Permanent Remissions

Nutritionist Haas, whose 1984 Eat to Win targeted the athletic, here aims at readers who are suffering from a degenerative disease or anxious to forestall one. The heart of his new plan is phytonutrients, plant compounds he refers to as ""nature's most potent medicines."" While acknowledging that there is no conclusive proof that his diet can stop any disease, he promotes it as a complementary therapy to conventional disease treatments, enthusiastically hailing this dual approach as the ""most important advance in the treatment of cancer in the twentieth century."" Haas replaces the USDA's food pyramid with a meatless version emphasizing phytonutrient-rich fruits, vegetables and soybeans. He details the specific phytonutrients needed to fight breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis, tells success stories of individuals who used his plan and provides samples of the diets that worked for them. Many of the more than 80 recipes, designed by Kristin Massey, feature brand-name soy, meat-substitute and reduced-fat products; all include nutritional analyses. (Nov.)