Joseph Mercola | Alison Rose Levy
Impressively modern in design,
The No-Grain Diet brings a realistic viewpoint to the problems of weight loss in a genuine effort to improve the health of an ever-growing number of obese Americans. Offering a variety of "food plans," along with a set of techniques aimed at controlling emotional eating and cravings for "bad" foods, Dr. Joseph Mercola clearly understands how to motivate us--in one section, he suggests that rather than "living by the scale," we measure our success in relation to the fit of our favorite pair of slightly-too-snug jeans. Many recipes are included, most of which are free of the boring flavor substitutes so common in diet books. The diet itself combines several familiar concepts. The "no grain" model emphasizes organic vegetables and quality protein, with limited fruits and absolutely no simple carbs. Mercola's idea of "quality protein" is somewhat startling--he is deeply concerned about toxins, and urges grass-fed beef over potentially mercury-filled fish. His main point is frequently reinforced: refined grains of any type are basically deadly and eating them should be viewed as an unhealthy addiction. Here, the book veers off in a new direction: rather than gently nudging our habits in a new direction, he suggests we break what he insists is an addictive cycle with a method called "EFT," or "Emotional Freedom Technique." As a way to avoid surrendering to desires, his system of tapping acupressure points and repeating affirmations is used to overcome them. While repeat dieters will understand the necessity of examining emotional ties to food, Mercola's voice becomes a tad strident, and possibly downright offensive to those with a different opinion on what constitutes an addiction.
--Jill Lightner
1 Carb consumption DOES affect fat gain/loss
(...)
What the site reports is that in people who are hyperinsulimec, a low fat diet CAUSES weight gain and bad blood chemistry. And a low carb diet corrects this. I believe that grains, not carbs, might be involved. I feel much better eating gluten-free, I put my son on this diet for suspected celiac and did the diet too, and noticed much of my tendonitis going away, also some digestive issues. And some weight!
This mirrors my life. I was normal weight plus the typical 10 pounds we all fight. I decided to do a low-fat diet. I gained 70 pounds in 6 months. I couldn't stop no matter what I did. I went to a doctor and they said "eat less, exercise more". If I'd gone there and said "I was normal weight then lost 70 pounds in 6 months" they'd be running tests etc etc. Within 3 days of eating low-carb no grain, I felt great and the weight started to peel off. Whenever I fall off the wagon and eat grains again--bingo--weight starts to rapidly come back, carb cravings, etc. My inlaws lost 40 pounds each doing low fat. They can't stand low carb. The point of the story is we are all different. Being cruel to others because you don't share their particular issues doesn't help anyone. Why on earth would anyone be cruel and dismissive about someone's attempts to improve their health? Think about it. Think of something you struggle with and how you'd want others to treat your efforts to correct it.
2 Another fad diet...
I browsed this book in 10 seconds on a shelf. Not a very good basis for a review huh? Why did I put it back so quick and feel compelled to write here? I flicked to a page supposedly "exposing myths". "Myth #1" was about exercise and high carb diets. He brushes aside the importance of "excess calories" claiming the effect of "carbs turning to fat" is more important! It is at that point I realised the author is probably very rich, smiled and put the book back on the shelf. The authors whole premise, is partly based on something that hardly happens. And this has been known since about 1982!! The author ends up trying to debunk a possibly sound dieting approach by himself regurgitating a complete myth. He says "The body has limited capacity to store carbohydrates so it converts them into fat". He's wrong. Several studies have shown this happens in such small amounts that it is insignificant and that the body can store lots of carbs.
I'm not saying excess carbs dont contribute to getting fatter - they do by promoting storage of dietary fat and reducing the burning of body fat - and the author is right about that, but wrong about carbs turning to fat.
An oversight, you might say? Now if the author can get such a well know thing (amongst REAL nutritionists) wrong, which is, presumably, at the core of his entire book, and has been known for over 20 years, what does that say about his whole approach. Some things he says are right?, others wrong ?, and all he's looking for is a new angle/fad to part you from your money.
