Praise for The 80/10/10 Diet 
 
“Dr. Graham is wise, insightful, and a leading-edge thinker. Read, savor , and use his brilliance, and I hope it serves you as well 
as it has me.”  
—Mark Victor Hansen, coauthor of the 
Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books 
 
“For people who want to create balance in their lives and reach a nd sustain the level of health they deserve, I highly 
recommend this book.” 
—Kimberly Mac, The “Naked” Vegan, 
radio talk show host and live-food chef 
 
“Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet has literally saved my life! By putting hi s advice into practice, I have recovered from serious 
illness and attained a level of health I never dreamed possible. If you des ire the tools necessary to create a permanent and life- 
changing level of health, look no further than this book!” 
—Jeremiah Neese, Santa Barbara, CA 
 
“When I stick with Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet program, I am full of energy a nd vitality . I am able to live life to the fullest and 
enjoy every moment. As an added bonus, I start to lose extra weight and I f eel healthy . I don’t want for anything when I can eat all 
the strawberries and watermelon that I desire.” 
—Rachel Johnson, author of Wake Up Running! “I have been following Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet and lifestyle for seven  years, and it is the best thing I have ever done. His 
program has allowed me to fine tune my eating habits so that I’m func tioning at my best. For me, the benefits of this lifestyle include
high energy , disappearance of all ailments, cessation of depression, m ore patience, a reverence for life, and much more.” 
—Gary Orlando, author of  Beyond Raw eBook 
 
“I am so grateful to Dr. D. for introducing me to the 80/10/10 diet! I just start ed working out for the first time in many years, 
and I am having the most amazing results! My energy is skyrocketing , and I am feeling better than I’ve felt in my entire life.”  
—Kira Donnellan, Hartford, Connecticut 
 
“The 80/10/10 diet as explained and advocated by Dr. Graham in his book, is in my  opinion, the greatest breakthrough ever 
made in the field of nutrition. Read it, study it, and apply it as if your life  depended on it—because it does.” 
—Frederic Patenaude, author of The Raw Secrets  
 
“With Doug Graham’s 80/10/10  program, I have begun to experience levels of health I never dreamed of. My  energy is 
soaring, my endurance has increased considerably , and my regularity  is better than it’s been at any point in my life. Another added 
perk is enjoying my food and each subtle nuance of taste, texture and feel s o much more than I ever have! I say this with 100% 
enthusiasm: Y ou are just right on, Doug!” 
—Courtney Whitworth, Pahoa, Hawaii 
 
“Armed with data drawn from the latest scientific research, Dr. Gra ham convincingly makes the case that humans are 
essentially frugivorous and that we should all be living on a fruit-ba sed diet. The 80/10/10  Diet  is a courageous, thoroughly 
researched work. In a field that is beset by hucksters and charlatans, th is new book establishes Dr. Graham as the undisputed voice 
of authority and wisdom." —Rynn Berry, author of Food for the Gods: Vegetarianism and the World's Religions and historical advisor to the North 
American Vegetarian Society 
 
“I struggled with weight control and high serum lipids for years. Dr. G raham’s 80/10/10 diet has helped me reduce weight, fat, 
and serum lipids to desired levels. I am running faster and feeling bett er at age 52 than I did years ago. It feels so good to be in 
control, and I enjoy every bite of the food!”  
—Brad Forgy, MS, RN 
 
“Following Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet program has given me the energy , b eauty , and strength that I have been looking for all 
of my 54 years, along with the joy of eating foods that appeal to all of my sens es. I’m able to run now instead of just walk, something I never thought I’d be able to do. People tell me I look like a tee nager. I know I’m treating my body and mind in the best 
way , while doing the same for our precious Earth. I am blessed to have f ound this way of eating, and I wish the same for others.” 
—Amy Harwood, Sonoma, California 
 
  
The 80/10/10 ™ Diet 
Balancing Your Health, 
Your Weight, and Your Life 
One Luscious Bite at a Time 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Douglas N. Graham 
 
 
 
 
 
  
The 80/10/10 Diet 
Copyright 2006, 2008, 2010 Douglas N. Graham, DC 
 
The author will assert his intellectual property rights to the ful lest extent of the law. No part of this book may be reproduced or 
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, inc luding photocopying, recording or by any information storage 
and retrieval system without written permission from the author, ex cept for the inclusion of brief quotations for review or reference 
purposes. Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of this book may be  sent to: publications@811rv.com 
 
80/10/10 , 80/10/10rv , 811 , and 811rv  are trademarks of Douglas N. Graham. Published by: 
FoodnSport Press 
609 N. Jade Drive 
Key Largo, FL 33037 U.S.A. Printed in the United States of America 
Cover design, photography, and book design, lenspeace 
 
10    9    8    7    6    5          4    3    2    1   
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication 
    (Provided by Quality Books, Inc.) 
 
Graham, Douglas N. 
The 80/10/10 diet : balancing your health, your weight, and 
your life one luscious bite at a time / by Douglas N. Graham; 
foreword by Ruth Heidrich. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-893831-99-5 
ISBN-10: 1-893831-99-5 
 
1. High-carbohydrate diet. 2. Lowfat diet. 3. Raw foods. 4. Nutrition. I. Title. II. Title: Eighty ten ten diet. III. Title: Bal ancing 
your health, your weight, and your life one luscious bite at a time. RM237.59.G73 2006                               613.2’83 
                                                                QBI06-600292  
  
 
Trademark Statement 
Since my graduation from chiropractic college in 1983, I have performed consi derable research and have lectured extensively 
on the subjects of health, diet, and athletics to tens of thousands of people in  the United States and around the world. The essence 
of my life’s work has been summed up in the related phrases 80/10/10 and 80/10/10rv, and their corresponding shorthand 811 and 
811rv. While 80/10/10 originally referred to a nutritional ratio, followers of my  work know that it has come to mean much more. Over the decades, I have strived to imbue the 80/10/10 concept with the additiona l meanings of adequate sleep, exercise, positive 
outlook on life, and many other health-promoting factors. As a result, I am f ormally asserting trademark rights to 80/10/10,
80/10/10rv, 811, and 811rv in order to maintain the high standards they have come to r epresent in the public mind and to protect 
the public’s association of these concepts with me and my work. I hope  everyone in the health/nutrition field will honor and respect 
these marks, using them only when licensed or authorized or, if without s pecific authorization, with proper acknowledgment and 
notice in accordance with law and custom. Disclaimer 
The information contained in e is provided for your general information only. It is not intended as a substitute for any 
treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. Dr. Douglas Graham does not give medical advice  or engage in 
the practice of medicine. Under no circumstances does Dr. Graham recommend particular treat ment for specific 
individuals, and he recommends in all cases that you consult your physician or a qualified practitioner bef ore pursuing any 
course of treatment or making any changes to your diet or medications. — Douglas N. Graham, DC. Dedication 
 
 
With fondest respect, 
I dedicate this book to my friend and mentor, 
the late T.C. Fry. When I gave the eulogy at Terry’s memorial service, I promised tha t his memory would live on. My life, and this book, are 
testaments to that intention. May his work continue to influence people  for the better until living healthfully becomes a normal and 
natural part of every person’s life. Also by Douglas N. Graham 
 
Grain Damage 
Nutrition and Athletic Performance 
Perpetual Health Calendar 
The High Energy Diet Recipe Guide 
 
