John La Puma - ChefMDs Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lovers Road Map to: Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, Getting Really Healthy

We are most grateful to John's patients and Rebecca's friends: Each group gave us the courage to explain why food works, and to reveal the pleasures of culinary medicine, too often buried beneath the fears and uncertainty about what to eat.

We thank Karen Levin of Highland Park, Illinois, for her terrific recipe-development and -testing skills. Karen's brilliant reinvention of good-for-you food is just what culinary medicine needs. And Elsa Dixon's ability to help crystallize the complex so it becomes accessible is priceless.

To create the most scientifically accurate book possible on culinary medicine, we relied on medical experts and researchers who dug deep to help us, especially Marilyn Acquistapace, Stefanie Bouma, Julie Hopper, Dr. Laura Jana, David Green, Elizabeth Ko, Katherine Seward, and J. T. Yu. Dr. Bruce Tiffney of the extraordinary College of Creative Studies and Dr. Paula Bruice and Gary Greinke of UCSB kept John connected to one of the best educational institutions in the United States. Dr. Dan Nadeau and Dr. John Foreyt's enthusiasm for what people can do for themselveswith gustoexcites us, and Drs. Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz gave us daily inspiration, in motivating YOU to understand that you can control your genes.

We are also grateful to Barbara Henry for her gourmet insight and welcoming care; to Dr. Kathleen Zisser of East West Medicine for providing space for the Santa Barbara Institute; and to Mark Palmer of Sales Insights and Dr. Allen Schaffer, who have created innovative, personal models of how to truly help people with business.

Special continued thanks to Chefs Rick Bayless, Tracey Vowell, Kevin Karales, Geno Bahena, and the staff of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo for championing great food and creating a commitment to local farmers. Bill and Delia Coleman of Coleman Family Farms and Bill and Barbara Spencer of Windrose Farms radiate happiness with every moment they farm and teach, and Drs. George Bifano, Helmuth Billy, Andy Binder, John Petrini, Tim Rodgers, and Jay Winner encourage medical success with every referral.

Bob Levine and Kim Schefler got us to the right place, and to the audience this work needs. Dr. David Schiedermayer's insightful, in-spiring review of the final manuscript made sure the medical facts were accurate, though he bears none of the responsibility for any that may have slipped past. We thank the entire team at Crown for their support from the start, and for dedicating themselves to making it work. Special thanks to our editor, Heather Jackson, whose easy way and great confidence are just what an author needs to do the best work and keep doing it. Her assistant, Heather Proulx, kept everything on track, and Selina Cicogna saw that it got into your hands. Judy Hansen, Kathy Seidel, and Ann Rohlen all encouraged this complementary partnership. Gary and Meme Hopmayer helped us understand that understanding others' needs is a way to success in life, for which we will be forever grateful. Mike Lynch, Drs. Scott Nelson, Tanya Remer Altmann, and Bruce Dan of the NAMC thankfully fostered a community where thinking outside the box is the norm.

We are indebted to our wonderful colleagues at Marx Creative and Health Cornerespecially David Marx, for his tone tweaks, enthusiasm, and his openhearted support of the idea that food can be fun and tasty, and still be good for you. We thank Bob Marx for his steady hand, confidence, and care; Kurt Walbrandt for his writing; Jim Vaughn and Lauren Burke for their direction; Jimmy Bohan and Ann Kammerer for their design; Florida Perry-Smith for her style; Kristin Arnett, Vinnie Besasie, Danielle Bernard, Amy Bruss, Terry Crumble, Tony Cutraro, Chiquita Eubanks, Bob Gregory, Dianne Hue-Freese, Jennifer Janz, Margaret Johnson, Duke and Betty Marx, Jean Mulvaney, Bradd Romant, Patrick Haley, Mike Luce, Chris Maisa, Jodi Olson, Emily Rasbornik, Jim Rude, Kelswe Stoehr, Michael Thompson, Rob Wernette, Telana Wilson, David Zale, and ChefMD Nurse Kristen Crumble. Brian Behrens and Barry Houlehen developed ChefMD.com brilliantly. We thank Shawna Muren and Jon Gass of Whole Foods; Tom Balisteri, Jr., Tom Balisteri III, and Jimmy Balisteri of Sendik's. It really does take a village to create a top-quality TV show and segment, and these people are the best. And a special thanks to our colleagues on Health Corner, Leeza Gibbons, Dr. Jamie Haysman, and especially Lisa Thornton, M.D., without whom we wouldn't have been able to share this book with you. Brad Backer, Darci Middaugh, Sue Kahn, and Roger Fox made sense of it all. Jeff Rein, George Riedl, Craig Sinclair, Bob Rosenbarger, Bonnie Gordon, Katie Dalquist, and especially Connie Splitt and Brodie Bertrand are our angel Ambassadors to Walgreen's, a great company.

John thanks the beautiful Annie Kratz, not just for your business acumen and manuscript reviews, but for your kindness and love. And Linda La Puma for great editing and insight.

To Rebecca's lifelong friends Kathy Coakley, Karen Trimble, Meg Schoenecker, Jeanne Siebert, Nancy Nesslar Schultz, Margie Wieglow Wilson, Laurie Jankowski, and Aaron Zick: you are beautiful souls.

A special note of love from Rebecca to her dad and mom, Roland and Marlene, and her sisters, Susan and Diane. Roland's valiant fifty-year struggle with juvenile diabetes often left her family with the question, What do you eat for that? When Rebecca met John La Puma, as she likes to say, on the corner of food and medicine, she knew we could build a tribute to her dad. Rebecca dedicates this book to people like him everywhere who have the courage to smile and be joy-filled, even when their bodies are failing. With culinary medicine, food will never be your enemy again. It will be as it should be... delicious and flavor-filled food as medicine. And to Rebecca's husband, David, and children, Michaela, Gabrielle, and Zach: you are my lifelines. My love for you is boundless.