On Wed, 28 Jun 2000, Mary Craddock wrote:

> In a message dated 6/27/00 1:24:03 PM CST, [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> <<  As of this morning I had been on this diet for two whole days,
>  and in that time somehow dropped five pounds.  I am completely at
>  a loss to understand this.  It could be a coincidence, and my
>  weight was in some sense "due" to drop at this time, but it's
>  spooky anyway.
>  >>
> wow, that is spooky.
> i looked this book up on Amazon, and it is backordered 6 weeks. the reviews
> were
> very good.
> will you discuss a little about what the book says about pyruvate?

Well, it doesn't say that much, except that it was "established"
by A.W. Pennington in the 1950s that "excess pyruvate" causes
obesity.  Pyruvate is derived from carbs.

I need hardly add that pyruvate supplements are sold in health
food stores as weight loss aids!

I don't want to appear to be promoting this book.  I'm just
trying it as an experiment.  I have absolutely no clue how
potatoes and rice could fail to be major sources of pyruvate, or
why greens should be avoided.  It just doesn't make any sense to
me.  If I can, I'll try to get Pennington's articles.

> what did he say about exercise?

Not much.  He is critical of the philosophy of burning fat by
doing lots of aerobics.  He doesn't have anything to say about
strength training.

>  great news on your weight loss. how do you feel on this way of eating?
> are you energetic, have mental clarity etc?

I'm fine.  It's not all that different from what I was doing
before.  Incidentally, one of the permissible non-meat foods that
I forgot to mention before is a banana.  The "maintenance" diet
allows eggs and cheese, and *two* of the non-meat foods at one
meal per day; otherwise it's the same.  He insists that the
maintenance diet will not cause weight loss, however.

I should add that a bit of Web browsing reveals that Dr. Melvin
Anchell is perhaps best known not for his dietary theories but
for his opposition to sex education in the schools.  He evidently
has a specialization in psychiatry.

I note that this book is promoted on the Price-Pottenger web
site.

Todd Moody
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