The goal of Dr. Barnard is to steer everyone toward a vegan diet. If that is not your intention, best not to pick up this book. The changes are far-reaching, and radically different than the SAD (Standard American Diet).I tried being a lacto-ovo vegetarian off and on throughout my life. The thought of giving up cheese was just too much to imagine. Additionally, having a husband whose first words about a meal were "where's the meat" made vegetarian life difficult. But if you experience a health crisis (cancer, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) it is amazing how quickly you can moderate your behavior.
My husband and I have been vegan for approximately 5 weeks now. We have never felt better in our lives. If you are holding on to meat, cheese and milk but don't feel good, this book will improve your health. Dr. Barnard also explains why it is so difficult to give up sugar, chocolate, cheese and meat. Apparently these items contain various addicting compounds. If someone had tried to tell me this 6 months ago I would have thought they were crazy. Now that I have adopted a vegan lifestyle I can say that my health has improved so much is such a short period of time that it is almost miraculous. Also, it is important to note that after 2 weeks my cravings for sugar, chocolate, cheese and meat are all but gone.
In the last 5 weeks my husband and I have seen dramatic improvements in our health. We have both each lost 12 pounds without being hungry or exercising more. My husband has decreased his total cholesterol from 177 to 113 (this happened in 24 days). He has been taken off this high blood pressure medication. I have not had a sinus headache in 5 weeks. Prior to becoming a vegan I had chronic sinusitis. My skin has a youthful glow (amazing for 43 year old woman). I also sleep better at night, and wake up more well rested.
If you don't feel as good as you did in your 20's and are willing to make a radical lifestyle change, I believe that this book will improve your health. I have also reviewed other books that advocate a vegan lifestyle if you are interested. Check out "Eat to Live" and "Stop the Inflammation Now".
I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to improve their health. Try it for a month; what do you have to lose? It is a small investment in time and money that could result in a dramatic improvement in the quality of your life.
Update: 4 August 2006
My husband and I are still following a mostly vegan (95%) lifestyle. It is amazing how simple it is once you decide it is just the way that you are going to live. We both continue to feel fabulous. My husband, at 52, is back to the weight he was when he graduated high school. He is even considering beginning to exercise. We have both lost over 20 pounds in a little under 4 months. I continue to highly recommend this book if you are looking to make a lifestyle change for health reasons.
In the first part of this book, the author says that some foods have addictive qualities because they contain very small amounts of opiate like substances. Some people seem to be more susceptible to these substances and, in effect, become addicted to them. The foods the author identifies as having these substances are: sugar, chocolate, cheese, and meat. Unfortunately, these foods are commonly associated with causing obesity and all of the health problems related to obesity. So it is important to break the seductive quality these foods may have for you.
How do you do that? The author is skeptical of relying upon simple will power. The addictive like quality these foods have will eventually overcome your will power. Straining to deprive yourself of them leads to feelings of deprivation, guilt, hopelessness, and other negative emotions as you eventually succumb to your addictions again.
In the second part of the book, the author proposes a seven-step program to help you develop a food-craving-free body.
Step one. Start with a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal or other cereals/grains and fruits are an excellent choice. This recommendation sounds trite, but ignoring it can easily lead to cravings later in the day. The author tells stories of dieters who failed, yet were proud that they had successfully skipped meals during the day. Successful dieters identify healthy foods to eat, and then they make sure to eat enough of them during the day. If you don't consume enough calories from healthy foods to satisfy yourself, your cravings for fattening foods will surely overcome you. Hunger triggers cravings. Don't provoke it. Unlike diet plans that set the maximum number of calories you should consume per day, the author warns not to fall below the minimum necessary to avoid hunger. He says multiply your weight by 10 to get a rough guide for the minimum number of calories you need per day to satisfy you.
Step two. Eat foods that keep your blood sugar steady. The author believes in the glycemic index and recommends high fiber foods at the lower end of the index. The author is vegan and so the foods he recommends are beans, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Step 3. The author recommends eating foods that boost the hormone leptin in your body. Leptin is a little known hormone that is thought to help control your appetite. The author says that eating a low-fat plant based diet and exercising will promote the effect of this hormone. I found this part of the author's argument circular and unconvincing. If you are eating a low-fat plant based diet and exercising you have already substantially achieved appetite control. Forget leptin.
