Dr. Weil's best secret: Skip sugar, flour

Want the secret to eating for optimum health and achieving a healthy weight?

Best-selling author Andrew Weil, M.D., founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, says you must take control of your health. His bottom-line prescription: Cut down on all food products made with any kind of flour and sugar.

Sugar and processed carbohydrates are the primary culprits in the obesity epidemic, says Weil, whose newest book, Why Our Health Matters (Hudson Street Press, $25.95), is out now. "They are the main drivers of obesity, insulin resistance and, eventually, type 2 diabetes," Weil says. "Many of the problems that we see in our society are a result of the mismatch between genes and [sugar and processed carbs], predominant in fast food, convenience food, refined food, manufactured food -- basically all products made with any kind of flour and sugar."

According to Weil, we should focus not only on how much we eat, but also what we eat. The problem is, determining what you're really getting when you eat certain foods is difficult. These days, it seems that added sugars and refined carbohydrates are jampacked into just about every boxed or canned product, and these are what you need to watch out for.

What to do? I always advise people to fill their carts with vegetables and lean meats and to stick to the outside aisles in the grocery store, because that's where you'll usually find unprocessed foods.

Weil also warns of any advice or program from your doctor or dietitian that focuses solely on cutting calories or exercising more. This advice, Weil says, "ignores the critical importance of the kind of foods people eat." You can take responsibility for your own health by making smarter choices, even something as simple as quenching your thirst with water instead of that sugary soda.