It's simple , eat less , eat more real food , cut out processed foods ,cut out emotional eating, get more excercise, rinse and repeat.
The "Diet Book" thing is an industry. Plain and simple. Spend the money on some real food.
(*) The evidence....
"1982 Acheson KJ, Flatt JP, Jequier E."
Conclusion These ***findings challenge the common perception*** that conversion of CHO[carbs] to fat is an important pathway for the retention of dietary energy and for the accumulation of body fat.
and
"2001 Regina M McDevitt, Sarah J Bott, Marilyn Harding, W Andrew Coward, Leslie J Bluck and Andrew M Prentice"
Conclusion: De novo lipogenesis[carbs turning to fat] increases after overfeeding with glucose and sucrose to the same extent in lean and obese women ***but does not contribute greatly to total fat balance.***
Google for "de novo lipogenesis" for more
[Note you may find a link to the last study at Atkins website where they completely ignore the conclusion because it disputes some of their principles too. This is an indictment of the diet-industry in general]
3 Stay slim for life
If you want to stay slim all your life, try this. I started on this food plan in Sep 2003 and by end Nov I dropped 48 pounds. That's how this program works. I've done many diets and the best result came from The No-Grain Diet: Conquer Carbohydrate Addiction and Stay Slim for Life. I am sure you will love this food plan for giving you a new, much anticipated, life style.
By giving up my coffee habit I realized having that wired up feeling all day clouded my concentration. Did you know one cup of joe raises your blood pressure by 14%! Fortunately for me I was able to find a wonderful tasting replacement made from soyabeans. You brew like coffee and it even helps lower my cholesterol. I found it online at www.S o y c o f f e e.c o m. Gaining this understanding will effect every move you make from this point on and will bring with it the necessity to share it.
4 Great advice
I read in an article that only 25% of the US population are able to handle a high carbohydrate (as in high starch) diet. Their bodies are built to handle it. For the 75%, we are a mixed type or protein type diet. That means that we are NOT able to handle large amounts of starch.
I've read thru this book in the library, and compared it to the ZONE diet. Both diets replace the grains with fresh non-starch vegetables. And you have to eat plenty (~3 cups of vegetables) per meal (even breakfast!) in addition to your protein & fat.
What most Americans don't do is to eat the required vegetables. If you don't eat the vegetables, then you are eating a "protein only" diet, which can only spell disaster for anyone's health.
As for grass fed beef, organic chickens, what is wrong with that? If you can afford organics, organics are always better for your body, because there are no preservatives, no hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides, used in raising the animals. The organics produce are slowly coming down in price. I suggest you check around.
For people like me, who can't afford organics all the time, I try to buy as much organic as my budget allows.
I follow an Asian diet now, and replacing 90% of grains with fresh vegetables that either I eat raw, or simply stirfry.
So for people who can't have starch, eat the best protein you can afford, the best vegetables you can afford. Go check out your local asian grocers. Their vegetables tend to be cheaper and better in quality, simply because of the volume they sell.
They also have a greater number of vegetables. Have people tried pea sprouts, pea shoots, water convolvus, chinese mustard greens, baby mustard greens, daikon sprouts, gailan, youchoy, yam leaf, perilla (aka shiso, ooba), hot mint, hot basil, purple basil, thai eggplants, chinese eggplants, japanese or chinese cucumbers, daikons, kabocha, nagaimo (aka wild mountain yam, chinese yam), soybean sprouts, fresh water chestnuts, fresh lotus root, fresh lotus seeds, lily bulbs, and the unbelievable number of veggies that Asians eat on a daily basis?
As a diabetic and a severe alleries, I've been able to keep both under control without medication, with the large amounts of leafy greens and fresh veggies I eat every day, and good proteins, and good fats. I'm not vegan because I'm NOT one of the lucky ones who can eat lots of starch.
A real change in your life requires a life style change. If this works for you, then it is something you should do for life.
If it doesn't work for you in 14 days, there's no reason for you to keep doing it. The food plans are simply not for you. It doesn't mean it's bad.
We are all the same on the inside, but due to our diets (eating only processed food, or lots of premade meals or not even eating), we all have DIFFERENT reactions from the same foods.