  
Foreword 
 
As an Ironman triathlete, ultramarathoner, and holder of nearly 1,000 race  first places, I know how important the right diet is. It dismays me to see how much dietary misinformation is being spread wit h the main goal being to make money. Because so many 
people are misinformed about the proper diet, obesity is at the highest rates  in history, and as more people buy into these money- 
making schemes, obesity and its associated diseases are going to continu e to increase at horrendous rates. Over and over again, I hear people saying they’ve tried “everyth ing” to lose weight—low fat, high fat, low carb, high carb, low 
protein, high protein, all kinds of pills, shots, powders, and shakes—you n ame it and they say they’ve tried it. The main cause of 
their failure is misinformation. There are reasons for each of these dietary failures. What they wer e told was “low fat,” usually 30%, actually is not low fat at 
all, and they have no idea how to get to an effective low-fat 10% as described i n this book. High-fat diets can be dangerous and put 
you at risk for the diseases that most Westerners die from prematurely . Low-carb diets are also dangerous, and most people have 
no idea that the ideal diet consists of 80% carbs. But,  it must be the right carbs. High-protein diets lead to osteoporosis, kidney disease, and lack of energy for ex ercise. Most people think that low-protein 
diets will never work, having been convinced by the meat and dairy in dustries that the more protein you eat, the better—and nothing 
could be further from the truth. As for pills, shots, powders, and shakes, these gimmicks will never giv e people the health they really seek. What they don’t 
realize is that obesity is actually a symptom of eating the wrong diet . The same is true of most of the other diseases we suffer from, 
for example, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, colitis, c onstipation, osteoporosis, acne, erectile dysfunction, dementia, 
and even vision and hearing problems. These are all symptoms of the diseas es of consuming the wrong diet. Y ou are holding in your hands the book that will give you the dietary infor mation we all need to have. Y ou don’t have to be an 
Ironman triathlete or even want to be one, but you owe it to yourself to read The 80/10/10  Diet! Ruth E. Heidrich, PhD 
Author, A Race For Life 
www.ruthheidrich.com  
  
 
 
Preface 
 
This was not an easy book to write. I tried to create The 80/10/10  Diet  on several occasions in the past, but it has proven to 
be a daunting project riddled with false starts. For some reason, nothing abou t this particular piece of work has been easy. I can 
only assume that it must be like the old saying, “nothing worthwhile  is ever easy .” I believe that this is the most worthwhile book that
I have written to date. In writing The 80/10/10  Diet,  I found myself constantly enmeshed in a deep inner debate, wondering how to m ost effectively 
reach the largest number of people: 
 
Will I reach more people through appeals to their heads or their hearts? W ill quoting numbers, current research, scientific 
studies, and textbook facts bolster their willingness to make dietary cha nges? Will such minutiae cause readers to lose interest, or can each bit of da ta build upon the previous ones until it forms a 
convincing and solid information base? How deep need I go in order to get my point across? Will it suffice to say that a ll the animals built like us eat fruits and 
vegetables and very little fat, therefore we should too? Will stories and testimonials about high levels of health, boundless en ergy, unexpected healing, effortless weight loss, spiritual 
awakening, and newfound enthusiasm for life be viewed as hyperbole or trut hful inspiration? And perhaps most worrisome …  
 
If I leave something out, will I get a second chance? The research for this book often left me studying for several days in order  to write just one or two sentences. The more I 
learned, the more there was to learn, it seemed. I eventually had to choose  between writing a book and becoming a full-time reader 
of other people’s work. I gathered a tremendous amount of information, but a great deal of what I le arned proved simply not to be relevant to the 
creation of this book. I can only hope it will be valuable material for future  works. Who Should Read This Book? I wrote this book for  anyone who believes that appropriate body weight and vibrant well-being ar e their birthright as well as 
their responsibility—anyone willing to keep striving for the ph ysique and the health they desire. The 80/10/10  plan is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It allows you to work toward a goal, rath er than simply follow a diet. You do not have to eat primarily vegetarian or raw foods to benefit from the 80/10/10 program. If you eat a relatively typical American diet, 80/10/10  is a program that allows you to continue eating the foods you are used 
to, while beginning to introduce the new foods that will lead you toward your g oal. Direction, not speed, is the most important 
aspect of learning to succeed with 80/10/10 . If you have already transitioned your diet to vegetarian, vegan, or raw f oods, you will still find the principles in this book to be 
a step forward for you. In fact, this book represents the brass ring for raw fooder s. I feel ecstatic that I finally have succeeded in 
writing about the program I have taught for years in the raw and veget arian communities. Discouraged by their inability to succeed on raw food and confused by the opposing  information they hear from other 
teachers, raw food enthusiasts have pleaded with me: “I bet I am eating high-fat raw, but I don’t know how to figure it out, and I 
need more information on what to do about it.”  
Now, with the sample calculations in hand, I stand before the raw food commun ity with clear evidence of the dangerously high 
fat consumption common in our ranks—and with a clearly articulated p lan for those who wish to raise the bar a notch and reach for 
the ultimate low-fat plan for raw health. The Results Speak for Themselves 
The principles I share in this book represent more than twenty-five ye ars of research and almost two decades of assisting 
people with their health, nutrition, and athletic performance in priva te consultation. During that time, I have used the 80/10/10 program myself—and with thousands of clients who are consistently de lighted with their newfound health, vigor, and physical 
appearance. I have seen the sickest of the sick regain high levels of health and v itality, simply by making intelligent food and lifestyle 
modifications. I have watched people pronounced “terminally ill”  by the medical establishment heal themselves using the prog ram 
described in this book. I have watched former world-class athletes rejuve nate themselves to the degree that they are once again 
achieving “personal best” performances. Truly , 80/10/10  is not only a “diet” but a success formula. And it just keeps gettin g better. In Appendix C, I have compiled a collection of testimonials from healthy, h appy, and successful practitioners of the 80/10/10 
way of life. Their inspiring stories speak for themselves. Wherever you are on your journey to ever-greater well-being, I hope tha t you enjoy reading The 80/10/10  Diet  and find it 
valuable, insightful, and motivating. It is my sincerest belief tha t you will find within these pages the nutritional guidance you need t o 
attain, regain, and maintain the radiant, trim body of your dreams and an ev en a higher level of health than you have ever dared to 
strive for. Let All Find Their Own Path 
While in my experience, consuming a 100% raw version of the 80/10/10  diet is optimal, other low(er)-fat plant-centered diet 
programs also offer substantial health benefits … and many peop le find them to be the right choice for their lives. If you find yoursel f 
judging others for not choosing all raw, all low-fat, or even all vegan foods , I implore you to take a BIG step backward and 
recognize that all of us must make our own choices, and no one path is best for a ll people. I have been saddened and dismayed by the number of people who tell me that an ent husiastic 80/10/10 supporter has 
stopped talking to his or her family , or has taken on a holier-than-thou fu ndamentalist attitude with friends who do not “see the 
light.”  
Friends, if you stop connecting with your loved ones over the food you eat, you have missed the point! Healthful living 
includes healthy relationships and compassion for your fellow humans. I f you wish to contribute to your loved ones, accept them 
where they are, and then lead by example, with an open heart … you wil l have far greater success if you do. A Tribute to T.C. Fry 
 
The late T.C. Fry (1926–1996), a world-renowned and much-loved health educator, wa s a mentor for me. He helped me 
sort the trash from the treasures in the world of health and nutrition . He never told me what to think, but he often instructed me in 
how to think … to refine the process of thinking so that I could come up with t ruth for myself. He loved to pursue a line of thought 
through to its logical and often only valid conclusion. T.C. (he told me on several occasions that T. was his full name, but that hi s friends often called him Terry) and I lectured in 
hundreds of cities together, giving weekend seminars throughout much  of the 1980s and into the early ’90s. W e sold no products, 
just education. The topics were almost always different, but always abou t some aspect of health. I once asked Terry why we didn’t simply come up with a format of lecture t opics that we could stick to, one we could take to 
all the different cities on our tour. “I am training you,” he said, proffering his irresistible smile. I like to think he did a good job. Terry was not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. He openly admit ted his flaws. He had minimal formal education. At 
the age of 45, with his health failing terribly due to an intensely abus ive lifestyle characterized by its excessiveness, he turned his  life 
around. The doctors had already told him that he didn’t have much longer to liv e. A change in diet coupled with attention to many of 
the other necessities of healthful living gave Terry another tw enty-five years. In the end, his intensity got the better of him. He simply worked himself t o death in an effort to spread the health message to as 
many people as possible. His work was not in vain. His students have had a profoun d effect upon the current health movement, and 
are continuing to do so. Most notable is the work of Harvey and Marilyn Diamond w ith their groundbreaking book, Fit for Life . Many of Terry’s other students have authored books. I am proud to be among  them. When he was alive, Terry often visited my home. On more than one visit h e had proclaimed that his writing was for the public, 
that he wanted it to go to good use. He generously made the offer that I should r eprint his writing wherever I saw fit. This is one of those occasions. I have incorporated several short piece s of Terry’s writing into The 80/10/10  Diet . His 
comparative anatomy assessment of the natural diet for humans, whic h I have included in a somewhat revised form as Chapter 1, is 
the longest of them. Acknowledgments 
 
