Eating Properly Is the Best Diet

Appetite and sexual desire are the two chains that bind human beings that seem to be getting firmer with time. Neither the vices arising from desire nor newly invented alternatives seem sufficient to cut those chains.

But escaping is not the right solution. “When there’s no escape, enjoy the situation,” as the saying goes. All you need to do is to find a happier and more beneficial method. The Truth About Food written by Jill Fullerton-Smith is a systemic approach toward this healthy indulgence.

“Appetite is no more than the result of biological evolution. If you get rid of all the confusions and fear surrounding food and understand the positive potential innate in it, you can change your life,” says Jill Fullerton-Smith.

Fullerton-Smith is a producer of BBC science documentaries, and her book was introduced on the BBC in this past February.

The author touches upon the views of scientists and other people about food. She points out that one of the hottest issues concerning food theses days is ‘how to get thin.’ Then she moves on to probe the rumors and curiosities about dieting in detail using scientific methods. Finally, she suggests menus and food to her readers.

For those readers who hope to get straight to the conclusion, her book can be a bore. Even children know that fiber is good for the body. TV programs have already repeated numerous times that eating breakfast helps children’s brain activity. Information about oysters, wine, and oil-rich fish are abundant as well.

But this book is a report that analyzes the other side of the story through scientific experiments. 50 experts around the world and 500 ordinary people participated in the experiments.

Let’s have a look at the first section: How to Stay Young and Beautiful. In the organs of a typical human, there are 100 trillion germs. They weigh only about 1 kg, but they are what keep the body alive. In contrast to the common belief, fiber is carbohydrate that cannot be absorbed by the body. But fiber functions as the provider of food for the germs. The book does not just say that it is good for the body, but explains why you should consume it.

The book also has a large number of research results that break existing common fallacies. The de-toxification programs widely enjoyed by modern people in fact do not have much effect. Broccoli, often called a natural anti-cancer medicine, is very helpful. Milk and cheese, which are usually avoided by people on diet, are actually helpful for people who want to lose weight when consumed in a certain amount because they are rich in calcium.

Most people do not need to drink two liters of water a day. And the real invigorator is not Casanova’s oysters, but garlic, which most Koreans love.

This is not to say that The Truth About Life is the best book on the subject just because it is based on science. All it does is to tell you how food operates in your body. If you hope to stay young and beautiful, to feed your child properly, it will do one good to know what it says. The book reflects on the relationship between human and food frankly, without exaggeration. “Consume balanced and suitable meals, and keep working out,” says the book. What’s important is not to know, but to realize.

ray@donga.com