May you all have great health!
5 Silly fool, diets don't work
I guarantee you, the same fatties that will be on this diet will be on a different diet next year. A new fad diet.
Diet's don't work.
6 I just don't trust it....
As a previous patient of Dr. Mercola, I experienced being put on a program which basically drained me financially. A high number of tests were recommended and taken, and one treatment ended up being very painful for me, which I later found out was completely unnecessary. Needless to say, I had a very bad experience at his clinic, spent lots of money (nothing was covered by insurance), and got no better. It's difficult for me to trust what this person says or writes. Also, the products he recommends are the same ones he sells via certain manufacturers/distributors through his website. He's a business like any other business, and what is the bottom line for most businesses? I'm sure we all know that one...
7 Where has the concept of balanced eating gone?
I found this book in the library and checked it out because I was curious about the accupressure techniques. I already knew, and had been trying, the basics of low-carb eating for several months, but had not been able to get past the cravings for comfort foods such as mashed potatoes, a steaming bowl of real oatmeal on a cold winter's night, acorn squash, brown rice, thick crusty slices of fresh organic whole grain bread, and just out of the oven chocolate chip cookies.
This book had the opposite effect on me from the concept it was trying to prove. It helped me to think about food in a different way. What was making me such a "bad" person that I couldn't stay with a low-carb plan? Was I really addicted to carbs like an alcoholic is to alcohol, as this book states? Did I really need to use a technique the rest of my life to abstain from foods that certain so called experts have decided are bad for us?
What if there is another explanation for what has been going on for the past 20-30 years. What if our bodies actually have the ability to let us know when our habits have become unbalanced. What if cravings for real food (not junk) are actually the result of the huge increase in the consumption of processed convenience foods. I've certainly consumed my share over the years.
We are, everyone of us, individuals with individual needs. The problem with each diet program that is promoted, including vegetarianism, is that only a portion of the population can thrive on it. It is just plain misleading to state that a particular way of eating is best for everyone. Could it be that the real reason a person isn't able to stay with a diet in which a part of the food chain is missing is because this person's body needs those foods to thrive?
This book promotes an extreme and unrealistic plan for eating, then states that it must be used for the rest of your life to keep weight off. While I now eat mostly organic foods, Mercola takes even this a step further by stating that only grass fed beef should be eaten, that grain fed beef could make you fat. The constant reminders to only use this and not use that in his recipes was extremely annoying. The recommended foods list was confusing and contradicted itself in several places. And I was put off by the general tone of arrogance that ran throughout this book.
Do we really need another "expert" making money off of people by promoting fears about food and insisting that their's is the "right" weight loss plan? Take a long look around. None of the ideas promoted by the weight loss industry have worked long term, have they.
Canada has a national program guideline called Vitality. The concepts are: Eat well. (To me that means concentrate on real foods for the majority of my meals.) Live actively. (What do I enjoy doing that gets me moving around?) Think well of yourself. (Accepting yourself as you are right now is how long lasting changes have a chance to begin.)
Do you think you could live the rest of your life eating well, living actively and thinking well of yourself (and others)? How about making our own choices instead of following someone else's rigid plan? Please listen to your own body. Pay attention to how you feel when you eat this or that. This is what I chose to do. Now the extra weight and inches are beginning to come off of me on their own.
8 THE NO-GRAIN DIET IS DYNAMITE!!!
THE NO-GRAIN DIET IS DYNAMITE!!! I've been hearing so much about low carb diets that I couldn't resist trying to find out what they're all about, and that led me to Joseph Mercola and Alison Rose Levy's THE NO-GRAIN DIET!
THE NO-GRAIN DIET IS THE BEST BOOK ABOUT NUTRITION I'VE EVER READ!!! What makes it so special? Well, for starters, the two writers go the extra mile to talk about A thorough health program, not just what's wrong with eating grain, and include lots of pointers on how to live better, like with pointers about how to sleep better at night--restrict outside light!!!--and Mercola and Levy hit home with anybody who's ever drank soda or fruit juice when they go on an all out assault on sugar, which is targeted as THE ENEMY!!! THE NO-GRAIN DIET makes it simple:avoid eating foods that can easily be converted into sugar, and avoid sugar, and you'll protect your teeth and gums, you'll help prevent high blood pressure, and you might just live longer, too!
