Broda Barnes, M.D. published his classic book, HYPOTHYROIDISM: THE UNSUSPECTED ILLNESS in 1976, (Harper and Row). He felt that 40% of Americans suffered from hypothyroidism, as demonstrated by low body temperature. He emphasized the remarkable array of illnesses that were inadequately treated because of the failure of physicians to diagnose concurrent hypothyroidism: fatigue, migraine and other headaches, depression, anxiety, menstrual disorders, fertility problems, hypertension, heart attacks, lung cancer, emphysema, psoriasis, eczema, infections, winter itch, lupus, arthritis, etc, etc. In other words, hypothyroidism is a major cause or co-factor in virtually every illness.  To combat hypothyroidism, Barnes suggested a specific diet.

When Barnes did his work, only 33% of Americans were overweight. Today 66% of Americans are overweight and 33% are truly obese! And my work in the past decade suggests that 80% of Americans are clinically hypothyroid. The reason so many are clinically hypothyroid, as I have stated in two earlier articles, is iodine deficiency.

Every person should check their temperature several times. If your oral temperature is consistently below 98.6 mid-day, you need iodine. Iodoral is the treatment of choice and it may take up to 6 months to achieve the benefits of thyroid normalization.

BUT, virtually everyone can benefit from the Barnes diet! It is the best tasting and most satisfactory diet for weight loss and for lowering cholesterol. Here are the essentials which I have used successfully in scores of people:

FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Breakfast:
2 eggs
3 strips of bacon, sausage, or ham
2 oz of UNSWEETENED fruit juice
Coffee or tea, with cream but no sugar or artificial sweetener

Lunch and Dinner:
4 to 6 oz of meat, fish, or fowl
Vegetable with a pat of butter
One salad with abundant oil and vinegar dressing
One serving of fresh fruit at either but not both meals
One glass of skimmed milk, tea, or coffee

AVOID:
Bread, crackers, pancakes, waffles, potatoes, rice, macaroni and pasta, corn, bananas, pie, cake, cookies, ice cream, sherbets, candy, colas, raisins, Jell-o, starches, sugars and cereals, Aspartame, Splenda, MSG

ADD 3 to 4 Brewer’s yeast tablets.

UNLIMITED VEGETABLES:
Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, eggplant, endive, greens, kohlrabi, lettuce, okra, ripe olives, peppers, pumpkin, radishes, spinach, string beans, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress

OCCASIONAL VEGETABLES:
Beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, leeks, green olives, onions, rutabaga

GOOD FRUITS:
Avocado, honeydew, muskmelon, strawberries, watermelon

OCCASIONAL FRUITS:
Blackberries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, tangerines

CHOLESTEROL LOWERING FOR THOSE WITH NORMAL WEIGHT:

The same diet but:
Add daily more meat, cheese, 2 slices of sourdough bread, and occasional beans and potatoes, and occasional blueberries, apples, cherries, pears, plums, raspberries. Up to two glasses of skimmed milk. Low-fat buttermilk and plain yogurt are also good.

There are many roads to Rome and to weight loss but this is the easiest road I know.

Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. is the father of holistic medicine. He recommends autogenic focus (the basis of the Biogenics System) as part of your overall commitment to self-health. Register to download your FREE autogenic focus MP3 now.