The Jerusalem Post
"...This is more of a "lifebook," actually, offering insights into how we form bad habits and tips for laying the foundation for better ones, delving deeply into both emotional and physical health, guided by the wisdom of the great Jewish sage who lived 800 years ago.
It turns out that the works of the Rambam, as this outstanding doctor of his time is known, are filled with nutritional advice, such as:
"Overeating is like poison to the body... most illnesses are caused by... gorging oneself and overeating even healthy foods."
"Exercise is a cornerstone in the preservation of health, repelling the damage done by most of man's bad habits."
The weight loss advice is no faddy program but involves the adoption of a comprehensive new lifestyle that embraces even the enormous temptations of Shabbat and festival eating.
"Get rid of all your clothes that are bigger than your current size," Zulberg advises. "You are never going to wear them again."
The Rambam on emotional health: "Happiness alone has cured or at least made milder many physical and psychological ailments."...
The Jerusalem Post
By JUDY MONTAGU
Short Order: Maimonides's diet, and non-dairy dining
May 15, 2008 11:45
The New York Jewish Week
Good reading makes for good eating in new books about nutrition and prevention.
WHEN BLESSED WITH THE LUXURY OF HAVING TOO MUCH TO EAT, AND TOO MANY FOODS TO CHOOSE FROM, WE FACE THE HAPPY DILEMMA OF FIGURING OUT WHAT'S FOR DINNER.
Several new books help sort through the links between good eating and good health, based on the latest medical findings about nutrition and prevention.
"A person should eat only when he is hungry and he should drink only when he is thirsty," the Rambam wrote in the Mishneh Torah, a systematic code of Jewish law. Throughout his writing, the sage and physician emphasized caring for the body, with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
In a new book, David J. Zulberg presents a step-by-step guide to healthy living based on the teachings of the Rambam, also known as Maimonides, "The Life-Transforming Diet" (Feldheim). The book opens with pages of approval and recommendation from rabbis in Israel and the United States. Zulberg emphasizes emotional and physical health through this diet, with an enhanced! spiritual outlook and sustainable weight loss as possible results.
The author, who was born in South Africa, studied hi Israel and now lives in New York, worked on the book for about five years, and has lost almost 40 pounds.
About changing bad habits, the author also turns to the Rambam, who has written that "one of the most powerful forces of human nature is habit, irrespective of whether these are actions or preconceived perceptions... For instance, a person might choose bad foods to which he is not accustomed over good foods to which he is not accustomed."
Zulberg presents a "Subconscious Accumulation Process," based on the way habits are formed and the possibilities of transformation and formulating healthier ones. His approach is gradual; among the suggestions on his diet plan are high-water content meals and one-concentrated-food meals, introduced in a systematic format, with weekly guidance. Zulberg also emphasizes exercise, as the Rambam did, and offers special advice related to Shabbat meals, when there is an obligation to enjoy food-but he does not promote overeating...
The New York Jewish Week
Brawarsky, Sandee
From Page To Plate, For A Healthier You
October 26,, 2007 |
