Diet Health Books

I have found this book to be very helpful with my diet. The recipes are great. I have lost ten pounds since I bought this book a month ago. I am also trying to regulate my sugar and I believe this diet plan is helping me. It is not hard to do and I am not hungry between meals.

If you follow this book, you will lose weight. A family member turned us on to this diet, and my husband and I both lost tons of weight, and we saw quick results. A few other family members have had nothing but good results from this book as well. The best part, is that the book teaches you healthly ways to eat, so after a while you don't even need the book, you just learn what foods are "good foods". I lost 15lbs and my husband lost over 30lbs. Every now and then when we get stuck in a rut and feel like we put on a few pounds, we go right back to the diet and follow the book, and off comes the weight again. We both experience more enegery when following this diet, and have the urge to excercise more. We have been very happy with this over the many other diets we have tried.

I love this diet. It's easy and I am never hungry. However, this book was too confusing in explaining how to figure out meals on your own. I got this book over year ago and then quit because I didn't understand it enough to succeed without following the meal plans. Then recently I read The zone, and the way it broke foods down into blocks of food and how many grams per block, was an eye opener. Now I am back to this book with it's superior recipes and meal ideas.

I am giving this book 3 stars because I think they make figuring out the forumula too complicated. In the Zone it's easy-peasy. I've also dinged it one star for not having an index. We need an index!!! My book is covered in post-its! That's two dings off. The remaining three stars, however, are well deserved; The recipes and meal plans are very good.

The only diet that works. Yes it takes a bit to get the hang of it in the begining, but the weight melts away. Easily lost 15 pounds in the first 2 weeks with the fat flush menu. After a month, 20 pounds gone and dropped the blood pressure from 160/90 to 120/80 during that time with no excercise. Will no begin that and look to drop the remaining weight to meet goal. Balancing your body by the food we eat makes this a successful diet and one that will change the way you eat for life.

for starters, I don't understand how granulated fructose is commercially available to people. 2nd, I have no idea why the authors of this book actually think it's not unhealthy to add such large amounts of granulated fructose to your meals. do a google search for "dangers of fructose" to see what I mean. everything from exacerbating gout to decreasing nitric oxide levels in the blood to being the most unhealthy form of carbohydrate a diabetic can ingest. don't be fooled into thinking it's ok to use because it "comes from fruit!"

This cookbook is very good for people and families that are going through cancer. It has very good information in what to expect and how to prepare food.

This book was very disappointing for me. Some of the information contradicted itself regarding nutropenia, which made me suspicious of the content of other topics. I have only tried one of the recipes and didn't care for the taste.

This is more than a cookbook. It is wonderful for the one who is preparing meals for a loved one who is battling cancer. I've given it as a gift to several of my friends in the same position. What a great book full of great recipes and information.

I gave this book to my grandmother. It has tips on dealing with nasea, how to prepare food so it doesn't taste metalic, etc... Lots of real and useful information for getting proper nutrition. My grandmother wasn't in the right frame of mind to accept the information. Good food will greatly contribute to our health and well being, I'm sad she could not allow herself this. It is a great book without being to new agey- after all it's by America's kitchen sweetheart, Betty Crocker. How more traditional can you get? Best of health to you and yours.

This is a useful cookbook for reference, but it is not something that I feel is absolutely necessary in my cooking library. As a regular cook and a breast cancer patient, I found the recipes to be basic modifications of ordinary recipes.

If you are struggling with a specific side effect of cancer, then this book does offer helpful organization of foods/recipes for that purpose. It is useful in that way. On the other hand, I think most cancer patients find a core group of foods that they tolerate well, and stick with them through treatment. Also, talking with other patients and reading internet articles has been more useful to me than this cookbook. Sorry -- but I really think this is just another way to market something to cancer patients. We're vulnerable once we're diagnosed, so watch out.

I gave a copy to my brother, bought one for a friend, I'm reading it myself for the second time, and I just bought 3 more to share.

