It seems obvious: eat healthy foods in moderation, drink in moderation, and maintain your weight. But it's not obvious, at least not to the vast majority of Americans who are overweight, and Dr. Tedd Goldfinger, a Cardiologist in Arizona, has the answer in a book called The Wine Lover's Healthy Weight Loss Plan (McGraw-Hill, $16.95). I think a lot of other food lovers would agree with me when I say that dieting is boring and restrictive. It's like being told you can only play certain chords on the piano if you're a pianist, or that you have to run the same route every day if you're a jogger.
That's where Goldfinger's plan is genius: he offers a dieting solution in the Mediterranean diet, based on Italian, Greek, Provencal, and Spanish cuisines that's designed to pair with wine. The foods aren't just good for you, they're good too. Goldfinger channels the author of The French Paradox, Dr. Serge Renaud, who discovered how healthy the French are in spite of eating buttered croissants and foie gras. Why? Wine, of course.
The first sections talk about the health aspect of the diet: eating your food more slowly and savoring it with a glass of good wine; cooking the right kinds of foods, relying mostly on whole grains, plenty of fruits and veggies, and lean meats; and above all, eating and drinking in moderation.
Goldfinger's research is supplemented by 100 stomach-rumbling recipes by recipe developer Lynn Nicholson. Follow them, and you're guaranteed a jump-start to the diet.
One thing Goldfinger points out: "There's no such thing as a wine gut." True, and thank goodness for that.
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