The Boston Diet is a high fiber, low fat, low protein, moderate carbohydrate diet that I have invented. It is vegan, meaning that fruits, vegetables, and grains are allowed. An exception is coffee, which I have banned from the diet because of the caffeine and the acids in it. Unfortunately the acids can cause gastrointestinal problems.
This diet was not invented from scratch. I studied various diets, including the Harris diet, the Pritikin diet, the Atkins diet, the PKU diet, etc. Although Pritikin was not a doctor, his diet was one of the best. Atkins was a doctor, but he was eccentric. Atkins favored a low carbohydrate diet, but he allowed fat. This was a mistake. There are serious problems with saturated fat and cholesterol. Pritikin did not make that mistake. Weil favors omega-3 fatty acids. These are mostly in vegetable fats, but they are also present in fish.
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This drawing is from Arthur's Clipart website. Arthur scanned it from a very old medical book. I have agonized over fat. It seems that there are useful fats. The myelin sheaths of some neurons are made of fat. Also the cell membranes are made of fat. The myelin sheaths are the cell membranes of certain neurons. Weil was correct. However, there are fat deposits in the brain in schizophrenia. Also there are fat deposits in arteries that are adverse. Therefore I decided to ban animal fat.
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The brilliant German 19th century scientist Dr. Rudolph Virchow thought that diseases should be studied on a cellular level. Following in his footsteps were the brilliant German neuropathologists Nissl and Alzheimer. They both reported cellular pathology in "dementia praecox", which is now called schizophrenia. They found deposits of fat and pigment as well as other changes.
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One of my favorite inspirational quotes is from Winston Churchill. Churchill wrote "Never, never, never give up!" This determination helped him beat Hitler. I have used this same determination in publishing the Boston diet. Many newsletters refused to publish it. Also this same determination was used to create the diet.
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Shown here is the tomato. But why study plant biology? The answere is that we eat plants. Also many drugs are made from plants, but that is another story. Tomatos are encouraged in the Boston diet. They contain fiber, which is very beneficial. For one thing, fiber slows down the rapid rises in blood sugar that can cause problems for diabetics. This is also good for hypoglycemics, provided that their problem is from too much insulin. A rapid rise in blood sugar triggers insulin.
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Shown here is the famous and infamous late Dr. Robert Atkins. The clipart is from Alibris.
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The Boston diet is a diet for brain health as well as gastrointestinal and cardiovascular health. Amino acids are very important in the brain. They sometimes function as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters act in the synapse. Unfortunately amino acid errors cause disastrous problems in the brain. One example of this is PKU, a terrible genetic disease which is treatable by diet.
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Unfortunately there are many diseases which attack the brain, including mad cow disease. The way to avoid mad cow disease is simply to avoid eating beef and dairy products. Rabies and encephalitis and meningitis are other diseases that are contagious that attack the brain. Rabies causes the dog to become insane.
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Chaucer wrote, "All the new corn comes from old fields." This is true of the Boston diet. I used ideas from the Harris diet for hypoglycemia, which was invented by Dr. Seale Harris in the 20th century. This diet discourages large meals and simple sugars. Complex carbohydrates are better because they are digested slowly. Starches are better than sweets. Large meals cause too much of a rise in blood sugar.
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Cereals are encouraged because they contain fiber and because they contain complex carbohydrates.
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Shown here is Linus Pauling in his older years. Pauling was the George Burns of science, doing research into his nineties. Towards the end he was trying to cure cancer but failed. Pauling took large doses of vitamin C. Pauling felt taht the RDA's were only for healthy people. Pauling felt that in disease the vitamin needs may be higher. Pauling was very critical of over-the-counter cold medicines because of their adverse side effects. He was correct on this point. I believe that he was also correct on the value of nutritional supplements.
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