I wish to offer my gratitude to the many people who made this book possible. It is not  possible to name them all, as so many 
folks played an important part in its creation. First, my special thanks go to the following people, each of whom worked with me a nd helped me to clarify my thoughts on 
the subject matter in this book: Gail Davis, Dave Klein, Ken Lyle, Laur ie Masters, Tim Trader, Laurie Clifford, Robert Sniadach, 
Bruce Brazis, David Rodenbucher, Catherine Galipeau, and John Pierre . Contributions came in many forms, from information to editing, from resea rch to relief. Some of you provided me with the 
necessary sounding board that I needed, others asked the questions that broug ht clarity to some aspect of this project or another. Some folks provided help simply by sharing the details of their program with m e, including the problems and solutions they had 
discovered along the way. I wish all of you could know how important your influe nce really was. For their behind-the-scenes contributions, I would like to especially th ank Dennis Nelson, David Taylor, Justin Lelia, Josh 
Steinhauser, Tom Cushwa, Gideon and Jackie Graff, Nancy Parlette, Todd Ew en, Dr. Deborah Wood, Charlie Mort, Craig 
Bishop, Coby Siegenthaler, Suzanne Slusser, and Shari Leiterman. I wish to thank John Robbins and Michael Greger for giving me their kind per mission to reprint some of their previously 
published work, and also Antonia Horne for allowing me the privilege of  including excerpts from her late husband Ross Horne’s 
work. Many people simply pushed for me to put this body of work into print, as they wanted to s how it to their dear ones. Each of 
you contributed in your own special way, giving something that made it poss ible for me to get on with my work. For this I thank you. It means a great deal to me that you would think my work so valuable as to be wil ling to take the energy to prod me into writing this 
book. Those of you who actually gave up your precious time in order for me to move forw ard with this project provided invaluable 
support. Many people helped with the creation of the Frequently Asked Questions s ection, providing questions and, in many instances, 
appropriate responses. My appreciation goes to Randall Phelps, Janie Gardene r, and Jack Whitley for their help with editing the 
FAQs. Marr Nealon, your efforts to help me promote this cause were (and continue  to be) stupendous, thank you. To my niece, Shyella Joy Mayk, thank you for all your fitness motivation, su pport, and your endless help with my website. And to Liati Natanya Mayk, her sister, thank you for keeping me intellect ually honest and helping me maintain my perspective 
through the relaxation of music. To Gail Davis, my publicist, thank you for the long nights of proofreading and y our continual input on how to illuminate this 
book and my business so that they would evolve into everything I knew they cou ld be. The hours just kept speeding by while I worked on The 80/10/10  Diet. I often lost track of time, and sometimes also lost 
track of commitments, appointments, meals, my personal needs for physical a ctivity, and even sleep. Fortunately, I am extremely blessed, in that I have a personal angel i n my life who makes it her full-time job to look after me. I 
wish to thank my beautiful wife Rozi, for her selfless and endless atte ntion while I worked on this book. Without her constant help 
and support, I would never have been able to have made time for this book. Even if I h ad been forced to try, I do not think I would 
have successfully or healthfully been able to complete it without he r. 
Thank you, Rozi, for paying attention to so many of life’s little and big  details. I would have let them slip in pursuit of finishing 
this task. I can only hope that you feel as rewarded by me as I do by you, and as support ed. I am forever indebted to my loving parents, Marty and Bea, who have always t aught me how to be a successful adult by their 
shining example. My wish is that in raising my own child, Faychesca , I am able to employ the same parenting skills that they have 
shown me, with at least a modicum of their competence and grace. Special Thanks 
I would especially like to extend sincere appreciation to my editor, Laurie  Masters of Precision Revision 
(www.GreenSongPress.org) and to Carina Honga, whose position is as varie d as all the tasks we have encountered. The time these 
wonderful women have devoted to researching, editing, and organizing thi s book amounts to years. Their dedication, writing skills, 
and teamwork have taken this book to a new level. Laurie, thank you for keeping me honest through your amazing research s kills and for distilling my writing down to what I was 
actually trying to say . Y our signature knack for “rototilling” a disj ointed manuscript and turning it into a coherent book has once 
again proven invaluable. I am forever grateful for your steadfast comm itment to me and to this project and for your tenacity in 
keeping its zillion details on track. Thank you in particular for your person al contributions to this book (notably Chapter 8 and 
Appendix D). I am convinced you are the best editor this side of the universe . Carina, adding you to our team was one of the best things I have ever done. Tha nk you for your tireless efforts to complete 
any and every thing that was asked of you with incredible speed and skill. Introduction 
 
Americans have been told for more than forty years that we are eating  too much fat, yet our consumption of this nutrient has 
remained essentially unchanged during that time. 1 We have made no headway in eating less fat, despite massive educationa l 
programs, the carbohydrate-loading craze, leaner meats, low-fat fiber- filled cereals and bars, and low-fat desserts, dairy products, 
and entrées. We Are Fatter (and Sicker) Than Ever 
Meanwhile, as a nation, we have become the fattest people on Earth and are  still getting fatter. Two-thirds of all Americans 
are overweight, half of them obese. Because obesity is so common, few of  us realize that our current view of “normal” body fat 
levels has been skewed to allow for several dozen extra pounds. Sadly , mor bid obesity is rapidly moving up in the ranks of “causes 
of preventable death” statistics in our nation. Consider the followi ng:  
 
Nearly One-Third of the Calories in the U.S. Diet 
Come from Junk Food 2
by Sarah Yang, Media Relations | 01 June 2004 
U. C. Berkeley News 
 
Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the Uni versity of California, Berkeley, published a study 
in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. The study reveals that three food groups—sweets and desserts, soft drin ks and alcoholic beverages—comprise almost 25 
percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Salty snacks and fruit -flavored drinks make up another five percent, bringing the 
total energy contributed by nutrient-poor foods to at least 30 percent of the tot al calorie intake. “What is really alarming is the major contribution of ‘empty calor ies’ in the American diet,” said Block. “W e know people are 
eating a lot of junk food, but to have almost one-third of Americans’ cal ories coming from those categories is a shocker. It’s no 
wonder there’s an obesity epidemic in this country .” 
  
