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Around the World in 80 Diets

Faith, culture, healing and trend: the strengths and watch-outs of the world's most popular diets, and how to eat well within each.

By Mayim Vega

Around the World in 80 Diets is a free field guide by Mayim Vega, founder of Arukah, to the ways people eat: the food laws of the world's faiths, the traditional kitchens of dozens of cultures, and the therapeutic, ancestral, plant-based and popular diets people ask about most. Each entry is fair to both sides. It explains what the diet is and where it comes from, its real strengths, what to watch out for, how to eat well within its own rules, possible supplement needs, and who should be careful.

Our view. There is no single perfect diet for everyone. Almost every tradition is healthier when it is built on whole, minimally processed foods and traditional fats, with fewer ultra-processed foods, refined sugars and refined oils. A label such as "kosher," "halal," "vegan," "keto" or "gluten-free" tells you which rules a food meets, not whether it nourishes you. We respect every faith and culture, and this book is written to help you eat well within yours.

Contents

Chapter 1 · 12 diets

Faith and Tradition

How the world's faiths shape what goes on the plate: kosher and halal, the Maker's Diet, the vegetarian traditions of India, and the fasting traditions of many faiths.

  1. 1Kosher Diet
  2. 2The Maker's Diet
  3. 3The Daniel Fast
  4. 4Seventh-day Adventist Diet
  5. 5Halal
  6. 6Hindu Vegetarian Diet
  7. 7Buddhist Diet
  8. 8Sikh Diet
  9. 9Jain Diet
  10. 10Rastafarian Ital Diet
  11. 11Eastern Orthodox Fasting
  12. 12Latter-day Saint Word of Wisdom

Chapter 2 · 10 diets

The Americas and the Pacific

From the Standard American Diet to the Three Sisters, the Andes, the Arctic and the Pacific Islands, plus the long-lived Blue Zones.

  1. 13Standard American Diet
  2. 14Southern and Soul Food
  3. 15Mexican Diet
  4. 16Caribbean Diet
  5. 17Brazilian Diet
  6. 18Andean Diet
  7. 19Native American Traditional Diets
  8. 20Inuit and Arctic Traditional Diet
  9. 21Pacific Islander Diet
  10. 22Blue Zones

Chapter 3 · 10 diets

Europe, the Middle East and Africa

The Mediterranean and its neighbors, the north of Europe, the Middle East, and the traditional kitchens of Ethiopia and West Africa.

  1. 23Mediterranean Diet
  2. 24Italian Diet
  3. 25French Diet
  4. 26Nordic Diet
  5. 27British and Irish Diet
  6. 28German and Central European Diet
  7. 29Russian and Eastern European Diet
  8. 30Middle Eastern Diet
  9. 31Ethiopian Diet
  10. 32West African Diet

Chapter 4 · 8 diets

Asia

India, China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam: rice, fermented foods, fresh herbs, and how modern changes have shaped health.

  1. 33Indian Diet
  2. 34Chinese Diet
  3. 35Japanese Diet
  4. 36Okinawan Diet
  5. 37Korean Diet
  6. 38Filipino Diet
  7. 39Thai Diet
  8. 40Vietnamese Diet

Chapter 5 · 12 diets

Ancestral and Low-Carb

Weston A. Price, paleo, carnivore and keto, and the best-known low-carbohydrate plans, from Atkins to South Beach.

  1. 41Weston A. Price (Nourishing Traditions) Diet
  2. 42Paleo Diet
  3. 43Primal Blueprint
  4. 44Animal-Based Diet
  5. 45Carnivore Diet
  6. 46Ketogenic Diet
  7. 47Atkins Diet
  8. 48South Beach Diet
  9. 49Zone Diet
  10. 50Dukan Diet
  11. 51Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF)
  12. 52Bulletproof Diet

Chapter 6 · 9 diets

Plant-Based

Vegetarian and vegan eating, whole-food plant-based and Ornish, raw food, macrobiotics, and the flexible middle ground.

  1. 53Vegetarian Diet
  2. 54Vegan Diet
  3. 55Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet
  4. 56Ornish Diet
  5. 57Raw Food Diet
  6. 58Macrobiotic Diet
  7. 59Pescatarian Diet
  8. 60Flexitarian Diet
  9. 61Pegan Diet

Chapter 7 · 12 diets

Healing and Therapeutic

Diets used for blood pressure, the brain, the gut, autoimmune conditions and food intolerances, and one cancer diet to approach with great caution.

  1. 62DASH Diet
  2. 63MIND Diet
  3. 64Anti-Inflammatory Diet
  4. 65GAPS Diet
  5. 66Specific Carbohydrate Diet
  6. 67Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)
  7. 68Low-FODMAP Diet
  8. 69Gluten-Free Diet
  9. 70Low-Histamine Diet
  10. 71Gerson Therapy
  11. 72Wahls Protocol
  12. 73Whole30

Chapter 8 · 7 diets

Weight Loss, Fasting and Fads

Commercial programs, meal replacements, popular fads and intermittent fasting: what helps, what doesn't, and what to watch for.

  1. 74WW (Weight Watchers)
  2. 75Meal-Replacement Plans
  3. 76Volumetrics
  4. 77Blood Type Diet
  5. 78Alkaline Diet
  6. 79Juice Cleanses and Detox Diets
  7. 80Intermittent Fasting

Topics

How to read an entry

  • The opening: what the diet is, its rules, and where it comes from.
  • Strengths and Watch out for: the case for and against, including common misunderstandings and nutrient gaps.
  • Eating well within it: practical changes that keep to the diet's own rules, faith or culture.
  • Possible supplement needs: nutrients that often run short. Arukah's free supplement book, From A to Zinc, lists forms, amounts and cautions.
  • Who should be careful: the people for whom the diet carries special risks.
Start with Chapter 1: Faith and Tradition

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