to Live” plan is more flexible, but the philosophy is the same. The Nutritarian diet has its own food pyramid – unlike in the USDA version, dairy products don’t make the cut. The Nutritarian diet places less emphasis on grains, which are included, but limited, and more on vegetables. Beans are more prominent as a source of protein, while meat is limited to two servings or fewer per week. Nuts, seeds and avocado have their own food group on the Nutritarian pyramid because of their heart benefits.

Think “G-BOMBS” to remember the best anti-cancer, immune-boosting superfoods: greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. These foods will make up a significant part of your daily food intake.

Salads are central to the diet as the main course, not a side dish. At least one daily meal consists of a big salad packed with G-BOMBS and topped by an oil-free dressing. Round out this lunch or dinner with soup and a piece of fruit.

Oil-limiting guidelines, even for olive oil, may come as a surprise. But whole olives contain fiber, and more micronutrients and fewer calories than processed olive oil, Fuhrman says, as do walnuts and sunflower seeds when compared with their respective oils. You’ll top your salad with nuts and seeds instead of olive oil-based dressings.

Even for longer-term eating, animal products are restricted in type and amount: You should only use wild, low-mercury seafood or naturally raised fowl. Think of animal products as a flavor-enhancing condiment, rather than main dishes. Bread should only be included in three weekly meals at most. And you’ll eliminate foods that are empty of nutrients, including processed foods, white flour, sugar and sweeteners.

Snacking is discouraged. You’ll eat three meals a day rather than spreading your food out into smaller meals. Eating constantly interferes with body-fat loss, according to the diet’s literature. While lunch and dinner menus are similar and interchangeable, breakfast only comes once a day, and eggs are limited to three times a week.

Water is the recommend beverage. It’s OK to have plain, unsweetened seltzer water. Caffeine-free herbal tea, hot or cold, is another option. Adding spice is fine – except for salt.

Link to Nutritarian Diet website : hellonutritarian.com