And Mercola and Levy tell you in plain English how following their system will help you to lose weight, or at least, avoid unhealthy weight gain, like by preventing your stomach from becoming a bread factory!
THE NO-GRAIN DIET IS DYNAMITE!!!
Chari Krishnan
RESEARCHKING
9 Let's go!
I'm a fan of Dr. Mercola. I've had a myriad of different problems from my lungs and sinuses to acid reflux and joint problems. After being sick for an ENTIRE winter I finally decided I'd try anything...including "gasp" changing my diet. Stumbling on the websight mercola.com, I was sucked in. It just makes sense. Back when we were wandering around and evolving all we could eat were vegetables above the ground and protein we killed. Also, we didn't sit down for three meals a day, but ate when we could and when we were actually hungry.
As far as the guy talking about the Japanese he must be kidding. I lived in Japan for two years and what he said is a GIANT misnomer. Sure they eat rice, but they don't eat the sweets, and ultra over processed foods like we do over here. It isn't that we eat grains so much is we don't eat enough vegetables and on top of it we eat the wrong kind of grains.
Japanese live longer because they have a much more balanced point of view on life, eat more fish protein (balanced Omega-3 to Omega-6 count) and plain out eat healthier. I dare you to even try to compare the school lunches here with there. Fresh fruit, fish, milk, and a bowl of rice vs. mexican pizza and chocolate milk.
Need I say more?
10 Absolute Garbage
I have read several of Dr Mercola's unscientific remarks on diets and he has paid no attention to the global consequences of his advice. Just as crazy at the Atkins Diet which will increase colon cancer, coronary artery disease not to mention hemorrhoids and gout, this kind of nonsense will pan out in about 2010 and then everyone will realize just how ridiculous we were to even listen! I'm a physician and I know, just like Dr Spock and Dr Osche that only a vegetarian diet will make you live the healthiest and the longest and the happiest. I would love to give you more proof here but I would urge all potential 'sucked-in' consumers to do their homework and research Mercola, Atkins and all the other flim-flam artists before they buy into their latest snake-oil remedy.
It's you're choice but please ask yourselves: do you feel lucky?
11 The organic version of low-carb eating, plus much more
Many people, including myself, find low carb dieting a way to maintain weight and keep from getting overly hungry. But many low carb diets don't focus on the quality of the food you eat. Dr. Mercola takes a holistic approach and really reasons out WHY grains are associated with weight gain, and what a low-carb diet could look like if you believe organic vegetables and meats are important, and that artificial sweeteners may be causing you difficulties.
This is a more difficult path in some ways than buying boxes of low-carb sweets and bread mixes, and eating salads from the cellophane packages. Dr. Mercola encourages green vegetable juicing (no carrots or apple) with the pulp of the vegetables stirred back in, raw organic eggs, whey protein and chlorella algae to make a green breakfast shake to start your day. This is rugged stuff. After buying a dozen fresh eggs from the farmer down the road (living in a rural area has some advantages) I dug out the juicer and hand blender and whipped up one of these pea-green smoothies. I drank it down, humming the theme from "Rocky" to get up the nerve. It wasn't delish--but I did get a burst of energy that lasted well past what would have been lunchtime.
Mercola doesn't like soy (toxic to thyroids? has female hormone-like effects on men? Is this true?) and he really limits even favorite vegetables like carrots (too sugary) and beets (same deal.) However, he recommends you eat organic beef, ostrich, buffalo, organic chicken, fish, lamb. No pork. And plenty of good vegetables like dark leafy greens, cucumbers, fennel, spinach, celery, mushrooms and such. And organic eggs. This is not all bad. As you reduce weight, you can add in some fruit and mild sweets like barley syrup and maple. De. Mercola has some compelling arguments against aspartame, sucralose and saccharine.
