I want to give a shout out to Mira and Jayson Calton whose book “Naked Calories” is being published this week. Their thinking about nutrition and health is similar to mine, and I consider their book a good companion to “The Omni Diet”. If you are a fan and follow my principles, you will enjoy this book.
“Naked Calories” refers to the calories in much of our processed foods – the calories are there but the micronutrients – vitamins and minerals – we need for good health aren’t. The Caltons travelled the world for six years after they married to study the diets and health of primitive people in remote places, people in emerging countries and people in the developed world. They found the healthiest human specimens among the people who lived closest to nature and whose diets depended on the foods they grew, picked off trees, hunted or caught. They also got more exercise than people elsewhere in the world. Even their teeth were better, the Caltons report in their book. Worst off – you guessed it – were the people in the developed world whose food choices all too often provide only naked calories that can lead to obesity, diabetes or worse.
The Caltons are champions of locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables and make the point that exotic fruits from faraway places may look great, but their micronutrient loss is often proportional to the distance these foods have traveled to reach your supermarket. They also provide tips for maximizing the micronutrients available in common foods and preventing their loss.
I loved the Caltons’ first book, “Rich Food Poor Food”, and recommended it to my clients as a shopping guide to nutritious foods. “Naked Calories” contains a wealth of information about micronutrients and why it is so important to your health to get your full complement daily. The Caltons also go into fascinating detail about the chemicals and additives used in processed foods here in the U.S., some of which are illegal elsewhere in the world.
Congratulations to the Caltons on the publication of “Naked Calories”. You can bet I will be adding this wonderful guide to nutrition to the list of resources on my website.
