. Take your fine reading glasses with you to the supermarket (even health food stores are not necessarily safe) and read the ingredient labels. Avoid the bad carbohydrates, shy away from products that have lengthy ingredient lists, and avoid oils and fat additives, particularly animal fats and hydrogenated fats. As a rough guide, if a product is sold with an ingredients label, then it is processed and you should thoroughly vet it.
Biotechnology companies have genetically modified plants for many reasons but rarely to increase nutrition. Governments and the industry hasten to reassure the public that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe, but that is not the point. Volcanic ash might be safe to eat, but is it food? Already our current food supply is too far removed from the Savanna Model. After all, we are organic creatures that have grown up in harmony with a particular pattern of naturally occurring vegetation and fauna.
Most Americans do not realize how much of their food supply is infiltrated by GMOs—some 60% of it—in particular, anything containing tomato, soy, and corn (maize). In America, no authority requires the presence of these GMOs to be labeled. In contrast, the European Union (EU) requires all foodstuffs containing GMOs to be so labeled. However, all is not lost for Americans. After an outcry from consumers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) backtracked and agreed that the “organic” label could not be applied to genetically modified foods.
As things stand, genetically modified food is probably “safe” and nutritionally similar to plants produced by regular intensive farming, but no one knows for sure. Nevertheless, avoid GMOs where you can and consume them when you must. There is also a stronger reason to avoid GMOs: the ethical one of combating the agro-industry mentality that recklessly dumps fake food onto our plates.
measurable; the consequences of eating agro-industrial versions rather than organic are smaller. Therefore, the highest priority is to eat more Savanna Model food from whatever source. Eating organic is better, but it is a second order of priority.
A second point is that the designation “organic” does not turn a bad food into a good one. Organic sugar, organic milk, organic butter, and organic pork are all just as bad as the regular sort. Does a cigarette smoker worry if his tobacco is organic? Of course not—the main problem is the tobacco itself.
So, choose organic when you can, otherwise select conventionally produced foods when you must. For this to happen, your attitudes will have to change. In particular, be prepared to pay a little more. Also, be prepared for produce that is more misshapen, bruised, and discolored—buy organic and shun the Technicolor perfection of supermarket produce. You will be rewarded by glorious, rich flavors and the comfort of knowing that you are nourishing your body with genuine nutrients.
As a general rule, fruit should not be eaten at the end of a meal. However, strawberries and raspberries seem to be an exception and most people do not have any digestive difficulty with them. You can make them, therefore, into attractive desserts. Cooked fruit, while less nutritious, is not problematic. Many people have digestive difficulties if they drink on top of fruit. Definitely avoid drinking tea, as it contains certain compounds that reduce the effectiveness of the range of micronutrients in fruits.
We do not recommend that you liquidize fruits. Juicing, pasteurizing, concentrating, and reconstituting are processes that destroy the nature and utility of the natural fibers, strip out the nutrients, and increase the glycemic index. It is much better to eat the fruit itself: when we eat an apple, for example, it requires chewing and it takes time. As a result, our brains register the process at its true value, gastric juices are mobilized, and we feel satiated more easily.
You should treat dried fruit (raisins, currants, dates, figs, apricots, peaches, etc.) as sugars. They are, therefore, bad carbohydrates. In addition, the drying process destroys some of the micronutrients, so in no way can dried fruit be a substitute for the fresh variety.
chocolate made with a minimum of 75% cocoa solids is low glycemic. Read the fine print—if “cocoa solids” come before sugar on the list, then this is probably acceptable. Really good varieties will have the exact percentage of cocoa indicated. You can eat this kind of chocolate safely at the end of a meal, but discipline yourself to eat just a couple of squares (about 1 ounce). Some enterprising makers of diabetic chocolate (sweetened with “Green-Amber” sugar alcohols) have rebranded their chocolate as a “low-carb” or “diet” chocolate; these are fine in moderation.
Caffeine is sometimes demonized in health circles. Nevertheless, almost all vegetation contains some caffeine and the body is quite capable of processing it without distress. It is only in certain plants that the concentrations reach mind-altering proportions. In modest quantities, caffeine can give increased mental performance and improve mood. Increasing the dosage doesn’t bring increased benefit and some unpleasant symptoms start to appear: irritability, anxiety, jitteriness, headaches, and insomnia. In addition, at higher doses, caffeine drives up insulin levels, increases insulin resistance, and makes it harder to lose weight.  However, the harmful effects of caffeine are reduced when it is present in tea or coffee. Scientists speculate that other beneficial nutrients in these beverages compensate. Researchers have also found that a high consumption of micronutrient-rich plant food mitigates the harmful effects of caffeine on its own.
What is “Modest” Caffeine Consumption?
What about Supplements? Many people think that it is a good idea to take supplements, particularly if they have a medical condition, but this is a very narrow way of looking at nutrition. There are thousands of compounds that are important to the harmonious functioning of the body, and they all need to be working together. It is unrealistic to think that we can compensate for dietary errors by cherry-picking this or that supplement.
Worse, dosing up on one compound can have unforeseen and detrimental ramifications. This is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice syndrome mentioned in chapter 4. Nevertheless, we are obliged to eat foods that are produced chiefly by agroindustrial methods. Farmers grow lettuce hydroponically (the technique of growing plants with their roots not in soil but in nutrient-dosed water), only using nutrients that are essential to lettuce. Ordinary soils too might have reduced levels of micronutrients, either from intensive farming or just because they are made that way. Does it matter? When we say “reduced levels,” that still means that there are enough nutrients. The main problem with the average Westerner is that he or she is only consuming about 12% of the ideal amount of plant food. Just by doubling consumption, this will double the intake of micronutrients and they will be a lot better for it.
Put in place the new, healthy eating habits of the Savanna Model in Stage 1 and then move on to the other stages. Step by step, you will gradually modify your habits in the right direction, substituting healthy choices for your current unhealthy one. Over the course of the three stages, you will slowly wean yourself from the foods that are not good for you and start to incorporate more and more of the Savanna Model.
Take it at a pace that is comfortable for you. You can even decide to stop at some intermediate stage. Each stage is a summary of the more detailed advice already given in the book. If in doubt, refer back to the earlier chapters. For each stage, there follows examples of foodstuffs in the various categories used in the Owner’s Manual.
This stage is the most important—you have opened the portal to a new world, one that will change your life. Most of the changes are not difficult: much of it is the simple exchange of one food for an equal substitute. Other changes have to do with the order in which foods are eaten. None of it demands a lot of willpower.
• Reduce consumption of processed foods, fast foods, ready meals, etc., to no more than 1 serving per day (none is best).
• Eat fruit on an empty stomach.
• Avoid protein/starch combinations—Group 6 foods (Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Fish) with Group 2 foods (Grains) and/or Group 3 foods (Vegetables, Starchy).
• “Red” foods—limit to no more than 4 per day (none is best).
• “Red-Amber” foods—limit to no more than 6 per day (none is best).
• “Amber” foods—limit to no more than 8 per day (none is best).
Bread—have one day per week bread-free (none is best).
Pizza—have three days per week free of pizza (none is best).
Breakfast cereals—have three days a week free of breakfast cereals (none is best).
Pasta—have three days a week free of pasta (none is best).
Restrict french fries to no more than 3 servings per week (none is best).
“Red” foods—have one day per week free of “Red” products.
Limit “Red” products to 1 serving per day (none is best).
“Amber-Red” foods—have one day per week free of “Amber-Red” products.
Limit “Amber-Red” products to 2 servings per day (none is best).
Eat at least 1 piece (serving