I just finished reading Dr. Barnard's book and I'm reading it a second time! I found his book informative and explained in easy to understand terms. I think he makes a very good case for reasons not to continue eating a meat-based diet as the effects of a high fat animal diet lead to many of the popular illnesses and diseases we read about today (e.g., diabetes, stroke, heart attack, etc.)

I was not a vegan or vegetarian before reading this book and I know that some reviewers may think there is too much of a vegan agenda, but I would disagree. Plant based diets are a healthy and economical way to live your life. It can be particularly useful if you're trying to lose weight as well as if you are genetically predisposed to certain illnesses by incorporating the new four food groups into your life and possibly preventing or eliminating potential illnesses altogether.

This is an excellent book. It traces out the nutritional roots of many significant diseases. My wife found it in the library while looking for something else, and now we're on our way to becoming vegetarian.

At times it's a little slow reading and occasionally seems a bit repetitious. However, his work is very well documented and there are extensive footnotes to research done in this area.

For an even more significant piece of the puzzle with regard to the roots of disease check out Henry Wright's "A More Excellent Way". He deals with the spiritual roots of disease, which affect us even more pervasively than the nutritional roots. A wholistic view on life demands that we address each dimension.

This was a great book at exposing the dangers of eating meat and dairy. Dr. Barnard's more recent books like Foods That Fight Pain are also highly recommended. A less than 10% fat diet is great for those who want to lose weight and keep it off, but for those who just want to switch to a vegan diet without losing weight, you may want to include a little olive oil or nuts. A little more fat also may help if your skin gets dry. The research on dairy products is shocking, you may wonder why most doctors and nutritionists keep ignoring the negative research on dairy. I have been a vegan for a couple of years now and feel better than ever. Just think of all of the varieties of fresh fruits, vegetables, various whole grains, variety of different beans, and different types of nuts available. Soy products are not necessary(I can't remember the last time I ate soy), so don't hesitate to buy this book based on that. Read the book about info regarding vitamin B-12 and vitamin D. Highly recommended.

I have purchased over a dozen copies of this book for my family and friends, and finally browsed the reviews today and was shocked to see any negative feedback. So for those considering the book, remember the negative reviews were written by meat-lovers that in no way plan to give it up.

I've read at least twenty or so nutrition books and this is my favorite of them all. It's simple to read, easy to understand, and very complete. It encourages a vegeterian diet for the sole purpose of having a healthy life, rather than giving all the statisitics on animal cruelty.

It deconstructs all the myths (i.e. people need tons of protein, and vegetarians do not get enough iron) and gives tons of yummy recipes in addition to informing you of all the nutritional benefits of a plant-based diet.

It reinforces the fact that doctors do not fix you until you are broken. My brother is in med school and I asked him how many nutrition classes he was required to take..... the answer was none. Why not learn how to prevent diseases rather than fix them afterwards? Why eat a meat-based diet, take your cholesterol pill and destroy your liver, when you can avoid eating cholesterol at all? Why eat excessive simple carbohydrates and sugars and rely on an insulin shot every day?

I've bought copies for nearly every member in my family over the past three years, but sadly they don't bother reading it until they are required to take insulin, or they find a lump in their breast, or they find their cholesterol is off the charts. I believe you have a duty to your loved ones to keep your body healthy so you can be here for them as long as possible, and this book can show you how. For more info, look into pcrm.org

Also, my sincerest thank you to Dr. Barnard for caring enough to spend time to teach interested people the proper way to eat.

This is book is very informative. The studies done by these doctors is well written and understandable. Lot's of info. you should know. Great as a study tool as well. You all should read it!!!

I can hardly add anything useful to all the other reviews here, except to say that I admire the heck out of late Dr. Seelig, who has contributed so valuably to the magnesium literature.

Scientists who do basic research in the not-so-sexy fields of vitamins and minerals are our unsung heroes. They aren't motivated by the glamor, that's for sure, or for the big bucks. And because so much is already known about vitamins and minerals, there's little chance for a "break-out" discovery that will shoot their name to stardom. Instead, they keep patiently refining what we already know, applying it to more and more biological processes.