While more severe in the types of foods you can eat, Mercola claims that your health will improve. On the psychological end, he advocates "EFT" --a sort of tapping that takes about three minutes, starting with acupuncture points from head to torso, and is designed to talk you out of eating that piece of Devil's Food Birthday Cake that is tempting you in your office or the doughnut shop on the way home. Three minutes of tapping on points, or if you are needing discretion there is a shortcut after much practice, and you can hold your nose high and walk past the cheesecake. Hey --if it works, I'm all for it.
I like the book for the fearsome Green Drink and the list of healthful things to focus on in your diet. Dr. Mercola always tries to support his claims, and I am a reluctant fan. We call him "The guy that HATES everything" at home, but he does like good healthy fare and reducing cravings. It's sad that grains are a no-no, but they sure make me gain weight and make me sleepy and hungry. So maybe Dr. Mercola is on to something.
12 Is no-grain the solution for your health?
Remember the Japanese eat more grain(s) than the Americans, but they live longer.
13 Logical Explanations, But Not Easy to Implement
I think Dr. Mercola is awesome and has a lot of useful things on his website that have aided me in obtaining good health. His book was easy to read and the explanations were reasonable and easy to understand.
However, I didn't find following his diet recommendations quite as easy to follow. As a working full time mom of 2 young children and a husband, it wasn't practical. I did, however, find a way to eliminate grains from my diet much easier for someone with my lifestyle.
I realize that good health doesn't just come to a person so easily and does take hard work. Maybe providing some solutions that are in between because it's hard for many people to go from the bad habits to 180 degrees the other way.
I think he does a great job with the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) stuff which greatly can help people get over the emotional roadblocks that hinder a person from achieving success. This can apply to any area of one's life.
14 So Unfortunate
As a member of the Chiropractic profession, I know that Dr. Mercola is widely respected. Which is why it brings me great dismay to learn that he is an advocate of "foods" such as beef, no matter how it is fed. Upon simply analyzing the enzymes and simple physiology of humans versus every carnivore in the animal kingdom, let alone looking at it's effects on human health, it is obvious that humans were designed to eat a diet that is without any animal products, period. The healthiest program one can follow is a diet based on living foods, period.
15 EFT sounds like hocus pocus but it helped me
I was really sceptical of the Emotional Freedom Technique. I thought there was no way tapping on your body as you recite a phrase could have any impact whatsoever. It sounds ridiculous. But I thought what the heck and tried it. It has helped me a lot. My self esteem is improving. My advice is be sceptical but try it yourself. Maybe you'll be lucky and find it is helpful too. I feel better when I follow the diet.
16 No-Grain Diet by Dr. Joseph Mercola
This is an excellent work which describes an optimal diet
regimen which eliminates grain and sugar as basic staples.
The mainstay of the Mercola work is meat, poultry and
veggies; such as, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and the
green veggie group. The author suggests balancing the pH
with more alkaline-based foods; such as leafy green veggies.
Corn should be eliminated from the diet. Allowable
fruits are grapes, kiwi, pineapple, strawberry and melon.
Feta cheese and skim ricotta are in the approved dairy group.
Overall, this book would be a worthy investment for your health
care library.
17 The No-Grain Diet by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Alison Rose Levy
I admire Dr. Mercola's work very much, except for one thing; His comments on Dr. Atkins' book. Like most people who misquote Atkins, Dr. Mercola did not read the whole book either. If he had taken the time to read any of his work, properly he would have known that Dr. Atkins highly recommended all low glycemic vegetables.
Remember: "Atkins has forgotten more than Mercola will ever know" about dieting.
Mercola's book is very good. Although it won't threaten Atkins' work anytime soon.