The standard American diet (SAD) is a sad testament to the rampant ph ysical and mental decay of the most prosperous 
nations on Earth. As our consumption of junk foods, animal products, chemical a dditives, toxic pesticides, and genetically modified 
organisms have increased, our health has plummeted. The numbers are s taggering: 
 
Obesity: In 2000, poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused more than 320,000 U .S. deaths and numbered 
among the top preventable causes of disease. 3 Obesity is the leading cause of all three of our top killers: heart disea se, cancer, and 
stroke. 4
 
Heart disease: Although the first recorded heart attack is said to have appeared in Brit ish medical literature just over a 
hundred years ago (1878), more than one in five Americans now suffers from  some form of cardiovascular disease, and more than 
2,500 Americans die from it each day. 5 In 2001, just under 700,000 Americans died of heart disease. 6
 
Cancer: Just a generation or two ago, cancer was a grandparents’ disease. Today , we have entire cancer hospitals for 
children. Some 1.3 million new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed and n early 564,000 cancer deaths were predicted in 
2004. 7
 
Diabetes: More than 18 million Americans have diabetes, the sixth most frequent  cause of death in North America. The 
number of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes has increased 61% since 1991 and is pr ojected to more than double by 2050, 
afflicting one in three Americans born in 2000. Today, diabetes claims more  than 200,000 lives each year. 8 
 
Mixed Messages 
It is crazy to think that we can keep doing what we have been doing while ex pecting the outcome to be any different than it 
has been. If we truly want healthy results, we are going to have to sta rt living more healthfully. But exactly what changes should we 
make? Daily, we encounter an endless barrage of contradictory opinions and opposing  interpretations of practically every aspect of 
nutritional science. Nutrition is so rife with conflicting theor ies that the so-called “hard scientists,” the physicists, mathe maticians, 
physical chemists, and others, frequently denigrate nutrition as “ not a real science.”  Confusion seems to be the only constant in weight management. A new di et craze comes into vogue almost every week, each 
one hyped as “the answer”  to our waistline woes. Some advisors tell us to minimize fat, while other s assert that eating fat does not 
make us fat and in fact brings us greater health. Some vilify carbohydr ates, while others show convincing evidence that whole grains 
should be our staple. We have to wonder: Which of these conflicting theorie s are true? Which are hogwash? Could there be some 
middle ground? Worse yet, if you desire not only a trim physique but also vibrant health, th e waters become even muddier. One self- 
proclaimed “expert” tells you that minerals are the most importan t aspect of nutrition, while another claims that structured water  will 
cure all that ails you. Hordes of scientists, nutritionists, doctors, “he alers,” and lay people fill the bookstores and crowd the lecture 
circuit with convincing tales of the indispensable virtues of vita mins, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, enzymes, or some other silv er 
bullet that is sure to ameliorate all of your health, aging, and weight  issues. All of these parties defend their turf with a vengeance. And underst andably so. Most of them have deep economic ties to their 
particular nutritional approach, complete with programs, supplements, su perfoods, motivational seminars, prepackaged meals, and a 
wide assortment of accessories. That confusion was not lost on me. Over the years I have tried more diets t han most people have even heard of. This is 
especially true because I was seeking an optimal plan for health, athl etic performance, and  body-weight management—all at the 
same time. I got tired of trying one new approach after another, but what el se was there to do? I had to keep looking for something 
that worked for me, on all levels. The Science of Health 
For me, the fog began to lift in the late 1970s. I remember the sense of thrill  and relief I felt, after years of fumbling around 
with diets and health fads, to finally alight upon a diet that works—in a ll the ways I sought—and the clear and incontrovertible 
evidence to back it up. In this book, I share with you some salient bits  from the body of knowledge called “Natural Hygiene” 
(literally, the science of health), information that changed my li fe and allowed me to coach thousands of people to attain the well- 
being, vitality, and physique they have always wanted. The dietary approach I recommend, especially with its emphasis on fresh  fruits and vegetables, may sound radical, particularly 
in light of the prevailing attitude held by doctors, supplement vendors, and f ad-diet hawkers, who all would have you believe that the 
keys to health and fitness most certainly do not grow on trees. I invite you, however, to withhold judgment, and stick with me as we examin e the natural simplicity of living a high-produce, 
low-fat lifestyle—truly the one for which Nature designed us. Pitfalls of Fragmented Thinking 
The Natural Hygiene approach to diet and nutrition is markedly differen t than the fragmented perspective that is common 
among health seekers and diet promoters. The fragmented view does not so muc h look at foods as it does their component parts. It 
also fails to distinguish true well-being from merely looking good, feel ing good, or removing symptoms of dis-ease—a grave error, 
indeed. The fragmented approach extols the virtues of certain nutrients i n a “pick-and-choose” fashion—the kind used in infomercial 
sales pitches. Excellently geared toward selling a specific product, t his viewpoint never considers the full story, always omitting 
material that would give a more balanced view of the situation. Like a person who makes a decision after listening to only one side in a debate , the fragmented thinker relies on skewed 
information, and the resulting incomplete picture provides a misunders tanding of nutrition that can only spiral out of control. Below is one version of a famous Indian legend. The story pointedly illustr ates the confusion that results when we mistake a 
fragmented view for the whole picture. The Blind Men and the Elephant 9
It was six men of Indostan 
To learning much inclined, 
Who went to see the Elephant 
(Though all of them were blind), 
That each by observation 
Might satisfy his mind. The First approached the Elephant, 
And happening to fall 
Against his broad and sturdy side, 
At once began to bawl: 
“God bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!” 
The Second, feeling of the tusk 
Cried, “Ho! what have we here, 
So very round and smooth and sharp? To me `tis mighty clear 
This wonder of an Elephant 
Is very like a spear!” 
The Third approached the animal, 
And happening to take 
The squirming trunk within his hands, 
Thus boldly up he spake: 
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant 
Is very like a snake!” 
The Fourth reached out an eager hand, 
And felt about the knee: 
“What most this wondrous beast is like 
Is mighty plain,” quoth he; 
“’Tis clear enough the Elephant 
Is very like a tree!” 
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, 
Said: “E’en the blindest man 
Can tell what this resembles most; 
Deny the fact who can, 
This marvel of an Elephant 
Is very like a fan!” 
The Sixth no sooner had begun 
About the beast to grope, 
Than, seizing on the swinging tail 
That fell within his scope. “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant 
Is very like a rope!” 
And so these men of Indostan 
Disputed loud and long, 
Each in his own opinion 
Exceeding stiff and strong, 
Though each was partly in the right, 
And all were in the wrong! Moral 
So oft in theologic wars, 
The disputants, I ween, 
Rail on in utter ignorance 
Of what each other mean, 
And prate about an Elephant 
Not one of them has seen! As with the blind men’s wildly divergent assessments of the same  elephant, the misinformation coming from most diet and 
nutrition “experts” who teach from their fragmented perspecti ves may be correct, in some sense—but none of it leaves its recipien ts 
properly informed. Using the fragmented approach, if I were concerned about calcium, I would s eek out foods high in calcium. I would not likely 
consider the foods that cause me to lose calcium, or even those that inter fere with calcium uptake. I would not research the lifestyle 
factors that result in calcium losses, nor those that enhance calc ium absorption. Alternatively, I might choose to take calcium supplements, a prime exa mple of fragmented thinking. It is unlikely that I would 
inquire about any possible adverse effects of consuming too much calcium . Nor would I tend to educate myself about the 
bioavailability of one form of calcium versus another. Perhaps most important, I would not know to question the wisdom of 
thinking in terms of isolated nutrients in the first place. In nature, calcium (and all other nutrients) come packaged in a very pr ecise combination in plant foods, accompanied by 
hundreds, even thousands, of other micronutrients that are designed to b e consumed together. W e cannot improve upon Nature’s 
pristine design by extracting and refining one or even a few dozen n utrients—removing them from the cofactors they naturally 
accompany—and produce a positive result. What is more, I have heard estimates that scientists today may have  discovered only 10% of the nutrients in existence, 
particularly the so-called phytonutrients (plant nutrients). In l ight of this, we might stop for a moment to wonder: How can any of us 
claim to have zeroed in on some specific nutrient deficiency and take in formed action toward correcting it? It cannot be done 
intelligently, in my opinion. Whole Foods, First and Only 
Despite our technological advances, nutrition is a young science. We l ack both the knowledge and the technology to 
reproduce in a laboratory the brilliant balance of nutrients found in whol e plant foods. Anything short of whole plant foods—be they green juices, “healthy” oils , dehydrated “whole-food” supplements, or 
white-powdered pharmaceutical-grade “superfoods”—always misses the mark , guaranteed. All we can hope to accomplish through eating refined, fractional foods is s atiation and compromised nutrition. All we can hope to achieve through supplementation with isolated nutri ents is to relieve symptoms while creating further 
imbalances. People tell me that hearing this discussion confuses them, for they of ten experience welcome increases in energy and apparent 
reversal of health challenges through supplementation. I find that  these results come, however, at great cost. If these individuals 
distance themselves from the supplement-vendor hype and slow their que st for quick relief, they usually notice that their life has 
become an endless shell game, in which they shift symptoms but never r each true health, homeostasis, and peace. Health and Feeling Good Are Not  the Same 
This analogy sometimes helps people understand the difference between  creating health (the big picture) and treating 
symptoms (the fragmented view): 
 
