Eating right is no longer a question of simply losing weight.

By eschewing hamburgers for legumes, the benefits reach far further than a few egocentric pounds. You may be saving yourself and the Country thousands of dollars in health care. Better still you may be saving the world.

Professor of Sociology at Suffolk University in Boston, lecturer and author Mrs. Alexandra Todd is visiting Bermuda this week to promote the macrobiotic lifestyle and explain how she came to write a book embracing its benefits.

One of them is how a healthful diet that eliminates meat, dairy products and processed foods rife with colouring and preservatives can impact positively on the environment.

"The diet of the Western world uses up tremendous resources,'' Mrs. Todd said. "If the whole planet became vegetarian, we could meet all the food needs.

"The United States uses up tremendous resources by cutting down the rain forest to raise cattle. High meat consumption is a problem of world health in the long run.'' The public are invited to visit the Wesley Methodist Church hall on Wednesday at no charge when Mrs. Todd will talk about her book "Double Vision'' and her personal experience of macrobiotics.

The book weaves together information she collated on the subject after her son, Drew developed a cancerous brain tumour.

Eastern healing methods: acupuncture from China, macrobiotic food from Japan and yoga from India complement traditional Western medicine and helped him combat the side effects of chemotherapy and led to a speedier recovery, she believes.

She also believes the diet, combined with yoga and meditation both prevents disease and helps cut down on enormous medical expenses as patients heal faster.

While for the majority, even the term "macrobiotic'' sounds unappealing Mrs.

Todd claims the Japanese concept is both life saving and delicious.

A lithe, attractive woman, she herself is a tribute to the benefits of macrobiotic eating.

"People who say they felt fine their whole lives but who have switched to a macrobiotic diet can't believe how good, energetic and happy they feel,'' she said.

She adds the diet is adaptable. Not everyone has to adhere to the strict diet followed by cancer sufferers.

In "Double Vision'' Mrs. Todd outlines her son's healing diet and provides information on books on natural foods diets, recipes and mail order companies.

Often, she said, people who fall ill lack the energy to seek out information and products themselves.

Patients' Assistance League & Service (PALS) which provides care for cancer patients, financed Mrs. Todd's airfare.

PALS chairman Mrs. Jeanne Edridge said the charity supported anything that might assist cancer patients. But she added PALS did not endorse a macrobiotic diet as an alternative to conventional treatment.

On Thursday, Ms Carry Wolf will be speaking at the Wesley Methodist Church hall at 7:30 p.m. on "Food for body, mind and spirit'' and is conducting a long weekend seminar called "You Are What You Eat''. A macrobiotic educator at the Kushi Institute in Massachusetts, Ms Wolf has lectured throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East.