The Guerrilla/Gorilla Diet & Lifestyle Program

A diet and lifestyle guide based on evolutionary science that compares humans and gorillas.

At the age of 16, Goldfarb (The 6 Principle Strategy for Creating a Successful & Happy Life, 2015, etc.) became obsessed with finding the perfect diet. At the time, she struggled with eating disorders, and as an adult, she faced two bouts of cancer. She now has multiple degrees in nutrition and medical science, and here, she analyzes the similarities between humans and gorillas to explore the diet that restored her health. She divides the guide into two sections: the first traces evolutionary evidence of why her diet works, and the second outlines the lifestyle itself. Anthropology buffs will be impressed with the depth of Goldfarb’s supporting research, which makes up two-thirds of the book. Epigenetics—the study of how genes are expressed, based upon external or environmental factors—provides the basis for her theory for the ideal human diet. Gorillas have much in common with humans, she says, but the foods they consume stand in contrast to the typical Western diet. In captivity, gorillas who were fed processed foods suffered from obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, and sugar addiction; after returning to their natural high-fiber, low-protein, and low-fat diet, the animals thrived. Similarly, she says, humans would benefit from a return to the food that led them to succeed as a species. Goldfarb provides examples of the consequences of eating too much animal protein, dairy, and processed foods, which may scare any burger-loving American reader straight. Taking on a natural, mostly plant-based diet, she says, helps people break free from disease and general malaise. For readers who aren’t convinced, Goldfarb provides evidence that leading an unhealthy lifestyle can predispose one’s children to disease and early death. The description of the Guerrilla/Gorilla Diet is dissimilar to those of other diets in that it provides intricate scientific and historic explanations. Such comprehensiveness may almost be too dense for casual readers, but even those seeking a new route to better health will find detailed 12-week and 30-day plans to follow as well as a bounty of food charts.

A highly scientific, impressively researched map to better health through a plant-based diet.