I can only imagine that their motivation is helping us all to stay healthy and avoid the suffering that comes with diseases. And, perhaps it the elegant simplicity that draws them. Imagine....preventing or curing so many diseases that are endemic in our society with a simple element that will not harm us. What pharmaceutical can claim that? (I'm grateful for the "miracles" of pharmaceuticals, too, but it's hard to argue that most don't come with side effects.)

Mildred Seelig was such a scientist. And we owe her so much.

This book should required reading in high school health classes. It could prevent so many problems later in life.

I had pvc's and pac's for 14 years. Was told by a group of doctors at one of the best hospitals on the east coast that I might have 6 months left. They gave me all the usual heart meds, stomach meds, and over 100 ekg's, heart monitors, halter monitors, a recorder I pressed to my chest...etc. All of which would only record sporadic painful arrythmia's

I tried Magnesium, Centrum, Vitamin C, Accupuncture (helped more than anything else), meditation, and even a psychologist. If I heard the word "psychosamatic" or "in my head" one more time...

I started MagOx in the fall of 2005 and 48 hours later my symptoms went from over 4000 (not a typo, yes, somtimes 4000) pvc's a day to 2 or 3 a week. I can exercise again and no longer have 90% of my chest pain.

I don't know about all the other symptoms, but if my story can help just one other person (I suffered horrendously for years) than I highly recommend just trying this supplement. It can't hurt. I take 400mg a day, which is about the same as what you receive in 2 cups of Broccoli or such.

Oddly, I haven't had the flu since I started it now that I think about it.

I have no affiliations with this book or the writer or any medical agency. I sell Servers and network setups in Washington D.C.

Chad Laibly
Annandale, VA

When I found I was suffering from many of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, I looked on Amazon and found two very highly rated books - "The Magnesium Factor" and "The Magnesium Miracle". Unable to decide between the two, I ordered them both.

Both books are great resources on magnesium but there are some very important differences between them:

"The Magnesium Factor" spends a lot of time discussing the results and debating the conclusions of magnesium research. It also goes into great detail about the biochemical processes that are involved in various magnesium-dependent reactions in the body. While this is important data, it may be overkill for the average reader. In my opinion, this book would be better suited to health professionals or those with scientific backgrounds who need and/or want more detailed information.

"The Magnesium Miracle" by Carolyn Dean provides the pertinent research and biochemical information in a concise and easily readable format that would likely be more accessible to the layperson. This is the book I would recommend to family and friends.

I had "burn out" more than a year ago. The symptoms were similar to panic disorder and agoraphobia. My doctor believed that antidepressant, tranquilizers, beta blockers, sport and time are good enough treatment. The situation did improve with that, but very very slowly.

After about six months I was able to quit REGULAR tranquilizer usage, with the help of beta blockers. After that I have been able to reduce somewhat the beta blocker usage, but I still needed to use it several times per week. And I was not able to quit using the antidepressants. My trials for reducing it led always to very wild and scary heartbeats.

Then something happened. I found this book and it changed my life immediately!!! I have not needed the beta blockers after the very same day I started to take magnesium&kalium supplement. It really makes my heart run smoothly, I don't feel it beating anymore in a strange way for example when trying to sleep! And my dizziness is gone. And the situation seems to get better and better all the time! I just reduced the antidepressant usage a couple of days ago and I'm very confident that now I can slowly quit using it!

I have been using quite huge amounts of magnesium now in the beginning. The last four days I have taken 1200 mg per day, and I'm feeling just great! Even the last 200 mg or so in the evening makes me feel better. But I suppose I have to reduce the dosage soon.

It was this book that helped me to find out that my body was suffering from lack of magnesium! It is nice to know that after all there is nothing wrong with my head :-)

This ended up being just another cookbook, with a glucose spin. I'm not impressed. Books such as this need to be written with everyday cooking in mind, not with fancy or complicated recipes but with recipes we already use but with some modifications.

