What exactly is the superfood Incan diet, and what makes eating the Peruvian way so beneficial? In his third book, Manuel Villacorta lays out the important elements that make his dieting plan a well-seasoned recipe for long-lasting health.

"Superfood" is not just a buzz-word or a passing vogue; it's the integral component to leading a healthy lifestyle, a word many of us are recognizing by the minute. As these once obscure products find broader distribution and consumers have greater access, superfoods are finding their way into mainstream supermarkets, gradually becoming a staple to the American diet. The benefits of consuming Peruvian superfoods are astonishing: from fighting cancer and reducing inflammation to boosting energy and enhancing memory— these foods have it all. In his Peruvian superfoods diet, Villacorta provides simple yet thorough explanations of weight-loss, anti-aging, and disease-fighting concepts by using an appealing page layout displaying beautiful color photography, easy-to-read bullet points, and sidebars summarizing each health benefit.

What makes Villacorta's book so enticing, aside from his mouth-watering recipes, is that he offers specific meal plans geared towards both men and women looking to lose weight and lead a healthier life. He has also created custom 7-day meal plans for vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, and gluten-free diet preferences. By using the core principles from his first book, Eating Free, Villacorta proves to his readers that they can successfully follow a super-health weight-loss plan, easily gain the skill in cooking from scratch, dine with elegance, and reduce every-day stress.

As a registered dietitian for more than sixteen years, I've heard—and helped people overcome—a myriad of challenges when trying to eat healthy and lose weight:

'I'd be thin if I went to bed at seven; it's the night bingeing that kills me.'

'It's like after I hit forty, the pounds would not come off no matter what I did.'

'I eat really 'good' during the day, but I'm hungry by dinnertime, and then it's all over.'

'No matter what I do, I have this spare tire around my middle, and I'm sick of it.'

With a specialty in weight management, I've seen yo-yo dieters, crash dieters, and countless numbers of diet fads and trends. I even had my own brief experience of struggling with college weight gain when I moved to the United States to pursue my studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

When I moved to the United States from Lima, Peru, I was far away from my family and clueless about how to cook and what to eat. Living with American roommates, I was introduced to grabbing a handful of cereal for breakfast while running out the door. For lunch and dinner, we scarfed down cold sandwiches or takeout. Sadly, not only was I gaining weight and lacking energy, I was missing my comfort foods from home. While it was apparent that this new lifestyle was not good for my health or wellness, I didn't know what to do about it.

Growing up in Peru, we always enjoyed homemade meals made with whole foods, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, incorporated powerful superfoods. This new way of living made me completely homesick, fat, and unsatisfied. Something was missing in my life, and that's when I said, 'Enough is enough.' I needed to reboot. I called my mom and asked her to mail me my favorite recipes (this was before e-mail). As soon as the mail arrived, I would rip open the letter, rush to the grocery store, and teach myself how to prepare my native dishes. Slowly, I began to get back to my normal weight. I felt invigorated, empowered, and revitalized. Back in the day, these Peruvian superfoods were very hard to find, but now they are readily available in the United States.

After realizing the strength that my native foods and diet gave to me, I did some research and discovered the reason why: the foods that I ate growing up are some of the cleanest, most immune-boosting, and most detoxifying foods on the planet.

Upon graduating with a degree in nutrition, I took my discovery a step further by devising an eating plan that incorporated twenty-one key Peruvian superfoods. Using a science-based approach, I introduced the plan to many of my clients, who experienced weight loss, improved moods, increased energy, and glowing skin. Peruvian superfoods were helping people feel on top of the world while cleaning up their systems from processed and packaged foods and toxins. Not only were they feeling amazing, my clients were losing weight and keeping it off. After just a short time, clients were expressing their successes:

'I wasn't able to lose weight before. But after doing your plan, I lost six pounds in a week and don't feel bloated anymore.'

'Forget just the weight loss; my energy and sexual drive went through the roof!'

'My sugar cravings vanished. I lost ten pounds in eight weeks so I had to resize my wedding dress. This was beyond my expectations!'

This wasn't just a diet; this was a lifestyle change for people to recharge and reboot their entire system.

Now I am honored and excited to introduce the Whole Body Reboot plan and to educate you on how to maximize your weight loss and improve your health by enjoying exquisite recipes using superfoods. My clients' success has been my passion and my inspiration, and it continues to be so.

This diet is not a gimmick or a new diet trend. This is a way of living adopted from a culture that has thrived for centuries. Focusing on superfoods found in the Andes to the Amazon, my goal is to show you how to optimize your health and reboot your well-being from head to toe.

The Whole Body Reboot offers menus and recipes for everyone, whether you are vegetarian or vegan, you eat gluten-free, or you have no food restrictions. In order to provide such a comprehensive plan, I collaborated with my colleague and associate dietitian Sarah Koszyk, whom I've known for more than ten years and who has worked closely with me at my private practice. Sarah has also helped hundreds of people reach their health and weight goals, and we've been a strong team for a long time. In addition, she traveled to Peru with me to research this book; she stayed in my mom's home and experienced Peruvian culture firsthand with the locals.

If you are not currently accustomed to Peruvian cuisine, have no fear. We've incorporated many familiar American dishes into the meal plans, so you can comfortably cook simple recipes while expanding your culinary horizon with traditional Peruvian classics. We've also taken some not-so-healthy favorite American dishes and powered them up with a Peruvian superfoods makeover. Instead of using a prepackaged waffle mix, we've provided you with a quick and easy homemade recipe using sweet potatoes, a staple food in Peru. Everyone loves a good takeout pizza, right? Now you can make a homemade pizza from scratch using quinoa. Eating can be fun. Eating can be exciting. Eating can be a love relationship with your taste buds. Just like I taught myself how to cook, I'm going to teach you how to enjoy delicious, nutritious food with easy recipes so you can become a master chef in your own kitchen while losing weight and feeling great.

We look forward to sharing our wisdom and culinary skills with you in Whole Body Reboot. This plan is a delicious way to lose weight that will last for a lifetime. Expect to reboot your body, mind, and soul and to have more energy than you've felt in years. Get ready to experience a lifelong journey of amazing Peruvian superfoods that will keep you strong, healthy, and rejuvenated.

©2014 Manuel Villacorta, MS, RD. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Whole Body Reboot: The Peruvian Superfoods Diet to Detoxify, Energize, and Supercharge Fat Loss. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.