I consider myself Vegan, but when you get right down to it – I’m guess I’m really a McDougaller. A what? A McDougaller! Someone who follows the diet advice of one particular doctor located in Santa Rosa, California. Physician, nutrition expert, and best-selling author John A. McDougall, MD, has been studying, writing and “speaking out” about the effects of nutrition on disease for over 30 years.
Dr. John McDougall, MD
I was first introduced to the good doc in a documentary called Processed People. He’s funny, witty, and has a style that gets right in your face, and tells it like it is. Were sick and fat! We’re eating like the kings and queens of old! I liked him instantly.
Another thing I liked about him, everything he teaches, is on his website, and it’s 100% free. There’s no books to buy, videos to watch, or seminars to attend. You can learn everything you need to know to start this diet, right this very moment. Did I mention he’s a doctor?
“Dr. John McDougall is the dean of medical practitioners in nutrition-centered medicine because of his incredible accomplishments, knowledge, and courage to stand up for what he believes. “—T. Colin Campbell, PhD, coauthor of The China Study
He is the founder and medical director of the nationally renowned McDougall Program, a ten-day, residential program located at a luxury resort in Santa Rosa, CA. Dr. McDougall has cared for thousands of patients over almost 3 decades of medical practice and has run a highly successful live-in program for more than 17 years. He is also the author of several national bestsellers including: The Starch Solution, The McDougall Program: 12 Days to Dynamic Health, Dr. McDougall’s Digestive Tune-Up, and The New McDougall Cookbook.
Ok – sounds good – but what does he teach that’s so different from a vegan diet.
The Starch Solution
Carbs. He teaches carbs – specifically starches. Rice, beans, corn, & potatoes. Comfort foods.
Don’t think he’s referring to processed carbs. By the term “Starch” Dr McDougall refers to fiber-rich, whole, unprocessed potatoes, sweet potatoes, whole grains (brown rice, barley, whole wheat, oats, corn), and beans and lentils. This is NOT a diet based on whole wheat bread, cold cereals , white rice, pasta, etc., as those foods are highly processed.
Consider the populations around the world that look the youngest, healthiest, and trimmest. Many are in Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, eating mostly rice with some vegetables. In places like Peru where potatoes are the staple food, people are trim and strong. In rural Mexico, we find people eating corn, beans, and squash. No one is overweight or on a diet there. They have no need for Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. Worldwide, populations with the highest dietary consumption of starch are the most trim and fit. Delving deeper, they have extremely low rates of diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. Their diets are centered around copious quantities of starch, and they’re healthy.
Meat, dairy, animal fats, and vegetable oils lead to excess weight gain and illness. Starches, vegetables, and fruits support a trim, fit body and a lifetime of excellent health.
That’s what the good doc teaches.
The Results?
Head on over to Dr. McDougall’s website. and look up Star McDougallers. Here you’ll find many stories and videos of people who not only lost the weight, but cured the impossible. Their testimonials speak volumes. And they did it, for the most part without pills or surgeries, but by eating the diet we were deigned to eat. Starches.
Oh and don’t call Dr. McDougall a vegan. He’s not a big fan of the word as Vegan doesn’t necessarily mean healthy. In fact, he’s so against the use of the word, he eats one small piece of turkey every thanksgiving… 