We're trying to eat a healthier diet as a family, so I've been hunting for cookbooks to help. A lot of recipes in this category would be too "weird" for my kids to try--they'd just turn up their noses at it. This cookbook offers many kid-friendly recipes, plus has a chapter on helping your kids eat a healthier diet in general. The only complaint I have is that the dinner section falls back on some of those "weird" recipes that I know my kids would never touch, plus many recipes that call for some unusual ingredients like lamb--not a staple in my corner of the world.

Living with Diabetes in the family becomes a challenge for meal planning, at times.
This book gives a refreshing new look at easy to make, delicious meals

This book helped me to eat right. I was a pre-diabetic weighing 235 lbs. Since following this book's guidelines in August, 2007, my blood glucose now is less than a 100, my weight has dropped to 188 pounds, and my trouser size has gone from a 42 to a 36. I highly recommend this book to anyone with heart trouble, diabetes, to anyone wanting to live a health lifestyle.

Syndrome X is High Cholesterol, Obesity, High Triglycerides, High Blood Pressure and the centerpiece: Insulin Resistance. The book provides the reasons for many people's poor heath and practical solutions to improve it greatly. It is also applicable to those who are already healthy and want to stay that way.

The authors clearly explain that Glucose is our biological gasoline and insulin is escorts the glucose from the blood into cells where it is burned as energy. As with the carburetor of a car, when this isn't working right, we are not going to be at our best!

Knowing what to eat is crucial in good health today. With our fast paced, fast food society this is no easy task. Syndrome X addresses the wide array of good foods, vitamins and nutrients to return to good health. It explains in layman's terms but never talks down to the reader about the benefits of eating right and the terrible effects of eating poorly.

Powerful topics include: The importance of diet, Glucose, the body's fuel and the secrets of living to age 100. Other subjects include, individualizing your Anti-X program, what to buy at supermarkets and more.

Vitamins C, D, E and more are explained in excellent detail. Minerals such as chromium, Zinc, Magnesium, are also addressed as well as nutrients such as antioxidants, good and bad fats and more.

The easy to understand explanations of how the body processes food and supplements is some of the best I have read. Overall Jack Challem, Dr Burton Berkson, and Melissa Diane Smith have done an exceptional job at providing a common sense guide to healthy living through good diet, vitamins and supplements!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes

Syndrome X was a breakthrough book when it first came out in 2000. Of course Syndrome X is a form of prediabetes, which increases the risk of full-blown diabetes and heart disease. Jack Challem (the lead author of Syndrome X) has outdone himself with his latest book along these lines: Stop Prediabetes Now, which came out in October. The description of the problem, his dietary recommendations, and his supplement recommendations are all much clearer and easier to follow. The recipes are superb -- I love the curry chicken salad, in particular. Jack addresses the bigger picture of prediabetes, of which Syndrome X is only one part.

the menu plan was too low carb and the supplement suggestions were worse!
it claims that folks 20 pounds overweight and over should take a supplement called L-Carnitine, Alpha Lipoic acid etc.
Well when I took the Carnitine, I swear the first time I took it, my heart was beating too fast and the second time, I felt a heaviness in my chest and I had dry mouth! When I did further research on these supplements, it had said that we really don't need the Lipoic acid and the Carnitine because it is already present in our systems!
So the authors owe me $$$ back for those supplements that got me sick! Heck they should give me $$$ back for buying this dumb book lol

I have only got about 1/2 of the book read but it is excellent. I have been diabetic for 25 years and I have learned alot so far. I always was one to take supplements but I found out there are more that would help me even more. As people know Diabetes and heart disease work hand in hand and I did have to have open heart surgery 3 years ago but I recouped very fast and the Doctor said he had never seen a diabetic heart in such good condition it was just the chloresterol in the arteries. My Doctor says I do not have syndrome X but he said is good that I am reading on it so if I ever do start experiencing any of the symptoms it will make me question it. I do believe the author was great in putting this down and explaining how important supplements are for the diabetic as two weeks after the heart surgery I underwent a brain tumor operation and I am glad my heart was in great enought shape to get me thru 2 major surgeries in 2 weeks time. Hence my review name of Miracle Mom. Great Book!