18 Give It A Chance
Well, I've read the "One Star" reviews of this diet by others and I have to ask: Did you try it? I've tried many diets in my life not to mention what I affectionately termed a "Lifestyle Change" in my early 20s. It resulted in 60 pounds of weight loss, but at the same time I was miserable because it required 25+ miles per week lopping along on a treadmill. That wasn't how I wanted to live the rest of my life. As soon as I stopped, I gained it all back, slowly but surely. I've also Zoned, but never tried the Atkins Diet. The Zone didn't work for me because it was really difficult to maintain the many concise meals per day. I believed in the concept, I just didn't have a personal chef to make my Zoning dreams come true, as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston do (faithful Zoners). I've been on the no grain diet for over a month now and I have to admit, it works. I think laying down the basics for EFT (the Emotional Freedom Techinque) is the greatest gift to be found in this book, though. The No-Grain Diet provides a way whereby people not only have a chance to change their physical body, but also change their lives in so many ways through the use of EFT. I'd give this book 10 Stars if I could. Thank you, Dr. Mercola.
19 Ignore at your peril
I travelled 3,000 miles to be treated in Dr. Mercola's clinic - he is a pioneer. There are many of us with gluten allergies and sugars are surely poisoning all of our bodies. This diet used together with the Metabolic Typing Diet has me on the road to healing from Fibromyalgia. An added benefit has been that my Allergies have disappeared and I'm losing extra pounds. The presentation of the book isn't the best - but if you want and need the information you'll take it the way it's given. Check out his website..... EFT sounds weird, but don't knock it until you've worked with it awhile -- You may wait until you are desperate -but when you are don't forget this book and Dr. Mercola. Much much more than weight loss ---
20 Dr Mercola Rocks! This book Rocks!!!
I really didn't want to believe Dr Mercola. I LOVE pasta and all the things I shouldn't have. Go figure! But by eating the way I was..diet after diet, and believe me I have tried it all, this works! I have been tested for adrenal exhaustion and thyroid exhaustion..sure enough..I'm trashed. Why? My eating habits mostly. I have terrible asthma, always have sinus trouble to name a few of my health issues..not to mention being over weight. Going off grains has been amazing. I don't even take medication for asthma or sinus anymore. My weight is coming off. My thyroid was exhausted supporting the tired out adrenals. While I am still working on the recovery of this, what is interesting is that if I am to eat a grain or food that is not okay I can now feel my thyroid actually swell. I can feel symptoms that were before masked under all the other health problems.
As for the removing electric razors and alarm clocks etc..I found that I am sleeping much better than I ever had. Did I want to change..not even. It took me being 'scared straight' with my health no longer being forgiving. The only thing that pulled me out of it and on the way to being healthy was this NO GRAIN diet and methods in his book. Bless Dr Mercola. Medicine wouldn't have saved me. This did. Bravo!!! And thank you very much! I feel soooo much better and look forward to my new life ahead! Buy the book!
21 Don't waste your time - Get "The South Beach Diet" instead
Having read a couple of dozen nutrition related books before I bought this one, I found it to be just a vehicle of profit for the author. The EFT is a little far-fetched and the author will also advise you to advoid microwaves, electric razors, and anything else that "emits electromagnetic waves". His information seems pulled from other sources. A much better choice for a nuts and bolts explanation of "eating to health while losing weight naturally is "The South Beach Diet". It was written by a cardiologist who obviously did his homework and brings you the most up to date information out there. It's a realistic doable method to lose weight while not counting grams, calories, or anything else.
22 Intriguing Proposition, Well Written and Reader-Friendly!!!
Anything that Alison Rose Levy writes is OK in my book. I suspect that the ideas in this book will provide answers to many baffled readers about why they have difficulty with weight loss and other symptoms, like fatigue and gastric distress. Mercola seems to know what he's talking about.
23 Healthier than Atkins and doable
I really like this diet because it builds and improves on Atkins.
Mercola has loads of health information that really supports the diet, and the recipes are excellent. The EFT tapping isn't hard to learn, and I find it does help with food cravings. Let's face it, the problems with most diets is that after a while you get tired of them, and then cravings come up and you succumb. This is the first diet I've ever seen to really address that problem. Plus, this diet has a lot more variety so you can really stick with it.
24 Diet for an ... Compulsive America
As a regular visitor to Dr. Mercola's website for some time, I eagerly awaited the arrival of his book. While Dr. Mercola's big-picture objective -- weaning the average American off of poisonous food, poisoning medical doctors, and a poisoned environment -- is noble, his small-picture book renders an easy, common-sense diet too complex to follow.
