He says his most important piece of advice is that "salad is the main dish". I love it. It's a great way to think about your diet. Because for most, a salad is something on the side that we must get through to enjoy our burger (if we even order the salad).
Greens should be the BIGGEST part of our diet! Look at every other herbivore and omnivore out there.
I used to be a salad lover, then I found green smoothies and my love reached a whole nother level.
But this book turned me on to salad again! I've been eating gargantuan salads everyday since I read it. They're wonderful, just like green smoothies, and a nice change-up. I just need to chew more =)
If you have read the China Study, you will like this book. If you haven't read the China Study, run to the nearest bookstore or library RIGHT NOW and get it.
Eat To Live is similar in that it gives a non-biased, valid, and proven scientific explanation for why this diet is superior. At the same time, the language is still easy for most to understand.
There are chapters on cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems; along with in-depth chapters about why raw plants are the perfect food for us; as well as success stories and before and after photos of people who have achieved amazing results with the diet. There's also recipes and a FAQ section, which I found useful.
The only qualm I might have with the book is that Fuhrman says to avoid coconut because of it's high saturated fat content =(
I understand why he says this, because the demographic that's reading this book is usually over-weight, middle-aged people who have tried everything to lose weight and regain health... not exactly me.
For these people, if they want that weight gone as soon as possible, then I suppose avoiding coconut isn't bad advice. But it's not great advice either. Coconut oil has many benefits, as does it's meat. It's saturated fat is in fact quite healthy for us, unlike most other foods with saturated fat. Read more and get a recipe here.
Other than that one little thing, the book is excellent. Everyone should read this!