This should be required reading for all senior citizens on medicare/medicaid...all high school students...all college students and everyone else not on this list. As a nation, with the world close behind us, we are in deep trouble ALREADY and running faster down a slippery slope towards diabetes , type 1, 2 and will probably require a number 3 lable soon!!!

When a huge entity like the Federal Food & Drug Administration bows to the wishes of food product manufacturers, we are like sheep heading to the slaughter. You get a creepy feeling that some unknown, unseen persons are slowly killing you. Honestly? The Bible says that THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil. And our grocery stores are a brightly colored, attractivly marketed example.

This book doesn't preach on the political aspect of our eating....that's me. But it teaches what your body is doing and will continue to do (and worse) if YOU don't take another path. Garbage in...garbage out.
Healthy eating...healthy body.

Some of the reviewers below apparently have not done much homework, but are willing to shoot from the hip. Who cares if the former Brain-Bio Center was only near Princeton and now has a new name? Life goes on and Ignorance is Bliss, but millions of Americans and many more worldwide are finding out that nutrients are medicine: fundamental, curative, and supportive/restorative in nature, far superior treatments to antagonistic prescription meds in most cases. It's case dependent.

I have been taking a megavitamin/mineral/fatty acid and very good nutritional regimen for 2 1/2 years. Basically, I'm a different person: much healthier, more energetic, confident, more productive, creative, enthused, and able to help others, and loving it~! This field of orthomolecular medicine and psychiatry is the preeminent methodology for effectively, naturally, and inexpensively improving body, brain, and behavioral health.

Overall, it is the safest and most cost-effective therapeutic regime by far. It needs to be taught, learned, applied, researched, and ramified throughout our failing health care system to revitalize it with life-giving elements that are in our food to begin with!

The results of orthomolecular doctors such as Hoffer, Cass, Holford, Gambee, Riordan, and dozens of others are in a different category than conventional medical providers. It is like trying to compare a natural orange and some strange orange-flavored candy (orthomolecular medicine vs. drug-based therapy).

Most doctors recognize the strategic limits and theoretical & practical problems with their trade--it is allopathic, relying on powerful unnatural agents to suppress, stimulate, or knock out disease, while other problems break out elsewhere from the effects of the same drug. Orthomolecular treatment is fundamental and curative in nature since it uses natural elements in our diets, our bodies, and natural environment which are ordinarily very easily and naturally processed by it. It uses innate and already functioning processes to build cellular metabolism, healthier tissues, enhanced organ function, a balanced endocrine system, and our neurotransmitter complex.

Compare that to destroying neuroreceptors to reduce someone's mental energy, while the brain tries to produce more neurotransmitters to compensate, and then we continue 'needing the drug' which destroys more neuroreceptors until significant brain damage may occur. Even the theory of the drug paradigm is riddled with obvious problems and faults, not to mention the side-effects of unhealthy thinking, constricted science, and and degenerative physical theories and their agents.

On the other side, nutritional medicine and psychiatry allow our body and brain to build themselves back normally and naturally by providing the building blocks for good intracellular health and fighting disease. In 10 or 15 years, as more and more people find out about NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE AND PSYCHIATRY, OUR ENTIRE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A FUNDAMENTALLY HEALTHIER AND CURATIVE MODEL.

I would encourage you to read this book and some of the many other phenomenal books on this subject (1), Naturopathic Nutrition by A. Hoffer, M.D.; (2), Nutrients Quiet the Unquiet Brain, A Four-Generational Bipolar Odyssey, by D. Moyer; (3) What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You, by Ray Strand, M.D.; (4) Natural Healing for Schizophrenia and Other Common Mental Disorders, by Eva Edelman (an extremely well-written, insightful, and ground-breaking resource--look for her similar and much larger book on Natural Healing for Bipolar Disorder, due out sometime this Fall), (5) Optimum Nutrition for the Mind, by P. Holford; (6)Brain Allergies: the Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections by William Philpott, M.D., or (6) The Natural Medicine Guide to...(A Series of Guide Books) by Stephanie Marohn, inc. The Natural Medicine Guide to Anxiety; Depression; etc. (5 books in her series on the various major 'mental disorders')--I could go on and on about the very good, scientifically-sound, and high level knowledge in these and other books that will advance your natural understanding of bio-behavioral illnesses by light years (exaggeration? I think not.) they also help you by showing some good ways to deal with these conditions nutritionally.

