Introduction | |
Amy starts her day off being "good." She eats a breakfast of instant oatmeal with fruit and heads to work, vowing that today she will stick to her diet. But by elevan A.M., the familiar call from the vending machine starts, and Amy feels powerless. She can't fight the craving for chocolate, and ultimately gives in to temptation--every time.

Paul's doctor has warned him repeatedly that he is risking serious health problems if he does not lower his cholesterol. Time and time again, he has said he would try to cut down on cheese, meat, and other fat-laden foods that contribute to his cholesterol level. Yet he just can't seem to walk past the pizza joint around the corner from his office during lunchtime. The smells and sights lure him in again and again.

Susan has diabetes. Her good health depends upon her eating a diet free of processed junk food like potato chips, candy, and fast-food hamburgers. Even so, these are some of her favorites. She eats foods she knows she shouldn't and feels helpless to improve her life. How are foods treating you? Do any of the stories above sound familiar? Do chocolate or sweets get the better of you more often than you'd like? Has the diet you've grown accustomed to made you gain weight? Has it made your cardiologist nervous, or maybe contributed to high blood pressure, diabetes, join pains, or migraines?

You might be a willing victim of doughnuts, double bacon-cheeseburgers, french fries, candy bars, or greasy fast-food chicken, whatever their effect on your waistline or health. But, more likely, you watch yourself being dragged down an unhealthy path against your better judgment. It's not that you don't know what kind of diet you'd like to follow, the problem is that it's so easy to be led astray.

You've felt the seduction. "I know I shouldn't," you tell yourself. But tastes and aromas call out like Sirens, leaving you little hope of resisting.