Fat, Stressed, and Sick

Katherine Reid, PhD, is a biochemist and the founder of Unblind My Mind, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving health through informed food choices. Previously she worked in the Silicon Valley biotech industry in the development of cancer pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Today she works with individuals and families in collaboration with the medical and biotech communities to devise data-driven food solutions for chronic inflammatory illnesses. She lives in California.Barbara Price, MS, MA, PhD, has studied topics ranging from climate change to protein biophysics and has turned her passion for science into a career as a science writer and editor. As a senior science development editor for major educational publishers, she helps textbook authors turn highly technical information into narratives that teach. As an editor and science writer, she supports scientists who have their own stories to tell. Price has also authored original content for young learners and general audiences. She lives in Northern California.

Could a diet full of leafy greens and devoid of processed foods help cure America’s health woes, from obesity to cancer? Reid, a biochemist, along with science writer and editor Price, emphatically argues, ‘Yes.’ Blame monosodium glutamate. They think glutamates go beyond just enhancing flavor, causing inflammation, exciting the brain, and preventing people from feeling satiated and full. Remember the Lay’s potato chip slogan, ‘Betcha can’t eat just one?’ Reid feels her youngest daughter, who was diagnosed with autism at age three, turned around when the family gave up processed foods and switched to what the authors call a Reduced Excitatory Inflammatory Diet. This ‘REID’ meal plan, outlined here with menus and ingredients in appendix B, includes snacks like a hard-boiled egg and 10 carrot and fennel sticks with guacamole on one day or a half a sweet potato with flaxseeds and chard on another. Is it worth essentially giving up most dairy products and breads? Skeptics may be unconvinced, but there’s certainly no harm in eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole foods.