This (have I said it before?) is the preeminent, clinically proven, and most potent field in health care, pure and simple. Doctors such as Abram Hoffer and others also use medications in their practices, but only as tools, not the entire tool bag. Does a plumber come to work only with a powersaw, some caustic acids, and a sledge? Any honest and intelligent doctor will tell you that their trade is being controlled substantially by the pharmaceutical companies and that medical school education, research, and application are all under the pall of these mega-profit driven entities.

That's not to discredit all drugs, but the field must be opened up to the light of day, new knowledge, and scientific scrutiny not wedded with Big Pharma's big deception, big influence, and big need for our money and approval.

If you have time, read this book by Orthomolecular Pioneer Carl Pfeiffer, a good basic work in the field. Have a Nice Year!

Free Your Mind and Feed Your Brain! Healthy Inputs, Healthy Outputs (the underlying principle that the more commonly quoted "Garbage In, Garbage Out" is twisted out of). Interesting how hogs and other farm animals get more advanced, better-balanced nutrition that most of us.

This book is a great help for Scizophrenics from a nutrtional point of view and balancing your levels.

Dr. Carl Pfeiffer is deceased (probably why the clinic is no more) but his research lives on. I believe a colleague took over and started a new center with a different name. Dr. Pfeiffer called the condition pyroluria, however, I believe his successors call it zinc and magnesium deficiency. A neighbor sought treatment for her daughter from the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, (when it existed) which at that time also offered temporary satellite facilities so people didn't need to travel to NJ. Her daughter improved so drastically it was amazing. Diagnosed with mental illness, as long as she stayed on the supplements, she was functional. Pfeiffer took hair samples from all the serial killers on death row and found one unifying trait - these vitamin deficiencies. I first saw Dr. Pfeiffer on the Phil Donohoe years ago. I wrote down his name and the term for the condition and then in college did a research paper on the Biochemistry of Crime, using Dr Pfeiffer's research as part of my assertion. All I can say, is don't knock it unless you've tried it. I have seen living proof that his research premise is sound.

After all, we already know that the food we eat does not actually provide the nutrients that the FDA claims they do since 40 years ago an orange offered more vitamin C than it has in it today. The beef today is more marbled with fat than 40 years ago since cattle used to be free range and so had more muscle and less fat in their tissue. And how does every living mammal (including humans) deal with toxins? They are stored in the fat cells. So if you eat beef marbled with more fat than 40 years ago, you are consuming more toxins (from the cattle) too. With digestive problems fast becoming an explosive problem in the U.S., is it any wonder that whatever is consumed may not be absorbed even if it provided the nutrients it was supposed to?

Carl Pfeiffer's work was done quite a few decades ago as he passed away. Following up on his work and furthering his work is Abraham Hoffer and Patrick Holford. This foundational work on orthomolecular was first coined by 2 time Nobel Prize winner Linnus Pauling. Pfeiffer's work was foundational to the advance of orthomolecular treatment for mental illness and schiophrenia. International Foundation of Schiophrenia furthers his work. I would definitely recommend Carl Pfeiffers work with Hoffers and Holford's. The Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Chicago also furthers his work. His clinic in NJ closed down some years ago. But his partner continues in Chicago.

This book seems to be full of formulae for curing mental illnesses. After I finished reading it, I tried to look up "pyroluria" in the Merck Manual and several reputable nutrition books...it wasn't listed. Then I checked the internet and found plenty of listings, but only circular information, as though the writers relied on this book rather than doing original research. Another case of "let the buyer beware"! If you must read this book, try to find it in the library, I wish I had!

