"I encourage my patients to adopt the philosophy that, 'This is the only body I have, and I want to treat it in a loving and respectful way,'? proclaims Dr. Elson Haas. "Then, if we can really feel and believe this, we will begin to eat better, exercise more, learn to handle our stresses, and have a new and different approach to life. Wow!"

He came to these conclusions after battling overweight issues from childhood until after he graduated from med school in 1972. "I got into this in 1975, and I was overweight. I was not healthy," says Haas. "I was not really sick, but I was congested and had allergies. I would sneeze everyday. I woke up congested. I could not sleep clearly, and I was eating the average American diet."

Dr. Haas credits Stanley Burroughs' "Master Cleanse," detox regimen with really opening his eyes to the relationship between diet and toxification. Burroughs developed the diet in 1941 to clear mucous from the body, and was popularly referred to as the "Lemonade Diet." "I remember waking up the third day and I could breathe clearly for the first time in years," says Haas. "My body got away from what I thought was allergies, and which I now realize was a combination of mild allergies and a lot of congestion. In the ensuing weeks, my body started to feel lighter and clearer, and I realized, This is how I want to feel, and I am willing to do what it takes to continue to feel this way. I realized I needed fresh fruit and vegetables--really wholesome foods. I needed fresh juice and smoothies, and I started eating a more vegetarian diet."

This experience inspired Dr. Haas to specialize in Nutrition and some behavioral modification in his medical practice, amounting to educating his clients about how to eat, what to eat--as well as applying some old-fashioned cajoling and hand-holding to help with behavioral changes. "The basic ideas of lifestyle medicine and preventative medicine include nutrition, exercising and moving the body to keep it working and flexible, getting proper sleep, learning to manage stress and keeping a positive attitude," says Haas.

Dr. Haas says most Americans are caught in an addiction to what he calls, "treats," or S.N.A.A.C. "It stands for sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine and chemicals," says Haas. "Probably well over 90 percent of people have a habit of at least one of these substances. I think over time our habits are what create our problems, especially what we eat."

Haas works with group sessions of people he leads through his Purification Process, to detox from the effects of long-term SNAAC addictions. "I've had some clients tell me when they look down the items on the SNAAC list, that those items are their diet," says Haas. "And, they have a hard time visualizing alternatives."

In his new book, The False Fat Diet, Dr. Haas lays out the effects of food allergies, how they get started, stay active in the body, and how they affect us physically and emotionally. "False Fat refers to the bloating and swelling that looks and feels like 'real' fat," says Haas. "It comes from food reactions that occur when we consume, and over-consume, certain foods. What's more, if we don't fully digest these foods, 'abnormal' molecules can be absorbed into our blood stream, raising havoc with the immune system, hormones, and body chemistry. This cascade of events can create many symptoms that cause us to feel unhealthy--headaches, insomnia, intestinal problems, sinus congestion, and problems with fatigue and mood."

The False Fat Diet focuses on creating a customized diet for the individual by removing what Dr. Haas calls "reactive" foods from the diet, such as dairy, wheat and sugar, and then using a food combining system. "Food combining involves the optimum mixing of foods at meals for the best digestion and assimilation of nutrients," says Haas. "Specifically it suggests eating fruit separately from other foods because fruits are digested more quickly. As a result, they can ferment and cause gas and discomfort when combined with foods that are digested more slowly."

"Remember," says Haas, "There is nothing permanent except change and purification helps us create the change we are aiming for rather than allowing change to whelm us, by happening to us rather than through us."