Employment example: Suppose you work in a dreary office for too little pay and endure daily verbal abus e from a 
tyrannical employer. If you quit that job and break free, would you now say that  you have just the perfect job, the work of your 
dreams? Of course not. What you have is nothing  … no job at all. True, your newfound liberation may bring welcome reli ef from the 
abuse, but alleviating your pain is a far cry from the target—i f your true desire is for fulfilling, rewarding work. Without positive 
action toward a better job, you may sit idle for a very long time, having trade d in one set of problems (an oppressive work 
environment) for another (unemployment). Health example:  Similarly , many people use treatments, pharmaceuticals, or “ natural” drugs to suppress symptoms such as 
overweight, candida, allergies, or headaches, or even to eliminate tumor s and other forms of severe breakdown. Once they 
experience relief—the headaches subside, the allergic wheezi ng abates, the tumor shrinks—they proclaim themselves “cured” a nd 
believe that they have regained health. They may look and feel bett er, but their newfound absence of dis-ease is just that—a void. Again, this is a vast improvement over pain and suffering. But it is not hing close to the vibrant energy and well-being that many of us 
desire. People are incredulous when they first hear this: “Y ou mean, if I get rid of my seizures  (or tumors, or migraines, or candida, 
or lupus, or …) , that doesn’ t mean I'm healthy?”  
The answer is, unequivocally, no. If they continue the cycle of living in ways that created their he alth issues in the first place— 
and then attacking the inevitable symptoms with remedies and trea tments—they set in motion the aforementioned shell game, 
repeatedly  trading in one set of health complaints for another seemingly unrela ted complex of maladies, never getting closer to the 
goal of lasting, radiant health. In both examples, the new liberation represents a zero point, a neutral posi tion from which health or recurring disease 
(satisfying work or ongoing unemployment) can emerge. The person who is f ree of symptoms is no more healthy than the 
unemployed person is professionally fulfilled. To attain the (big-picture) goal of gratifying work or lasting well-be ing, we must take positive action toward  our desired result, 
not just negative action away from  the condition we do not want (a fragmented solution at best). When we use re medies and 
therapies to eliminate symptoms, we do nothing to address their original c ause, hence nothing to create health. We must educate 
ourselves about the causes of health  (not disease) and include these  in our daily routine. Y our Doctor Cannot Help Here …
Many drugs, diets, and supplements are sold with an admonition to “consult your physic ian” before consuming them. But is there value in looking to the medical profession for nutritional advice? Consider this sobe ring tidbit :
“In a medical journal article entitled ‘Bizarre and Unusual Die ts,’ the authors warn that the Atkins Diet had such questionable 
safety that it should ‘only be followed under medical supervision.’ Bu t what do doctors know about nutrition? Even though the 
United States Congress mandated that nutrition become an integrate d component of medical education, as of 2004, less than half of 
all U.S. medical schools have a single mandatory course in nutrition. Th at explains the results of a study published in the American 
Journal of Clinical Nutrition that pitted doctors against patients head to head in a test of basic nutrit ion knowledge. The patients 
won.” 10  
 
Since doctors generally have nothing to offer us once we shift our focus  from treating disease to causing wellness, it is 
important to familiarize yourself with the elements of health. The  following list of thirty-two key contributors to human well-being is a 
good start. Though there is no official order or ranking, I would venture to say  that the first ten are actually indispensable—essential 
—for even a moderate level of true health. The big-picture approach that I espouse is based on this simple c oncept: “It is always better to correct a problem—to remove 
its cause—than it is to supplement or suppress it.” Nutrition is a v ery complex field of endeavor, and it is easily misunderstood and 
misinterpreted, just as the forest can become invisible when looking at  individual trees. With 80/10/10 , I endeavor to give a new interpretation of nutritional information, one t hat is not designed to incite fear in an attempt to stimulate product sales. By putting the parts together into on e simple but complete package, I hope that nutrition will 
become a less daunting subject. True health is within everyone’s g rasp, but it is necessary to see the big picture. This radically different view is unpopular, because it does not generat e any revenue. The 80/10/10  approach uses no repeat 
products, no supplements, no high-priced, elitist “superfoods.” 80/10/10  uses a simple grocery-store approach to nutrition that 
brings this program easily into the grasp of everyone. Weight Watching: The Ultimate in Shortsightedness 
Shifting this discussion to body weight, I think of how sad I feel when I see  people who are obsessed with losing (or gaining) 
weight, to the exclusion of their well-being and vitality. Myopically  focused on body image, they consume all manner of nutritional 
experiments, with little if any regard for possible consequences. Despite our wishful thinking—and advertising to the contrary—our di gestive system is more than just a pleasure tube that 
eventually eliminates whatever indigestible concoction we fill ed it with. Our bodies replace the vast majority of our cells within seve n 
years or less. Some, such as the cells that line the mouth and digestiv e tract, are replaced daily. In a very real sense, the foods we 
eat are constantly in the process of becoming “us.” 
Given this fact, wouldn’t you want to ensure that every bite you take  is made of the highest-quality raw materials (pun 
intended) from which to build the “you” that you are becoming? What w ould be the point of following a diet  that compromises your 
health in the process? Is it worth ruining your kidneys, heart, or liver  just to lose or gain weight, especially when you can achieve 
your goal without causing such damage? Youth is forgiving; we can eat practically any abomination for some per iod of decades with no apparent adverse effects. But 
eventually, the statistics say, virtually all of us have to admit t o ourselves that the gig is up. Eating garbage to look thin, consuming fat 
to gain weight, stimulating ourselves to artificial highs throug h supplements that give us “energy ,” and relieving one discomfort wh ile 
unknowingly creating another, simply have not gotten us where we wan ted to go. Herein lies the paradox: losing weight, feeling good, even ridding oursel ves of intractable diseases, does not necessarily mean 
we have become healthier. Heroin users feel good. So do coffee drinkers. So too do supe rfood evangelists. Junk-food-eating 
entertainers, anorexic runway models, and supplement-pounding body builders may look good…but are any of these people 
nourishing their bodies on a cellular level? Are they eating whole , unrefined foods in the quantities and proportions on which their 
bodies were designed to thrive? Absolutely not. Where Diet and Health Meet 
I struggled with how to position this book, debating with several colleagues  whether 80/10/10  referred to a weight- 
management plan or a healthy eating guideline. As you may have g uessed, it’s really a bit of both. I have spent the last several pages driving home the differences bet ween fragmented thinking and the big-picture perspective 
for one purpose: to cement in your mind the obvious and inextricable relation ship between the goals of weight management and 
healthful living. If you picked up this book looking for guidance in losing or gaining weight, rest a ssured, you have come to the right place. Yet 
I hope I have succeeded in persuading you that a perfect-looking body is not rea lly all you want. Shifting your focus to your health 
will speed you toward optimal body weight, I promise … but chances ar e you will feel so great that your appearance will take 
backseat—a mere sideshow to the vital main event your life has bec ome. Eating healthfully does not represent deprivation; having our hea lth destroyed—literally taken away by the mouthful—that is 
deprivation. People say , “Everything in moderation.” I suggest that  foods that are good for us are good only in moderation, but that 
the foods that are harmful to us should be avoided, regardless of the dose. Some say , “It is a sickness to try to eat too well.” I suggest that it is a s ickness to intentionally do anything that is self- 
destructive. I believe it is time that we all started loving ourselv es a lot more, and that we demonstrate that love by nourishing our 
bodies with foods that love us back. My goal in writing this book is to provide a definitive resource for those who w ant to reach for the sky. I am committed to 
having it all in life, and I want that for my loved ones, my clients, and my  audiences, as well. In these pages, I define healthful nutrition and summarize some rel evant information about carbohydrates, proteins, and fats 
and their roles in our bodies. I describe the 80/10/10  diet, my low-fat, low-protein program based on eating whole, fresh, ripe, raw, 
organic, plant-based foods. I teach how to improve your diet in a gradual, easy wa y. Finally, I share numerous testimonials from 
people who have transformed their lives by following this program. Rather than coming out against fat or any other dietary choice, my int ention is to give voice to what has proven to be the 
healthiest choice in the world of food and nutrition. I am convinced that th e 80/10/10  plan meets human nutritional needs as well as 
can be hoped for in our modern world. Chapter 1. Determining Our True Dietary Nature 
 