In Mercola's defense, neither the writer, Levy, nor Dutton editors did much to clarify and communicate his vision. The writing is stilted and humorless, the organization an afterthought. Readers will balk at the confusion between Phases and Food Plans. Inconsistencies abound: Foods allowed on one page are nowhere to be found on another. For example, oranges are allowed on the 8-meal Booster Start-up plan on page 68; yet, inexplicably, the same list (lots of duplication in this book) eliminates oranges on page 106. Without explanation, the plan itself is reduced to six meals on page 136.
With better editing and organization, and fewer contradictory menus, the entire tome could have been reduced to half its size, with twice the clarity. It's a prime example of how too much information -- right down to how to cut one's bacon! -- can spoil a vital health education.
If you can find a way to get past the book's choking design flaws, please do: The good doctor's prescription for real health is both impassioned and well-documented, eclipsing all other "diets" out there, past or present.
25 unrealistic, not time tested
There are other books by M.D.s which are time tested and deal with insulin resistance in a realistic way. Familiar with the odd things Mercola sells on his website; it looks like one more "new old just rearranged" diet book that contributes no new science to the topic, essentially a rehash of lots of other books in my opinion. I think the public deserves more than just claims and recipes to pad out a mighty flimsy book that purports to be about serious health challenges.
26 LIFE-CHANGING
Dr. Mercola's No-Grain Diet has given me a new life. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and have been on his diet for 12 weeks. I've lost 18 lbs; am almost symptom free of fibromyalgia; no longer have asthma symptoms which was due to the gluten (GRAINS) in my diet, my energy level has made an astoundingly marked improvement, and I no longer suffer from insomnia...just to name a few of the life changing issues. His approach and philosophy are what future doctoring in going to be all about. He leaves no stone unturned. I am blessed to have Dr. Mercola as my personal physician as well.
27 The Zone meets Atkins
If you are familiar with either the Zone or Atkins diets, then you will find much information in this book which looks familiar.
Dr. Mercola takes a different slant in his book by breaking his food program into three phases and three different food plans. It's a shame that chapters couldn't be better organized to handle this information. Perhaps this could be handled in the next revision? It is apparent that the author is comfortable with the topic. Much could be done here, however, to help the reader gain the same level of comfort.
He mentions exercise, something that ongoing research is showing is of importance to a healthy lifestyle. The couple of pages or so devoted to this topic however, are totally inadequate. If you need more information on this, you may want to check out one of the books by Kenneth Cooper.
Dr. Mercola puts a lot of emphasis on EFT. I'm sure, that for some, this could be helpful. However, something as simple as lifestyle choices (i.e. active vs. non-active) will have a significant effect on metabolism, something that is essential to psychological well being and metabolic homeostasis.
If you decide to utilize the products he recommends in his book and web site, be prepared to dig deep into your pocketbook. They run on the expensive side. Granted, good health is priceless, but for many of on a budget the products he mentioned may be priced a little out of reach.
There is some good information contained in this book. Just be prepared to take the time needed to sift out the information that will help you pursue your goals. Is it the final word on this topic? That is unlikely considering how research continues to uncover new information on almost a daily basis.
28 Good info; time-consuming diet plan
Dr. Mercola gives his readers worthwhile health explanations and advice but his diet plan is too restrictive and time-consuming to easily follow. Instead, I recommend Going Against the Grain: How Reducing and Avoiding Grains Can Revitalize Your Health by Melissa Diane Smith. It is easier to understand and its diets and recipes are simple, tasty and a breeze to follow. I'm an avid reader of health books and both of these books cover important information for health maintenance. But Ms. Smith's book, Going Against the Grain, deals with a much broader range of health problems associated with grains and is the book I believe people would prefer.
29 This Book Shows Promise
It's a shame that Dr. Mercola undermined the credability of this book by failing to understand the difference between Ketosis, a metabolic state thought by many to be desireable, and Ketoacidosis, a potentially deadly metabolic condition. However, the basic premise of the book has much potential and I recommend it as a contribution to a growing, and evolving, body of knowledge about glucose intolerance and it's complications.
