Ah, food! We can’t live without it, but sometimes it seems like we can’t live with it, either. It can make us fat, it can encourage cancer, it can promote heart disease. We can become obsessed with it, and yet we have to eat, for our bodies need a wide variety of nutrients every day in order to keep humming along in peak condition. How can we get everything we need without overdoing it? And how can we feel truly satisfied without gaining unwanted pounds?

The answer is simpler than you might think. Take a lesson from the Biblical story of Daniel. The king told his steward to feed Daniel and his three friends-the richest food and the finest wine, but Daniel declined. He wanted only grains, vegetables, and water. After 10 days on this regime, Daniel appeared much healthier and better fed than his friends who had been feasting on heavier fare.

I like to remind my patients to eat like Daniel did. The bulk of the diet should be made up of grains (whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas). To that, add plenty of vegetables (raw or lightly steamed are best) and several pieces of fruit. Then, add small amounts of meat, fish, poultry, peas, beans, or lentils for protein, plus modest amounts of dairy products for calcium Fatty foods like salad dressing, oil, butter, margarine, and mayonnaise should be used sparingly, just for flavor. Sweets should also be eaten only occasionally, as a treat.