Doris Grant - Food Combining for Health - The bestseller that has changed millions of lives

Towards the end of my first year of compatible eating I discovered and carefully read Dr William Howard Hay’s inspiring book A New Health Era, and I found that there was much more to the Hay system than ‘not mixing foods that fight’. As a result of reading this book my diet improved still further. I felt I had set out on a marvellous adventure. I have to admit, though, that departing from orthodox eating habits was not at first a rose-strewn path. Relations and friends, especially medical friends, pooh-poohed the idea of any connection between food and health, and thought I had taken leave of my senses, whereas I was, in fact, just beginning to come to them. Friends argued that I was going to miss out on all the joys of eating: ‘What, no sugar? – no biscuits and cheese? – no apple tart? You poor thing!’

I found, however, that this way of eating was in no sense a wearisome, calorie-counting diet of constant self-denial, but was instead a delicious way of eating which ensures health and fitness, and minimizes the necessity for medical treatment. The fitter I became, the more convinced I was that we hold our health in our own hands to a very large extent.

By the end of four years of compatible eating I produced a much longed-for second child nine years after my first-born, despite warnings from doctor and gynaecologist after the first birth that I could never have any more children; there had been serious complications after an emergency Caesarean operation. But they had reckoned without the healing powers of compatible eating! Moreover, the second birth, according to the gynaecologist, was a ‘textbook demonstration of a beautifully normal birth’!

By the end of another three years I had proof in plenty of these healing powers, while writing long weekly articles on the Hay system for a well-known national Sunday newspaper – the now defunct Sunday Graphic – in 1936 and 1937. These articles continued for nine months and generated enormous interest, bringing into the Graphic office hundreds of letters every week.

The letters were an education, and most revealing: their almost monotonous burden was the virtually complete failure of medical treatment as far as the degenerative diseases were concerned; the ‘wonder drugs’ never effected the hoped-for cure. Often there were recitals of complete disaster in treatment, and of the ‘cure’ being far worse than the disease, frequently proving fatal.

As the weeks and months passed, however, there were many accounts from followers of the articles of greatly improved health. The benefits of the Hay system were often felt even within the first week. There were also reports of increased zest for living; depression replaced by optimism; digestion pains eliminated; freedom from colds; arthritic pains lessened and movement freer; and constipation a thing of the past. Many readers reported great relief from tiredness and chronic sleeplessness. One of the most unforgettable letters was from a woman of 70 who wrote: ‘I feel well for the first time in my life!’

These accounts provided convincing proof of Dr Hay’s contention: that the primary cause of disease is not the outside germ which always gets the blame, but the inside state of the body-soil, created mainly by wrong living habits and wrong eating habits.

The explanation for all this lies in the fact that the Hay system removes the obstacles created by these habits, which prevent the inbuilt healing powers of the body from restoring perfect health and wholeness. In other words, the Hay system allows the body to heal itself. The tremendous interest that this book has aroused, and the superior health and fitness that so many followers are now enjoying – some for the first time in their lives – is a reflection of the worldwide interest in healthy eating today. It would appear that Dr Hay’s ‘new health era’ is now well and truly with us.

Doris Grant

It was Doris Grant’s realization that we can all be as well as we wish to be, following her own speedy restoration to health after discovering the Hay system of food combining, that led her to study nutrition and its relation to health.

After meeting Dr William Howard Hay she produced two books based on the American editions of Hay system recipes and menus. The letters she received convinced her of the need to study further and her research into food, how it is grown and produced and its effect on human health, was wide-ranging and meticulous. She once said that it was like living in an exciting detective novel as more and more clues and discoveries emerged.

In 1944 her classic book Your Daily Bread established her as an author and doughty campaigner for natural whole food and wholewheat bread, then practically unobtainable unless made at home. Her easy no-knead recipe for bread became known as the Grant loaf and a sample was even brandished during a House of Lords debate on the use of so-called ‘improvers’ in white flour.

Doris wrote for women and their families, as titles such as Dear Housewives imply. Her style was friendly and direct but she pulled no punches when it came to describing the harm that could be caused by the use of agene in bread flour:

If you love your husbands, keep them away from white bread … if you don’t love them, cyanide is quicker, but bleached bread is just as certain and no questions asked.

Countless families have been influenced by her ideas for a balanced diet, her excellent recipes and her insistence on the importance of fresh, whole food. She had no time for highly-processed foods, especially the various margarines containing trans-fats that threaten our health.

Doris was a founder member of the Henry Doubleday Research Association and her extensive research and wide knowledge brought her into contact with many medical and other health professionals. She was a member of the prestigious McCarrison Society and corresponded regularly with many leading nutritionists who all respected her views, even if they didn’t always agree with them.

Her championship of the Hay system was a case in point. She remained a strict adherent to food combining principles throughout her long life and always said that she owed Dr Hay a debt of gratitude for her excellent health. The debt was certainly paid, for Food Combining for Health has remained a steady seller since its publication in 1984. Although the medical establishment has never quite come to terms with the Hay theory of digestion, anecdotal evidence in countless letters has shown that the system can indeed improve health and wellbeing.

Whatever Doris did was done with enthusiasm and integrity. Her capacity for sheer hard work even in her nineties was quite extraordinary. She always acknowledged most generously the help of friends and colleagues and, in particular, the support of her husband and family. She was a loyal friend and colleague and is greatly missed by all who knew her and have been inspired by her example and wise counsel.

Jean Joice, December 2003

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