The Adaptation Diet - The Complete Prescription for Reducing Stress, Feeling Great and Protecting Yourself Against Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease (Paperback)

In the 1980s, the field of psychoneuroimmunolgy revolutionized the understanding of the mind body connection. Studies showed that beliefs and attitudes are directly linked to chronic medical conditions like heart disease and cancer. This new information made me more aware of the impact that stress can have on health. I began to research how diet and nutrients can impact the function of the brain and the hormonal system, which control the production of stress hormones.

Recent breakthroughs further clarified the changes that can occur in the midbrain, the area of the brain that directly controls stress-hormone secretions. Concepts such as allostasis and allostatic load helped to explain why so many people have trouble recovering their health after stressful experiences and prolonged poor dietary habits. These ideas helped me to appreciate the widespread effect of stress on my patients' symptoms and led me to focus on methods to improve adaptation. I realized that adaptation and reduction of the damage from stress were not just about triggers such as emotional and social situations, but the subtle biochemical stress of poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles. This new information further refined my approach with patients and led to the information in this book.

Here for the first time, is an easy-to-follow approach to control the damaging impact of stress on health by changing what you eat. By reducing inflammation, food allergies, and blood sugar swings, The Adaptation Diet will help you lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and premature aging.

Health can be defined as effectively adapting to stress and changing circumstances. Everyone knows stress has negative health consequences, especially if it continues over a long period of time. But what if a hidden stress occurred day after day causing damage from elevated cortisol, the main stress hormone? For many people, that is the case; the culprit is what they are eating.

A revolution has occurred in understanding what stress does to the body, especially the brain. Based on these recent breakthroughs, The Adaptation Diet uniquely provides the information needed to biochemically adapt, protecting against the health damaging effects of stress.

The Adaptation Diet is based on over thirty years of experience treating thousands of patients at the La Jolla Clinic of Integrative Medicine. Thoroughly researched and clinically proven, The Adaptation Diet is the path to healthy aging and optimum health.