Step 4. Identify craving cycles in your life and develop habits to avoid their effect. For some people, there are times of the day when they find themselves giving in to food cravings. For some women cravings may come on monthly cycles with their period. Many people have annual cycles as well, especially around the holiday period or during the winter. If you can identify your problem times, you can design strategies to minimize cravings at these times. The author suggests various ways for dealing with cycle cravings.
Step 5. Exercise, rest, and learn to let stress go. The author offers nothing new here, but provides many reminders of strategies and techniques that work for others.
Step 6. Call in the reinforcements. A common problem for dieters is that they try to convert others to do what they are doing. Most people, including your spouse, will not change their lifestyle based upon your exhortations. Instead, tell family members, friends, and co-workers what you are doing; ask only that they help you in avoiding the temptations that interfere with your program. Don't preach. This approach is more likely to get their support. Life is much easier when the people around you support what you are doing, even if they don't do it too. Enlist support; don't alienate people.
Step 7. Use extra motivators. The author identifies a whole range of motives for losing weight. Identify the ones important to you and focus on them. Don't be ashamed or shy about what is important to you. When you clearly identify why you want better health you will more likely stick with your program and achieve your goals.
In part three of the book the author discusses nutritional issues with a vegan diet. It may surprise some to learn that when you eat a low-fat plant based diet you normally need not limit daily calorie intake, portion size, or the total quantity of food you eat. Very little supplementation is recommended. He suggests a three-week starter plan to see if his program works for you.
Part four of the book contains a large selection of interesting and easy to fix recipes. This part of the book is outstanding. The author also discusses the content and uses of some foods in vegan cooking that are not commonly found in American cookery. You will find all you need to know about tofu, seitan, tempeh, tvp, tahini, and tamari among others.
The strong message the author gives you is not to fight or confront your food cravings directly. They are too powerful. Instead, use his non-confrontational strategies to avoid the control which food cravings exercise over you. The author is consistent in advocating a vegan diet to achieve your weight goals, but I didn't find his advocacy to be preachy or offensive.I am hypoglycemic and historically prone to lots of yeast infections and bladder infections. After a mere three weeks of following the advice in this book, my sugar cravings are GONE. I can now walk through the candy aisle at the supermarket and genuinely have no desire for the candy. I can see the pint of Cherry Garcia beckoning through the grocery freezer door, and feel nothing. I could take it or leave it, and even if I took it home, I couldn't eat the whole thing at gunpoint. Honestly.
Now I know the biological reasons behind my cravings--why does my body demand chocolate before my period, for example? Barnard explains precisely how these foods can "hook" us. Armed with these new insights, for three weeks solid I ate very little fat, salt, and sugar, and tons of whole grains, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, nuts, legumes, and water. I won't lie to you--the candy would have been much cheaper; fresh whole food costs a fortune. To avoid going broke in the produce aisle, I cut back drastically on meat and tried soy cheese and more bean-based meals. Who says you have to put a hunk of animal flesh in the oven every single night anyway? And it isn't just the sweets that I suddenly find distasteful--potato chips taste too salty and greasy to me now. It's as if somebody rewired my taste buds.
Read this book, and also the amazing book "Fit From Within," to forever alter your relationship with food. Even if you're skinny--and I'm 5'10" and 134 pounds, hardly overweight--if you ever feel that food controls you, rather than the other way around, you need to read this book. Don't let Barnard's hardcore vegan stance scare you off--if you reduce meat and dairy and quadruple fruits and veggies, and keep your trusty water bottle by your side, the magic will still work.This book clearly explains in laymans terms the physiological effect certain foods have on the body. I had dabbled a bit trying to be a vegetarian for a few years but wasn't successful until I read Dr. Barnard's book. I started a vegan lifestyle on Aug 1, 2003 and the weight has just peeled away. I went from being exhausted and miserable to having enough energy to start a running program. I feel so good. And it has been so easy. I don't feel deprived, I don't crave bad foods anymore. My skin looks better. I've lost 15 pounds in six weeks and am still losing. It is nothing short of amazing and something I am positive I can sustain for the rest of my life. It also feels good to know I am making a small contribution to a healthier planet by not consuming animals. I plan on giving this book to my friends and family for Christmas.One of the other reviews trashes Dr. Barnard's research. In fact, Dr. Barnard has excellent credentials, from George Washington University, where he is an adjunct professor. He has also done studies with faculty at Georgetown. A partial list of his scientific publications can be found on his website:
http://www.nealbarnard.org/pubs.htm
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