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Authors share whole-person nutrition

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Keri Brenner | The Olympian • Published February 18, 2008

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Tacoma author Deborah Kesten has seven cures for our fat-prone society. They're in the form of behaviorial antidotes to seven obesity-generating ways we eat.

Kesten, a nutrition researcher and educator, and her husband, Larry Scherwitz, a natural products scientist in Puyallup, identified the obesity-bearing behaviors in a methodical fashion. During a six-week online eating program that they designed, administered and recorded, Kesten and Scherwitz analyzed the eating patterns of more than 5,200 people.

The surprisingly consistent and significant results are the basis of their book, "The Enlightened Diet: 7 Weight-Loss Solutions that Nourish Body, Mind and Soul," published last month. It is a hit - but not for the reasons most diet books are a hit.

"The Enlightened Diet is a profound relief," writes Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of "The Wisdom of Menopause," on the book jacket. "It's not just about calories or exercise, and our bodies know this."

Even though it been out only a few weeks, the book has had an impact. Bastyr University near Seattle, a college for naturopathic physicians, is adding it to the reference materials for the school's planned new wellness center, where Kesten and Scherwitz also will be on faculty.

"Our core message is that there is a way of life and eating that can lead you naturally to weight loss and wellness," said Kesten, author of two previous books on the connections between food, culture and healing. "We call it whole-person nutrition."

A person's eating style can't be separated from the rest of life, said David Riley, medical editor of "Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing."

"Overeating is not merely an isolated behavior," he says. "Rather, it is part of a web of related food choices, feelings, sensory experience and social behaviors."

According to Kesten and Scherwitz, here are the seven fat-generating behaviors:

n Food fretting: Worrying about getting fat, counting calories, fat grams or carbs.