5 Things You Need to Know About the Joel Fuhrman Diet

1. A Natural Nutritional Approach

Joel Fuhrman is a family physician who advocates nutritional and natural methods to prevent and reverse diseases. He has a private practice in Flemington, NJ, and has written a number of books, including "Eat for Health,""Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease" and "Disease-Proof Your Child."

2. How Nutrient-Dense is Your Food?

The Joel Fuhrman diet focuses on the concept of nutrient density, or how many nutrients are present in a food in relationship to how many calories it contains. He believes that Americans are developing chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes because they eat foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients. In addition to diabetes and heart disease, Dr. Fuhrman also blames our current diets on the development of autoimmune diseases like arthritis, cancer and high blood pressure.

3. It's Hard to Eat Too Much

If you choose to go on the Joel Fuhrman diet, you will be eating a raw food diet, lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes. You eat meat and dairy products sparingly. Unlike some diets that focus on portion size, the Joel Fuhrman diet encourages you to eat lots of food from certain food groups. The theory is that you will receive so much fiber and nutrients from these nutrient-dense foods that you will end up consuming fewer calories, which is, of course, the key to weight loss.

4. You're Not Really Hungry

According to Dr. Fuhrman, the headache, lightheadedness and other symptoms we often feel when skipping meals are actually "toxic hunger" and not real hunger. He claims that these symptoms show that the body is detoxifying, and that they will disappear over time as we adjust to a new way of eating.

5. Get Your Vitamin B12

Although the Joel Fuhrman Diet focuses on eating lots of raw fruits and vegetables, he does allow for differences between individuals, because some people have problems digesting these foods when they are raw. He also recommends vitamin B12 supplements because B12 levels can be low in a person who eats mainly fruits and vegetables. Dr. Fuhrman also recommends a daily multivitamin and an omega-3 oil supplement. His website offers a lot of information about his diet in the form of web events and downloadable interviews.