How does one determine the correct food for any given creature? Let us suppos e that you were given a baby animal and you 
had no idea what it was or what it was supposed to eat. Perhaps it was a gift fr om a foreign land. How would you know what to 
feed it? The answer is relatively simple. All you would have to do is offer the cr eature different types of foods in their whole, natural 
state. That which it was designed for, it would eat. It would likely ignore a ll the other items, not even considering them as food. I 
have done this successfully with orphaned animals that I have save d. 
The same technique would work with a human child. Put the child in a room wi th a lamb and a banana. Sit back and watch to 
see which he plays with and which he eats. We can be fairly sure of the  outcome. Try again with fats versus fruits by offering a 
choice of (natural, raw, unsalted) nuts, seeds, avocados, or olives on the one  hand and any fresh sweet fruit on the other. Again, we 
can safely predict that the child will choose the sweet fruit. Aren’t We Carnivores? Our anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and psychology all indicate that we  are not carnivores. To say that carnivores eat 
carnage or flesh does not accurately portray such creatures. Anima ls that live on other animals usually eat raw meat, straight from t he 
carcass, with relish. Carnivores consume most of the animal, not mere ly the flesh, eating the muscle meat as well as the organs and 
lapping up the warm, fresh blood and other bodily fluids with gusto. They delight  in the guts and their partially digested contents. They even crush, split, and eat the smaller bones and their marrow and gr istle (collagen or cartilage). Dogs, for instance, require far more calcium than humans,  for animal flesh is extremely acid forming. The calcium (an alkali ne 
mineral) in blood and bones offsets the acidic end materials of flesh foods. Th ey also require much more protein than humans do. 11 
When you note the vigor with which dogs devour whole animals, you can be sur e that what carnivores need for their nourishment is 
quite delicious to them. Most of us love animals as fellow creatures on Earth. We do not salivate a t the idea of crushing the life out of a rabbit with our 
bare hands and teeth, and the thought of eating one in a freshly killed sta te is repulsive. We certainly do not enjoy chewing on bones, 
gristle, entrails, chunks of raw fat and flesh, and the hair and vermin  that inevitably accompany them. We can not imagine slurping 
hot blood, getting it all over our faces, hands, and bodies. These behaviors are al ien to our natural disposition and are actually 
sickening. The sights and smells of the slaughterhouse and even the butcher sh op are those of death. Many people find them unspeakably 
abhorrent. Slaughterhouses are so objectionable to most people that no one is a llowed to visit. Even the employees find 
slaughterhouse conditions impossible to make peace with. Slaughterhous es have the highest employee turnover rate of any industry. Meat eating does not fit in with our concepts of kindness or compassion. There  is no humane way to kill another creature. We kill our animals by proxy, finding the actual carcass or corpse to be a thi ng of disgust. The vast majority of adults agree 
that if they had to kill the animals in order to eat, they would not eat meat  ever again. We disguise animal flesh by eating only small 
cuts of the muscle and some organ meats. Even then, we prefer to cook them an d camouflage them with condiments. We disguise the reality of meat by changing the names of the foods from w hat they really are to something more acceptable. We do not eat cow, pig, or sheep, but rather eat mutton, pork, ham, beef, steak, and veal. We  do not speak of eating blood or 
lymph, but we salivate at the thought of a “juicy” steak. W e distort r eality even further by giving animal qualities to our natural f oods. Hence we refer to the “skin” of the fruit, eat its “flesh,” dig out the “ meat” of the nut, and even slice the “cheeks” or “shoulders” off 
fruit when we cut two sides away from the pit. These animal allusions  minimize the horror of eating true flesh, but those of us who 
have not been desensitized are still aware of it. The Evidence 
When we weigh the evidence, we see that too many considerations exist  in physiology, anatomy, aesthetic disposition, and 
psychology for us to even seriously entertain the notion that we were de signed to eat flesh. By the time you finish this chapter 
(substantially derived from the writings of T.C. Fry), I think you will a gree that human beings simply are not equipped to be 
carnivores. Humans vs. Carnivores 
The following is an incomplete list of the major differences between h umans and carnivorous creatures. Walking: We have two hands and two feet, and we walk erect. All of the carnivores ha ve four feet and perform their 
locomotion using all fours. Tails: Carnivores have tails. Tongues: Only the truly carnivorous animals have rasping (rough) tongues. All other creatures have smooth tongues. Claws: Our lack of claws makes ripping skin or tough flesh extremely difficult . We possess much weaker, flat fingernails 
instead. Opposable thumbs: Our opposable thumbs make us extremely well equipped to collect a meal of frui t in a matter of a few 
seconds. Most people find the process effortless. All we have to do is pick it. The  claws of carnivores allow them to catch 
their prey in a matter of seconds as well. We could no more catch and rip the s kin or tough flesh of a deer or bear 
barehanded than a lion could pick mangos or bananas. Births: Humans usually have children one at a time. Carnivores typically g ive birth to litters. Colon formation: Our convoluted colons are quite different in design from the smooth colons of  carnivorous animals. Intestinal length: Our intestinal tracts measure roughly 12 times the length of our tor sos (about 30 feet). This allows for the 
slow absorption of sugars and other water-borne nutrients from fruit. In c ontrast, the digestive tract of a carnivore is only 3 
times the length of its torso. This is necessary to avoid rotting or decompos ition of flesh inside the animal. The carnivore 
depends upon highly acidic secretions to facilitate rapid digestion and abs orption in its very short tube. Still, the putrefaction of 
proteins and the rancidity of fats is evident in their feces. Mammary glands: The multiple teats on the abdomens of carnivores do not coincide with the pai r of mammary glands on 
the chest of humans. Sleep: Humans spend roughly two thirds of every 24-hour cycle actively awake. Ca rnivores typically sleep and rest from 18 
to 20 hours per day and sometimes more. Microbial tolerance: Most carnivores can digest microbes that would be deadly for humans, such a s those that cause 
botulism. Perspiration:  Humans sweat from pores on their entire body. Carnivores sweat from the t ongues only. Vision: Our sense of vision responds to the full spectrum of color, making it possible t o distinguish ripe from unripe fruit at a 
distance. Meat eaters do not typically see in full color. Meal size: Fruit is in scale to our food requirements. It fits our hands. A few pieces  of fruit is enough to make a meal, leaving 
no waste. Carnivores typically eat the entire animal when they kil l it. Drinking: Should we need to drink water, we can suck it with our lips, but we cannot la p it up. Carnivores’ tongues 
protrude outward so they can lap water when they need to drink. Placenta: We have a discoid-style placenta, whereas the carnivores have zonar y placentas. Vitamin C: Carnivores manufacture their own vitamin C. For us, vitamin C is an  essential nutrient that we must get from our 
food. Jaw movement: Our ability to grind our food is unique to plant eaters. Meat eaters have no l ateral movement in their jaws. Dental formula: Mammalogists use a system called the “dental formula” to describe t he arrangement of teeth in each 
quadrant of the jaws of an animal’s mouth. This refers to the number of  incisors, canines, and molars in each of the four 
quadrants. Starting from the center and moving outward, our formula, and th at of most anthropoids, is 2/1/5. The dental 
formula for carnivores is 3/1/5-to-8. Teeth: The molars of a carnivore are pointed and sharp. Ours are primarily  flat, for mashing food. Our “canine” teeth bear 
no resemblance to true fangs. Nor do we have a mouth full of them, as a true c arnivore does. I am reminded of one of 
