The Body Ecology Diet

The Body Ecology Diet, designed by nutritionist Donna Gates, promises improved vitality, mood and immunity. The diet rests on two premises. First, a healthy digestive system is necessary for healthy immune, endocrine, circulatory and central nervous systems. Second, you can improve the health of your digestive system by eating the right foods in the right combinations.

Basics

• Eating properly restores digestive health by providing ideal living conditions for the beneficial bacteria that populate your intestines. This "inner ecosystem" of bacteria, food and your gut--like many other natural ecosystems--has been thrown off balance by our modern, stressful lifestyles and by "convenience diets" that consist primarily of denatured, processed and artificial foods. The Body Ecology Diet restricts intake of processed foods and carbohydrates. It also recommends following food-combining principles, offering specific guidelines on which foods should and should not be consumed together. Most importantly, the diet includes a significant amount of cultured foods (foods that contain live bacteria, such as yogurt).

Carbohydrates

• The Body Ecology Diet advises against not only simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice and products made with white flour) but also against the consumption of many whole grains. These foods, according to the diet, feed the bad bacteria and yeast in your gut, which harms your digestive system and undermines your health. The diet recommends only four grains: millet, quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat. These grains are widely available in natural and gourmet grocery stores. For the best price, look for these items in the bulk-food sections.

Vegetables and Fruit

• Unlike most diets, the Body Ecology Diet does not classify vegetables as carbohydrates. It does, however, divide vegetables into starchy, non-starchy and ocean groups. Starchy vegetables include corn and butternut squash, lima beans, peas, corn, water chestnuts, artichokes and red skinned potatoes (the only kind of potato recommended on the diet). Non-starchy vegetables include leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, bok choy, cabbage, celery, lettuces, fennel, turnips, sprouts, red radish, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber and beets. Ocean vegetables include a variety of seaweeds. Vegetable consumption is enthusiastically encouraged on this diet.
  During phase one of this diet , fruits are limited to lemons, limes, pomegranate and unsweetened cranberry or black currant juice. After three months, you may once again enjoy a wide variety of fruit.

Food Combining

• The Body Ecology Diet, like other food-combining diets, operates on the principle that different types of foods require different digestive conditions. Protein, for example, requires an acidic environment to properly digest while carbohydrates digest better in alkaline. When you eat protein and carbohydrates in the same meal, your body starts working at cross-purposes, creating digestive problems and poor health. Non-starchy and ocean vegetables pair well with everything. Fruit should always be eaten separately on an empty stomach (except for lemon and lime).

Cultured Foods

• The Body Ecology Diet highly recommends adding cultured foods to your daily diet. Cultured foods, sometimes called fermented foods, contain active live cultures. Yogurt is probably the most well-known cultured food in the U.S. Other cultured foods include kim-chi (Korean pickled vegetables), fermented vegetables, raw sauerkraut, miso, tempeh (fermented soybean product) and kombucha (a fermented vinegary health drink). Look also for other food and drink items labeled "probiotic." These items also contain living organisms.