The Origin Diet: How Eating Like Our Stone-Age Ancestors Will Maximize Your Health

By Elizabeth Somer

Book Overview

From a leading nutrition expert comes the perfect health and weight-loss plan for fast-paced modern lives - a revolutionary diet that takes us back to age-old nutritional basics.Scientific evidence reveals that in prehistoric times - before the high-carb diet, before the all-protein diet, even before calories were counted - obesity and chronic-disease rates were dramatically lower. Today's sedentary way of life and fast-food culture is out of balance with our ancestral roots. In The Origin Diet, Elizabeth Somer builds on the wisdom of our bodies to help us get back to our beginnings and live healthier lives.Somer does not suggest that we live in caves, but does advise painless changes in the way we eat - such as incorporating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into our diet - to help align the body with its evolutionary needs. She introduces the Origin Pyramid - an invaluable model for preparing easy, nutritious meals - and encourages us to follow twelve Getting Back to Basics guidelines for eating and exercising.The Origin Diet also offers a tempting, healthful array of recipes and menus, plus lifestyle tips that are easy to incorporate into today's time-challenged schedules. Now, with Somer's help, you can graze and nibble your way to weight loss the naturally healthful way.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805063358
• ISBN13: 9780805063356
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Another Great Book By Elizabeth Somer

The Origin Diet is another great book by Elizabeth Somer. As always, Ms. Somer writes with authority and presents information in a way that makes it easy to read, understand, and apply to life today. I find that Ms. Somer is one of the most knowledgable nutrition writers today. I look forward to her books and never question whether they will be worth reading. The Origin Diet is no exception--a must read!

The Origin Diet

I've been interested in nutrition and weight issues for most of my adult life. The Origin Diet really put things in perspective. When I eat in sync with my body, putting in the kinds of foods that our bodies are designed to use, I experience a sense of healthy balance that allows my weight to stabilize or decrease. (I don't have experience with needing to gain weight but I assume that would happen if the person was underweight from restrictive dieting.) Anyway, this book explains the concepts from an evolutionary point of view that just make sense. The author uses that point of view to explain why vegetables are healthy for us, why saturated fat in red meat is not and why we crave chocolate but not chard. I'm using this book to learn why and how to work with my natural instincts to lose weight, have more energy and curb cravings. I've always hoped I could feel this good! Best of all, the advice in the book is practical and up-to-date with modern life. I usually don't like menus and shopping lists but I have the sense that these were created for "real people." The recipes are really good! As with Somer's other books, The Origin Diet is research-based but the information is clear and easy to apply. I highly recommend The Origin Diet for people who want to jump off the fad diet bandwagon and get on with losing weight for good. For good health, that is!

Why I follow the Origin Diet myself

Finally, a nutrition book that makes sense. The Origin Diet is so well researched and the information is so thorough and practical, it has made it easy for me to incorporate healthy habits into my life, lose weight and still enjoy food. Somer takes age-old wisdom adn finetunes it for today's busy lifestyles so that you don't have to eat woolly mammoth or live in a cave, You can still enjoy yummy foods while boosting your health and losing inchces off your waistline. I just had to write something after reading a few of the bad reviews on this book. Obviously, these comments came from people who haven't read this book and have not yet discovered tha you don't need to follow dangerous fad diets. Elizabeth Somer is among the top nutritionists in the country, if not the world. Readers should take advantage of her vast wealth of nutritional and weight loss expertise and eat this book up--as well as every nugget of nutritional information in it.Carole Jacobs Senior Editor, Shape Magazine

Breath of Fresh Air

The Origin Diet is a breath of fresh air after all those ridiculous fad diet books. The research and reasoning behind this book makes perfect sense. But, Somer isn't a food faddist that wants you to eat baked eel or gather weeds for dinner. The book is loaded with great brown-bag lunch ideas, breakfast and dinner suggestions, shopping lists, fast-food ideas, recipes, menus, you name it. The Origin Diet has everything I needed to get started in finally taking care of myself the way my body needs to be cared for. I've lost weight, but more importantly, I feel better than I've ever felt! Shannon in Gardnerville, Nevada

For lasting and comprehensive nutritional changes

This is the best advice from Elizabeth Somers' books compiled into one simple nutrition plan. As always, her emphasis is on high-fiber, minimally-processed foods, especially vegetables, fruits and grains (Somer recommends eating two fruits or vegetables at each of three daily meals, and at least one at each of two daily snacks for a daily minimum of eight); She also urges readers to select ONLY whole grains, and suggests strategies to help boost intake of omega-3 fats and soy-protein. While her plan challenges readers to create real nutritional changes in their lives, she helps to make these changes accessible through helpful lists of meal-planning techniques and ideas -- a personal favorite of mine is her list of suggestions for "brown bag lunches" for those of us who work and cannot be in the kitchen at lunch-time! Another helpful one for me was the "origin grocery list" designed to help readers navigate modern supermarkets for foods the closest to what our ancestors made. She also includes information on avoiding chemical pesticides and waxes in produce items, a sample five-day eating plan and recipes -- and lots more! I'm just highlighting what I personally found most useful.Personally, I read the book for it's nutritional advice, but Somer also explores her "Origin" theme -- that returning to the diet/ lifestyles that humans evolved on (as much as possible) will lead to the most vital health possible -- from multiple angles. She includes information on exercise, environmental conditions (i.e. household toxins, getting outdoors, including exposure to fresh air in our daily lives), and stress-management. While these sections can be helpful, her nutritional program will likely pose the most rigorous challenge to readers.Although the changes Somer encourages nutritionally are comprehensive, she allows room for "the human factor" by suggesting strategies for making changes slowly, and finding ways to include old, "forbidden" favorites in your new eating plan.This book offers no quick-fixes. It is solidly research-based and Somer honestly endevors to guide readers gently toward a wonderful new way of living and eating.