That's Fit: In your book you say that brown rice isn't as healthful as everyone says. Can you explain?

Bussell: Brown rice is white rice with a thick hull around it. It's kind of like eating a walnut and not taking the shell off. Of course, nature had to put some nutrients into that shell, but they are not for us. They have a very poor bioavailability. Our bodies will have to spend more time and energy trying to break through the shell, most of it will eventually pass through us at a net loss of energy and a slowing of our metabolism. Brown rice is more difficult to digest and what we want is efficient digestion.

White rice is the most hypo-allergenic, easily-assimilated and energetically neutral of the grains. All foods and herbs have properties: warming or cooling, moistening or drying, activating or sedating, etc. White rice is neutral, so it will not disrupt our energetic equilibrium. But balance and moderation are the overriding principles, so you should not have white rice all the time. Have all the grains sometimes, even brown rice, but you can have white rice more than any other.

The Chinese eat just about everything. When I was studying there, I was offered foods that we would never eat here in the West. The fact that they go to the trouble to polish off the germ layer from brown rice indicates there must be a good reason. The reason is that it makes the rice easier to digest.

That's Fit: Where did you get the idea for the "Asian Diet"?

Bussell: I am an acupuncturist and herbalist. In Oriental medicine, it is written that "the superior physician does not treat sick patients. The superior physician prevents his patients from getting sick." Acupuncture and herbs can help bring people back into balance, but we have to look at what got them out of balance in the first place.

The real treasure of the Chinese culture is that theirs is a 4,000 year experiment in what works and what doesn't. Their written language allowed them to record and disseminate their findings, and allowed future generations to build upon the work that had already been done. They have figured out a lot about how to live in balance.

With all of my patients, I give them a talk about living in balance according to the wisdom acquired by the cultures of Asia over the past several millennia. I go over how we should adjust our diet, lifestyle and attitudes to promote wellness and prevent disease. Often after the talk, patients will ask where they can get this advice in a written form. I searched for years but could not find a good book to recommend, so I wrote "The Asian Diet."