Gillian McKeith's Food Bible
Read Gillian McKeith's Food Bible Online
Authors: Gillian McKeith
Gillian McKeith’s
FOOD
BIBLE
HOW TO USE FOOD TO
CURE WHAT AILS YOU
This book is dedicated to my lovely daughters
PLUME
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Originally published in Great Britain by Penguin Books Ltd.
First American Printing, February 2009
Text copyright © Gillian McKeith, 2008
Photography copyright © Jonathan Buckley, pp.
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Illustrations copyright © Samara Bryan, 2008
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
McKeith, Gillian.
Gillian McKeith’s food bible : how to use food to cure what ails you / by Gillian McKeith.
p. cm.
“A Plume Book.”
Includes index.
ISBN: 978-1-101-65917-5
1. Diet therapy. 2. Nutrition. I. Title. II. Title: Food bible.
RM216.M455 2009
615.8’54—dc22 2008036652
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I know I’m a tough talker—my style has always been more boot camp than health spa—after all, you wouldn’t expect me to sugarcoat the message! The reason is, I truly care about empowering people to be healthier, and the best way you can do this is with food.
Your health really is in your hands, and your kitchen. Know that you have the power to heal and revitalize your body, mind, and soul. But you need to be ready and willing to take up the reins. From the moment of conception, and even before, food gives us life. It has the power to heal, provides energy, lifts your moods, and even boosts your chances of conception to start the life cycle all over again. That’s why it breaks my heart to see people making themselves unwell, or even shortening
their precious lives, through food ignorance and poor food choices.
But I’m not here to nag you—I’m here to help. I’ve decided to put my life’s work into one must-have food bible. It’s a book you can dip in and out of or read cover to cover. You can search for specific foods or ailments, or learn just how foods affect your well-being, from head to toe, birth to old age. Whether you want to learn what to eat to help protect you from winter colds, sail through menopause or banish your IBS, my book provides the answers at your fingertips. Think of me as your personal food oracle. No need to struggle alone—just ask Gillian!
After working in the field of food and nutrition for more than 15 years, I’ve observed hundreds of clients, attended seminars and workshops all over the world, and quizzed more experts than you could shake a mango smoothie at. While it’s absolutely fascinating, the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. That’s why I’ve made it my passion to absorb, understand, and distill it all for you. As I’ve found so often with my clients, simplicity is the key to success. And success equals a healthier, sexier, more radiant, happier you.
I believe there are three crucial elements when it comes to your general health. They are each very simple, and very powerful:
1. Open up
2. Be the real you
3. Think of food as energy: positive and negative
The first two might not seem very relevant in a book about nutrition, but to get an overweight, beer-guzzling, burger-munching man to swap over to adzuki beans, he needs to open up his mind, body, and spirit. The same goes for all of us who want to change. We need to open up to who we really are, what we want, and go for it. Shed your baggage and reach your core. Become open-minded to all the new and exciting foods that you will discover, and the possibilities for health, energy, and lifestyle are endless.
The following exercise will help you do it:
1)
Upon waking, listen to your breath for a couple of minutes. Then give a soft-spoken command to your body: “My body is free to be totally open.” (If you have a partner snoring next to you, you may want to say it silently.) Repeat the command three times.
2)
Get out of bed and stand up with your bare feet firmly planted on the ground. Raise both arms above your head. Just notice your body and how it feels.
The key is to stay out of your head and be in your body.
Just be
. Stop thinking and don’t ask so many questions of yourself. The end result is that you process your emotions better and you will be more open to everything, new ideas, new philosophies, new directions, new foods—a new you.
Once you’ve opened up, you need to stay true to your new ideals—be the real you. When you eat healthily, you are going to think differently. You will be stronger in body, clearer in thought, more intuitive, and able to make the right decisions in life. But some people around you may feel threatened by the change. They might try to stop you because of what it might mean for them. You may hear the usual snide comments:
That’s bird food.
It’s so expensive.
You’re not feeding me that.
I won’t like it.