I'd like to add a few things.
Weight loss has never been my issue. So the results i've experienced from adjusting my food habits has been considerable, but less visable. Being a vegetarian for life has been great, and I am thankful to my parents for this. However, my eating habits have been awful at times, with high carb, high processed foods and soda taking its toll. Typical dumb teenage years. Anyway, the mental clarity and physical bio-feedback I have experienced while maintaing a healthy diet are almost impossible to express. It is something I recommend to everyone.
Also, I supplement with a methyl B12(make sure it isn't cyanocobaline sp?) as cyano--- is a synthetic cyanide compound that actually leaches B12 from the body. Most supplements of B12 are in this form as it is much cheaper to produce.
Saurcraut makes natural B12.Kimchi and other fermented foods are great additions to any diet. People have issue with soy because of phytoestrogens, but all the studies linking soy to illness have been made on soy isolate products, gmo. Traditional tofu is great, just make sure it is non-gmo. Full of iron and protein. I've been buying a smoked tofu that is sooooo delicious without having to spice cook it more. Natto soy is an indonesian traditional fermented soy food that is also quite delicious. My last bottle of non-radioactive soy sauce is almost gone
It's aged 4 years in wooden barrels mmmmmm
some health authorities recommend eating only fermented soy forms...
and something to keep you on track: in the summer season, try eating lots of brocoli, watermelon and green tea. If you consume 4+ cups of GT, and the others, you'll find that it takes quit a bit longer to get a sunburn, and that you will tan much nicer. The most recent studies show that melanoma is actually inhibited through moderate sun exposure, and that genetic qualities such as fair skin and moles are more indicative of developing melanoma.
If the diet is good, skin regenerates and deals with UVB's. By sunscreening the body no longer can produce D3 (vital hormone) and disease becomes unrestrained. The consensus now is that breast cancer is completely preventable if vit D3 levels are high enough. Most commercial sunblocks not only prevent vit D, they permeate carcinogens directly into the bloodstream.
Also, it's good to note that a lot of produce in the supermarkets has been irradiated. The FDA used e.coli excuses to impliment draconian laws on vegetables and nuts. It is nearly impossible to find a californian almond that hasn't been microwaved.
They also went after small owner butchers by requiring expensive inspection fees that large, meat packaging companies can afford. It is the large industry corps that are mostly responsible for bacteria contamination, but this scare has been used to further degrade the family farmer's ability to remain competitive.
My aunt and uncle who live close by in BC have finally retired from the organic farming business. They never made money really. Their melons were always the best tasting and for a long while they had the largest organic carrot farm in BC. My father was part of the generation which saw the move from sustainable farming practices towards mono-crop pesticide bumper crops which require obscene nitrogen spraying. It's disrupting not only the health of consumers, it is destroying the long term viability of the human race. Arguments to the contrary are from deep pocket interests and fully dismissable, despite the pope's (haha) reluctance to outright condemn the use of gmo food crops.
Study after study is showing higher crop yields through rotation and organic fertilization. There are so many ways to reinvigorate depleted soil.
This comes down to the same issue that sparked revolt in 1381. The Peasants' Revolt was of an agricultural nature. Serfdom has been replaced by economic feudalism and we can now identify class disparity through diet and food availability. Organic foods is seen to be elitist, but only because food price suppression, purposefully orchestrated by monolithic corporations, has removed any alternatives to their controlling, free market edition of democracy. Food should never be relegated to commodity because it is directly related to the inalienable rights of an individual to... LIFE. This is where the word conspiracy gets dropped.