Abraham Lincoln’s favorite retorts: “If you counted a sheep’s tail  as a leg, how many legs would it have?” Invariably , people 
would answer, “five.” To which Lincoln would respond: “Only four. Counting  the tail as a leg doesn’t make it one.” 
Tolerance for fat: We do not handle more than small quantities of fat well. Meat eaters thr ive on a high-fat diet. Saliva and urine pH: All of the plant-eating creatures (including healthy humans) m aintain alkaline saliva and urine most of 
the time. The saliva and urine of the meat eating animals, however, i s acidic. Diet pH: Carnivores thrive on a diet of acid-forming foods, whereas such a diet is de adly to humans, setting the stage for a 
wide variety of disease states. Our preferred foods are all alkaline-for ming. Stomach acid pH: The pH level of the hydrochloric acid that humans produce in their stomac hs generally ranges about 3 to 
4 or higher but can go as low as 2.0. (0 = most acidic, 7 = neutral, 14 = most alkaline). Th e stomach acid of cats and other 
meat eaters can be in the 1 + range and usually runs in the 2s. Because the pH scale is logarithmi c, this means the stomach acid 
of a carnivore is at least 10 times stronger than that of a human and can  be 100 or even 1,000 times stronger. Uricase: True carnivores secrete an enzyme called uricase to metabolize th e uric acid in flesh. We secrete none and so must 
neutralize this strong acid with our alkaline minerals, primarily  calcium. The resulting calcium urate crystals are one of the man y 
pathogens of meat eating, in this case giving rise to or contributing t o gout, arthritis, rheumatism, and bursitis. Digestive enzymes: Our digestive enzymes are geared to make for easy fruit digestion. W e produce ptyalin—also known 
as salivary amylase—to initiate the digestion of fruit. Meat-eat ing animals do not produce any ptyalin and have completely different digestive enzyme ratios. Sugar metabolism: The glucose and fructose in fruits fuel our cells without strainin g our pancreas (unless we eat a high-fat 
diet). Meat eaters do not handle sugars well. They are prone to diabetes if t hey eat a diet that is predominated by fruit. Intestinal flora: Humans have different bacterial colonies (flora) living in their  intestines than those found in carnivorous 
animals. The ones that are similar, such as lactobacillus and e. col i are found in different ratios in the plant eaters’ intestines a s 
compared to those of the carnivores. Liver size: Carnivores have proportionately larger livers in comparison to their body  size than humans. Cleanliness: We are the most particular of all creatures about the cleanliness of  our food. Carnivores are the least picky, 
and will eat dirt, bugs, organic debris, and other items along with their food. Natural appetite: Our mouths water at the sights and smells of the produce market. These a re living foods, the source of 
our sustenance. But the smell of animals usually puts us off. Meat  eaters’ mouths water at the sight of prey , and they react to 
the smell of animals as though they sense food. So … What Kind of “V ores” Are We? Despite the gross perversion of our instincts, they are still alive a nd well in most people and would reassert themselves should 
we be relegated back to nature. Therefore, this quest is to ascertain wha t we would eat in nature. Our instinctive foods, the foods that helped to develop us to our magnificence , contain all that we need to thrive o. In this 
section, we inquire about the various types of foods we humans presently ea t. We will evaluate whether each type is an appropriate 
food for us based on how that food occurs in nature without benefit of cooking equipme nt, tools, and containers. Remember, your 
instincts will reject or embrace each food on its merits—that is, it s appeals to your senses and palate—the only criteria that guided 
our food selection in ages past. Our premise is that Nature served us correctly to start with. We rec ognize that we thrived and attained our high station, and 
that what was right for us then is still right for us now, as we are st ructurally and physiologically the same as we were during most of 
our sojourn as humans in nature. It is logical that, within our modern con text, we can supply ourselves with natural foods. Are We Herbivores? Herbivores, or vegetarians, are natural consumers of greenery such  as grass, weeds, leaves, stalks, and stems. A broader definition 
of “vegetarian” includes anyone who eats only plant-derived foods. Typ ical vegetarian foods may include a preponderance of fruits 
and greens but, in practice the designation vegetarian means that on e eats anything and everything besides animal flesh. Does foraging in nature for grass, weeds, and leaves appeal to you? Do these  items attract your eye, tantalize your sense of 
smell, and excite your palate? Of course not, for the simple reason that t hey cannot satisfy your needs. You do not secrete cellulase 
or other enzymes that break down these plants as herbivores do. There fore you cannot derive your foremost need from them— 
namely , simple sugars—which are your body’s primary fuel. Rath er, the processing and problems caused by their ingestion occas ion 
a net loss of energy. Humans do consume green leafy plants such as lettuce, celery, spinac h and the like, as well as the tougher cruciferous 
vegetables (beets, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, and others) . Eaten plain, as they occur in nature, these tough 
vegetables are high in insoluble fiber and therefore difficult for us  to digest. Although we can cultivate a taste for them, they really 
hold only a moderate appeal to us. All vegetables yield (to the extent digested) proteins, some essentia l fatty acids, mineral matter, vitamins, and some simple 
sugars. But if we get enough of these nutrients from our natural foods, t hen these are not needed from plants that we do not eat raw 
with keen relish. So, the answer is yes—humans are biologically equipped to supplement  their diets with a wide variety of plant-based 
“vegetarian” substances. Though we include vegetables in our die ts, we’re not primarily vegetable eaters by nature. And the 
divergent array of foods we commonly classify as such are not by any stre tch of the imagination our primary ideal, natural source of 
fuel or other nutrients. Obviously , we’re not herbivores. Are We Starch Eaters? Starches can be divided into three general categories: grains (gra ss seeds), roots and tubers, and legumes. Grains. Creatures that naturally eat grains, which are the seeds of gras ses, are called “granivores.” A similar term, 
“graminivore,” refers to species whose primary diet consists of gr asses. Many birds in nature live on the seeds of grasses and 
weeds. Included among the thousands of grass seeds that exist throughout  nature are wheat, rice, oats, rye, and barley—all of 
which humans developed as a result of their mastery of nature only wit hin the last 10,000 years. Of course, in nature we would all reject grass seeds as foods. First, they  grow in a form we can neither chew nor digest. Grain-eating birds possess a “crop,” a pouch in their throats or  gullets, where the grains they swallow whole are allowed to 
germinate, thereby becoming digestible. Grains are indigestible raw , but even cooked, the complex carbohydrates in them 
require great digestive effort to break down. Heavy on starches, grass seeds such as wheat berries would gag us if w e attempted to eat the equivalent of a spoonful 
or two (assuming we could gather them, and remembering that they would h ave their husks intact, as we would have to eat 
them in nature) Further, eating a tablespoon of raw flour made from the s eeds of any cereal grain would also produce a gag 
response because it is so dry. Thus, even though most of the human race presently consumes grains a nd starches, we can reject them as natural human 
fare. The fact that grass seeds neither attract, tantalize, nor ar ouse us in their raw natural state should amply indicate to you 
that we were not granivores in nature before we mastered fire. Inste ad of being a palate-tingling delight, these complex- 
carbohydrate foods in their natural state are a torturesome affair. Starchy roots and tubers. Animals that grub for roots and tubers are anatomically designed for the  task: they have snouts; 
humans do not. Without tools, humans are very poor diggers.
80_10_10_Diet_-_Douglas_Graham.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Praise for The 80/10/10 Diet 
 