This book is very informative and the personal assessment at the end of the chapters will make you really look at yourself. This book also has an online site that is helpful.

This book is practically written to reinforce common sense stuff dealing with health. Unfortunetly many of us choose to forget these things soon after we learn them. this book for many of us is not a "fun read" rather a requirement for a class.
You can read this book in about 5 hours and pass the class. I did!

I bought this book several years ago when I was stalled on the Atkins diet. It's a life saver, and explains in clear words what's happening on the low carb diet to your body. I give it as a gift to my serious low carb friends, as it continues to help me on a regular basis. Bravo to Dana Carpender for looking at low carb dieting from an intelligent viewpoint!

I am new to low carbing, and loving it! And this book made all the difference. I tried to plod through the Atkins book, but Dana makes low-carbing so clear and easy. I love being able to use her examples and analogies when other people make assumptions about low-carb eating.
Her great sense of humor is evident throughout, and lightness of her approach makes it seem like I can achieve this. Her breezy but thorough book makes me feel like I have another friend along for the ride.

Disclaimer: I have not read this book. I read the part that was available here online, and everything I read appears to agree with a good low-carb diet. I just have a book that is much better researched and explains things a little more in dept than this book seems to. It is called "Natural Health and Weight Loss" by Barry Groves. I was very impressed by that book. I bring this up because, in the part of Carpenter's book I read, she talks about Banting and his low carb diet back 150 years ago. She made the point that he was so fat he had to walk downstairs backward or he would "fall over". Not quite true. Actually, he walked backward because it was easier on his knees. He was about 300 lbs. Anyway, that little thing made me think you'd all be better off reading a book with a little more research put into it. Research from numerous scientific studies, not just Atkins books, etc. Go for low carb, I love it, but read Groves' book.

I've been trying to do low carb for years. Lost 75 pounds when I first tried Atkins. But surgery, a full time job, and someone else cooking for me have caused me to gain back 30 pounds. I am not following a low carb diet closely enough, sometimes not at all. But a recent diagnosis of diabetes has me trying again. Still have the full time job, and someone else still cooks for me. You'd think that would make it easier but she simply won't cook what I want and I have to be more determined in my efforts. This book really explained all the low carb chemistry, explained all the different way to do low carb by giving variations of the diet. I feel inspired to make my voice heard and eat the foods that are good for me.

Dana Carpender uses the entire book explaining all of the other carb diets out there. She doesn't explain much about the diet she is on. That would have been helpful.

I was irritated from the beginning of the book Dana was degrading this television commercial with a child in it who says something about changing up on the flavor of juice drinks because her "tongue gets tired" and Dana flies off the handle saying that the kid should be "lucky" to have food everyday. Doesn't Dana know that the advertisers wrote the script for the kid and the kid didn't make up those words on her own? Could Dana really be that stupid and naive?

Dana never gives an outline of how to orchestrate your own diet or what she exactly does. She basically says, "Here are all the low-carb diets out there. Pick your own and good luck."

She doesn't indicate what she does directly with any specifics. Does she each 100 carbs per day? 50 carbs? Less? It would have been useful to know what SHE does. It's so vague that you really don't know.

Then she says at the beginning of the book that low-carb living has to be a LIFESTYLE and you have to prepare yourself to NEVER eat pastas, white flour, potatoes, and cereal again. However, later on she says that you should have about 6 "cheat" days in a year including your birthday, Christmas, etc. Huh? Which is it? Again, she really isn't specific on what SHE does. First she'll say that she "never" eats cereal, sweets, etc. then says that she has her "cheat" days too. Okay...

I had such high hopes for this book and felt let down. I wished she outlined her own diet instead of everyone else's out there. The title of the book, as I recall, is "How I gave up my low-fat diet and lost 40 pounds" and NOT "How you can pick and choose one of these MANY low-carb diets and maybe you'll lose weight depending on whether you choose the right diet."

I do, however, recommend her two "500 Low-Carb Recipe" books. I have them both and they are excellent!