The Gracie Diet

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• Book

Introduction

The Gracie Diet is not a quick weight-loss program. It is not a fad diet or even a restrictive one. In fact, it should not even be called a “diet” since it does not prohibit eating anything. The Gracie Diet is about education and reprogramming your eating habits. As you restructure your eating habits, a healthy diet will naturally become part of your way of life, as it has been for three generations of the Gracie family.

My uncle, Carlos Gracie, developed the Gracie Diet based on his observations of the effects of various food combinations. His original purpose was to ensure that all family members were ready to uphold the Gracie name in an unarmed fight with anyone, anywhere, and at any time. Uncle Carlos was not a doctor. He was a self- taught nutritionist who studied the writings of health experts. From these writings, he drew his own conclusions about the principles of healthy eating. Using himself and the rest of the Gracie family as participants in an experiment that lasted more than 65 years, he was able to fine tune and validate his conclusions.

I want to be very clear about the fact that, like my uncle, I am neither a medical doctor nor a credentialed nutritionist. The Gracie Diet has yet to be proven in science labs and test tubes. But, my health, my family members’ health, and the health of thousands of our students testify to its benefits. For over 65 years, the dinner table has been our science lab, and the longevity and good health of those who have followed the Gracie Diet is all the evidence I need to know that it works. Fad diets come and go. Every year we see some new program promise to solve weight problems, lower cholesterol, improve heart function, slow aging, and on and on. Some of the diets produce short-term results but none of them stand the test of time. As a result, none of these diets can document long-term benefits. I know of no other regimen except the Gracie Diet that can point to more than 65 years of real life testing.

R.G.