“Dr. Graham is wise, insightful, and a leading-edge thinker. Read, savor, and use his brilliance, and I hope it serves you as well 
as it has me. ”  
—Mark Victor Hansen, coauthor of the 
Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books 
 
“For people who want to create balance in their lives and reach a nd sustain the level of health they deserve, I highly 
recommend this book. ” 
—Kimberly Mac, The “Naked” Vegan, 
radio talk show host and live-food chef 
 
“Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet has literally saved my life. By putting hi s advice into practice, I have recovered from serious 
illness and attained a level of health I never dreamed possible. If you des ire the tools necessary to create a permanent and life- 
changing level of health, look no further than this book. ” 
—Jeremiah Neese, Santa Barbara, CA 
 
“When I stick with Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet program, I am full of energy a nd vitality. I am able to live life to the fullest and 
enjoy every moment. As an added bonus, I start to lose extra weight and I f eel healthy. I don’t want for anything when I can eat all 
the strawberries and watermelon that I desire. ” 
—Rachel Johnson, author of Wake Up Running. “I have been following Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet and lifestyle for seven  years, and it is the best thing I have ever done. His 
program has allowed me to fine tune my eating habits so that I’m func tioning at my best. For me, the benefits of this lifestyle include
high energy, disappearance of all ailments, cessation of depression, m ore patience, a reverence for life, and much more. ” 
—Gary Orlando, author of  Beyond Raw eBook 
 
“I am so grateful to Dr. D. for introducing me to the 80/10/10 diet. I just start ed working out for the first time in many years, 
and I am having the most amazing results. My energy is skyrocketing, and I am feeling better than I’ve felt in my entire life. ”  
—Kira Donnellan, Hartford, Connecticut 
 
“The 80/10/10 diet as explained and advocated by Dr. Graham in his book, is in my  opinion, the greatest breakthrough ever 
made in the field of nutrition. Read it, study it, and apply it as if your life  depended on it—because it does. ” 
—Frederic Patenaude, author of The Raw Secrets  
 
“With Doug Graham’s 80/10/10  program, I have begun to experience levels of health I never dreamed of. My  energy is 
soaring, my endurance has increased considerably, and my regularity  is better than it’s been at any point in my life. Another added 
perk is enjoying my food and each subtle nuance of taste, texture and feel s o much more than I ever have. I say this with 100% 
enthusiasm: Y ou are just right on, Doug. ” 
—Courtney Whitworth, Pahoa, Hawaii 
 
“Armed with data drawn from the latest scientific research, Dr. Gra ham convincingly makes the case that humans are 
essentially frugivorous and that we should all be living on a fruit-ba sed diet. The 80/10/10  Diet  is a courageous, thoroughly 
researched work. In a field that is beset by hucksters and charlatans, th is new book establishes Dr. Graham as the undisputed voice 
of authority and wisdom. " —Rynn Berry, author of Food for the Gods: Vegetarianism and the World's Religions and historical advisor to the North 
American Vegetarian Society 
 
“I struggled with weight control and high serum lipids for years. Dr. G raham’s 80/10/10 diet has helped me reduce weight, fat, 
and serum lipids to desired levels. I am running faster and feeling bett er at age 52 than I did years ago. It feels so good to be in 
control, and I enjoy every bite of the food. ”  
—Brad Forgy, MS, RN 
 
“Following Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 diet program has given me the energy, b eauty, and strength that I have been looking for all 
of my 54 years, along with the joy of eating foods that appeal to all of my sens es. I’m able to run now instead of just walk, something I never thought I’d be able to do. People tell me I look like a tee nager. I know I’m treating my body and mind in the best 
way, while doing the same for our precious Earth. I am blessed to have f ound this way of eating, and I wish the same for others. ” 
—Amy Harwood, Sonoma, California 
 
  
The 80/10/10 ™ Diet 
Balancing Your Health, 
Your Weight, and Your Life 
One Luscious Bite at a Time 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Douglas N. Graham 
 
 
 
 
 
  
The 80/10/10 Diet 
Copyright 2006, 2008, 2010 Douglas N. Graham, DC 
 
The author will assert his intellectual property rights to the ful lest extent of the law. No part of this book may be reproduced or 
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, inc luding photocopying, recording or by any information storage 
and retrieval system without written permission from the author, ex cept for the inclusion of brief quotations for review or reference 
purposes. Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of this book may be  sent to: publications@811rv. com 
 
80/10/10, 80/10/10rv, 811, and 811rv  are trademarks of Douglas N. Graham. Published by: 
FoodnSport Press 
609 N. Jade Drive 
Key Largo, FL 33037 U. S. A. Printed in the United States of America 
Cover design, photography, and book design, lenspeace 
 
10    9    8    7    6    5          4    3    2    1   
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication 
    (Provided by Quality Books, Inc. ) 
 
Graham, Douglas N. The 80/10/10 diet : balancing your health, your weight, and 
your life one luscious bite at a time / by Douglas N. Graham; 
foreword by Ruth Heidrich. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-893831-99-5 
ISBN-10: 1-893831-99-5 
 
1. High-carbohydrate diet. 2. Lowfat diet. 3. Raw foods. 4. Nutrition. I. Title. II. Title: Eighty ten ten diet. III. Title: Bal ancing 
your health, your weight, and your life one luscious bite at a time. RM237. 59. G73 2006                               613. 2’83 
                                                                QBI06-600292  
  
 
Trademark Statement 
Since my graduation from chiropractic college in 1983, I have performed consi derable research and have lectured extensively 
on the subjects of health, diet, and athletics to tens of thousands of people in  the United States and around the world. The essence 
of my life’s work has been summed up in the related phrases 80/10/10 and 80/10/10rv, and their corresponding shorthand 811 and 
811rv. While 80/10/10 originally referred to a nutritional ratio, followers of my  work know that it has come to mean much more. Over the decades, I have strived to imbue the 80/10/10 concept with the additiona l meanings of adequate sleep, exercise, positive 
outlook on life, and many other health-promoting factors. As a result, I am f ormally asserting trademark rights to 80/10/10,
80/10/10rv, 811, and 811rv in order to maintain the high standards they have come to r epresent in the public mind and to protect 
the public’s association of these concepts with me and my work. I hope  everyone in the health/nutrition field will honor and respect 
these marks, using them only when licensed or authorized or, if without s pecific authorization, with proper acknowledgment and 
notice in accordance with law and custom. Disclaimer 
The information contained in e is provided for your general information only. It is not intended as a substitute for any 
treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor.
To promote a balanced and healthy lifestyle, and not just focus on weight loss or other temporary benefits.
What is the primary goal of Dr. Graham's 80/10/10 diet?
Several people, including Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Mac, and Rynn Berry, have praised Dr. Graham's work and recommended his book.
Who has praised Dr. Graham's work?
The main issue is that it is not a sustainable or healthy choice, and it can lead to a wide range of health problems.
What is the main issue with the way people typically consume junk food?
The key is to eat whole, fresh, and organic foods, as they occur in nature, and to focus on the big picture of health, not just symptoms.
What is the key to the 80/10/10 diet?
The main difference is that humans are anatomically and physiologically different from carnivores, and are not designed to eat meat.
What is the main difference between humans and carnivores?