The 3-Season Diet

THE 3-SEASON DIET:
SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF FOOD CRAVINGS,
WEIGHT LOSS, AND EXERCISE
John Douillard
New York: Random House, 2000
288 pages, hardcover, $23
ISBN: 0-609-60589-5

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

What's spring without fresh asparagus, summer without tall frosty glasses of iced tea, and winter without Tuscan bean soup?

Many of us associate seasons of the year with certain types of foods, even if we know little about the biological rhythms that prompt annual changes in appetite. Humans and other animals typically eat less food in general in the spring, more fat in the summer, more carbohydrates in the fall, and more proteins in the winter. We also tend to eat more in winter--six to seven percent more calories than at other times of the year, according to some estimates. Like hibernating animals, we often gain a few pounds in winter. Fortunately, we're also programmed to shed those pounds in the spring and summer.

In this book, John Douillard suggests that more of us would manage our weight better and feel more fit if we restricted our consumption of certain foods to their traditional growing seasons. Spring, summer, and fall are the three seasons of the book's title. He derived this notion from the traditional Hindu practice of Ayurvedic medicine, which focuses on living in harmony with the natural world. A practitioner of Ayurvedic and chiropractic sports medicine himself, Douillard is director of player development for the New Jersey Nets, and host of a radio talk show on health matters.

The diet he proposes resembles the so-called Mediterranean diet. This type of diet (there is no single "Mediterranean diet") typically combines generous servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts, with moderate portions of fish and only occasional red meat or dairy products. Such food choices are endorsed by leading health groups, such as the American Heart Association.

Whether Douillard's seasonal spin offers any further advantage isn't clear. He supports his recommendations chiefly with testimonials and case histories of people whom he has helped to lose weight and keep it off. Some may find that incentive enough to help them stick with his healthy diet plan.

Given the nation's rapidly expanding waistline, finding better tactics to promote sensible eating and motivate weight loss is a prime public health aim. Half the American adult population is overweight. Nearly all who lose weight by dieting regain it within three to five years.

In one of the more useful sections of this book, Douillard reviews the major trendy diet plans: low-calorie, low-fat, high-protein, grapefruit, "The Zone," etc. He describes the principles on which they are based, and details their shortcomings in an even-handed manner.

This book includes exercise guidelines, menus, shopping lists, and recipes. It also dishes up a supersized portion of hard-to-substantiate New Age advice. The basic message, though, is worth heeding. It's possible today to consume all foods in all seasons. But we might be healthier if we synchronized our diet with the body's natural internal rhythms and seasonal preferences.