Friday December 29, 2000

Fit For Life

Watermelon. It's a perfect food according to Harvey Diamond and his "Fit For Life" philosophy. He says, "It looks pretty it smells pretty it tastes pretty. You can't say that about all foods.

Diamond believes 75 percent of the food you eat should be living: uncooked fruits vegetables, and nuts. Only 25 percent should be cooked or as he says "dead" food. He says, "Being a living organism you need to eat living food."

New Yorker Avra Petrakos picked up Diamond's book 14 years ago. After losing 20 pounds she made "Fit For Life" part of her lifestyle. She says, "Eat fruit until noon and eat lots of vegetables with every meal. Basically always eating alive food like a salad with every meal."

Another facet to "Fit For Life" is food combining. Diamond recommends eating protein with salad and vegetables or carbohydrates with salad and vegetables. But never combining meat or chicken with potatoes, or pasta. Diamond says your body can't digest proteins and carbohydrates at the same time.

Diamond says, "That's all 'Fit For Life' is about streamlining the digestive process so energy is freed up to be used by the body for healing and cleansing."

But food combining has been criticized as nonsense with no scientific proof. Diamond says he is living proof that "Fit For Life" works. Exposed to Agent Orange while in Vietnam, Diamond developed peripheral neuropathy which destroyed the muscles in his arms.

He say says, "I'm the longest known survivor its been 15 years and I don't even need a wheelchair like so many do right before they die. And I did that with the very principles in this book."

But Avra says anyone can benefit from "Fit For Life."

She tells us, "'Fit For Life' has changed my life because I always had a problem with weight, I was always unhappy with my body. It is easy to take control of my weight I have a lot of energy."

So if you can live without spaghetti and meatballs it's time for you to get "fit for life."

Doctor diamond's "Fit For Life" diet apparently isn't just an American phenomenon. Since his book was published in 1985, it has sold 10 million copies in 29 different languages.