Authors: Dr. Mike Moreno

The 17 Day Diet (9 page)

14.
Cook vegetables the shortest time possible to preserve nutrients.

15.
Steaming vegetables is a great way to keep nutrients from escaping.

16.
Avoid thawing frozen fruits and vegetables prior to cooking. As foods thaw, microorganisms possibly present in food may begin to multiply, spoiling the food.

17.
In most cases, avoid peeling. Nutrients and fiber are lost when produce is peeled.

Celery

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Garlic

Green beans

Green, leafy vegetables (including beet greens, turnip greens, collard greens)

Kale

Leeks

Lettuce, all varieties

Mushrooms

Okra

Onions

Parsley

Scallions

Spinach

Tomatoes

Watercress

Low-Sugar Fruit—2 servings daily

Low-sugar fruits are good sources of fiber that provide bulk and digest slowly, helping you feel full. They’re also full of water, high in fiber and super low in calories which makes them ideal for weight loss.

Apples

Berries, all types

Grapefruit

Oranges

Peaches

Pears

Plums

Prickly pear cactus

Prunes Red grapes

Probiotic Foods—2 servings daily

Probiotics help balance your digestive system, resulting in an overall increase in the efficiency of digestion. Research shows that probiotics may also help fight obesity. If you’ve been under stress, taken antibiotics or eaten a lot of foods packaged with preservatives, these things can kill of the beneficial bugs in your system—so eating more probiotic foods is a good idea.

MISTER M.D., CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME

What if I take a medicine that interacts with grapefruit?

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice (which you do not drink on the 17 Day Diet) interacts with a few specific prescription drugs, and one is statins, taken to lower cholesterol. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may prevent the liver from sufficiently breaking down the drug, resulting in a higher dose entering the bloodstream. Most doctors know this.

This interaction was discovered back in the 1990s with research studies. A handful of these studies talked about the “usual dose” of grapefruit juice. But the usual dose was sometimes a whole quart a day! No one drinks that much grapefruit juice, even if grapefruit juice is your favorite food.

Personally, I like grapefruit. I eat it for its taste, vitamin C and fiber. Plus, I like folding the grapefruit in half and squeezing the juice into a spoon.

What I tell my patients who take statins is that they may enjoy ½ grapefruit or 1 cup of grapefruit juice (no juice on the Accelerate Cycle of the 17 Day Diet, though) in the morning.

Secondly, I instruct them to always take their statins in the evening. These measures help minimize any grapefruit-drug interaction. And they still get to squeeze their grapefruit.

Before doing these things, you should make sure to consult with your own physician.

There’s no RDA for probiotics. To maintain health, a probiotic count of 5 to 10 billion is adequate. That may sound like a lot, but consider this: a 6 oz. serving of yogurt contains around 17 billion probiotics.

Yogurt, any type, including Greek-style, sugar-free fruit flavored; plain; and low-fat (6 oz. container = 1 serving)

Kefir
:
similar to a drinking-style yogurt; great for making smoothies (1 cup = 1 serving)

Low-fat acidophilus milk (1 cup = 1 serving)

Yakult (small 50-calorie bottle)

Breakstone LiveActive cottage cheese (½ cup = 1 serving)

Reduced salt miso dissolved in low-fat, low-sodium broth (1 tablespoon = 1 serving)

Tempeh (a fermented cake of pressed soybeans) (4 oz. = I serving)

Sauerkraut (½ cup = 1 serving)

Kimchi (Korean cabbage) (½ cup = 1 serving) Find it in Asian supermarkets or natural food stores, and enjoy a small amount as a side dish with meals.

Friendly Fats: 1 to 2 tablespoons daily

I don’t purposely tell my patients to eat fats, unless it’s the healthy kind such as fish oil, olive oil or flaxseed oil. These healthful fats can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and diabetes, as well as promote joint health, prevent muscle loss and encourage fat loss and muscle toning.

Olive oil

Flaxseed oil

Condiments

Condiments and seasonings are allowed in moderation: salsa, low-carb marinara sauce, lite soy sauce, low-carb ketchup, fat-free sour cream, low-fat, low-sodium broth, Truvia (a non-caloric sweetener made from natural ingredients), sugar-free jams and jellies, vegetable cooking spray, fat-free cheeses (i.e. Parmesan), fat-free salad dressing, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, herbs and spices.

Meal Planning Made Easy

It’s easy to remember what to eat during this Cycle:

•
As much as you want of specific proteins and cleansing vegetables.

•
Supplement these foods with 2 low-sugar fruits daily; 2 servings of probiotic foods such as yogurt, kefir, Yakult (small 50-calorie bottle), acidophilus milk, reduced salt miso dissolved in low-fat, low-sodium broth, sauerkraut (½ cup a serving) and 1 to 2 tablespoons of friendly fat. It’s that easy.

You do not have to count anything, except your 2 fruit daily servings, your 2 daily probiotic servings and your fat serving.

Here is a typical day on the Accelerate Cycle:

Breakfast

•
2 eggs or 4 egg whites, prepared without oil; or 1 serving probiotic food such as yogurt

MISTER M.D., CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME

Can I take a probiotic supplement instead of eating probiotic foods?

Yes. Probiotics come in supplement form that you can buy at your pharmacy or health food store. Look for a probiotic supplement that contains 10 to 20 billion colony-forming units (CFUs), and read the label to learn how it should be stored.

•
1 fruit serving

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Liberal amounts of protein in the form of fish, poultry, or eggs plus unlimited amounts of cleansing vegetables; or 1 probiotic serving plus unlimited amounts of cleansing vegetables

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Liberal amounts of protein in the form of fish or chicken

•
Unlimited amounts of cleansing vegetables

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
2nd fruit serving

•
2nd probiotic serving

Additional

•
1 serving (1 to 2 tablespoons of friendly fat to use on salads, vegetables or for cooking)

17 Sample Menus

Here are examples of how you can create your daily menu during the Accelerate Cycle. You may follow these exactly or create your own menus based on the above guidelines. Some days include easy-to-make recipes. You’ll find these in the Appendix.

Wake-up drink

Every morning, as soon as you rise, drink one 8-ounce cup of hot water. Squeeze half a lemon into the cup; the lemon stimulates your digestive juices. Your goal is to drink at least seven more glasses of water by the end of the day.

The rate at which you burn calories drops if you’re dehydrated. And if you’re dehydrated, your body doesn’t absorb nutrients properly. “Negative waters” such as coffee or tea do not count toward your total daily fluid intake.

Consult your physician regarding the amount of your daily water intake if you have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Water requirements vary.

Day 1

Breakfast

•
2 scrambled egg whites

•
½ grapefruit, or other fresh fruit

•
1 cup of green tea

Lunch

•
Large green salad topped with tuna; drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Plenty of grilled chicken with liberal amounts of any vegetables from the list, steamed or raw

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
6 oz. of sugar-free plain yogurt mixed with 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar-free jam or other probiotic serving

•
1 serving of fruit from the list

Day 2

Breakfast

•
6 oz. plain low-fat yogurt, mixed with 1 cup berries or other fruit (chopped) on the list. You may sweeten the mixture with 1 packet of Truvia or sugar-free fruit jam

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Super Salad
(large salad with a generous bed of greens and salad vegetables of your choice—tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery, etc., drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons herbed vinegar or vinegar of your choice)