30 Skewed muddled thinking throughout, makes no persuasive case
We all agree that refined grains are not health foods, so the only question pertains to whole grains. But Mercola doesn't address it. Yes, there is an epidemic of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, but it certainly is not due to whole grains, because, for the most part, people are not eating them, and certainly not obese people. Mercola's case centers around insulin, and a train of havoc that follows from its release. However, in his rant ravings, Mercola makes a flying leap from what is, in fact, normal physiology (the metabolism of carbohydrate by the human body) to disease. The whole idea that I eat potato, or a bowl of brown rice, and therefore alarms go off inside my body, my blood sugar goes soaring out of control, and metabolic mayhem follows is pure fantasy. The burning of carbohydrate as fuel is as natural for a human being as breathing air (in fact, it's the main reason you need to breathe air). In the topsy-turvey world of Mercola, plain carrots are fattening. That's right, they raise your triglycerides and get deposited all over your body as fat. Haven't you noticed that among carrot eaters? But whole raw milk, with that rich, thick layer of cream on top, that's not fattening. Like other newsletter writers, Mercola picks and chooses articles from the medical literature which he thinks supports his position, while glibly ignoring the ones that contest it, like for instance the myriad of studies which show that increasing whole grains in the diet promotes slenderness, arterial health, and protection from diabetes. I am a 52 year old man. I am 5'6" and I weigh 135 pounds. My body fat percentage is very low. I eat a diet that is high in fruits, starchy vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. I eat practically no animal food of any kind. I am practically a total vegan. My blood cholesterol last checked was 150. My triglycerides were 35! (Normal triglyceride according to Medicine is supposedly 75 to 150) My blood sugar was 84. These results are totally in contrast to what Mercola's ideas would predict. And believe me, there is nothing special about me. It has nothing to do with me having some unique metabolic type or other fanciful notion from the mind of Mercola. I do not think that grains are as valuable as fruits and vegetables, nor do I think they should be given as much importance in the diet. Yet, leading nutritional doctors whom I respect (including Dean Ornish, John McDougall, Andrew Weil, Michael Klaper, Neil Barnard, and others) all believe there is a place for whole grains in a healthy diet. The Egyptian workers built the Pyramids on a grain-based diet. The Roman Army conquered the world on a grain-based diet. There are many causes of degenerative disease in modern life, but eating whole grains is not one of them.
31 This is required reading for all my patients!
I am a family practice physician who specializes in weight loss in Phoenix Arizona. I have read countless weight-loss books and Dr. Mercola's is the best. Not only is the nutritional biochemistry sound, but Dr. Mercola recognizes that successful weight management requires that people address their mental and emotional issues. This is an aspect that is missing from all of the franchised weight loss centers and bariatric physicians who (unsuccessfully) use amphetamines with their patients to suppress appetite. All my patients lose weight when they follow the program outlined in this book and they love the program.
32 Just in Time
There could be no better time than now for a book like this to come along. With the alarming decline in the state of health of our nation over the last two decades, we can no longer afford the luxury of claiming ignorance. After you read this book you will have access to the very latest diet information that is available. It is outstandingly well researched and simple to understand. Dr. Mercola does an excellent job of starting with where you are and guiding you step by step to your optimal health. It's nice to have someone finally make sense out of all the controversial diet information that's been floating around out there. No gimmicks, no diet pills, no shortcuts, just the true answers you'll need to make the right choices. If weight loss is your goal, then this book will get you there. But this book is so much more than a weight loss book. It really is a roadmap to avoiding disease and enjoying great health for the rest of your life.
33 The Last Diet Book You Will Ever Need to Buy
Thank Heavens that Dr. Mercola has created the 'No-Grain Diet' that refines and transforms to a higher level some of the work so diligently pursued by Dr. Atkins during his lifetime. This book should be required reading for med students and practicing physicians. In fact, I predict that they will be his next targeted audience, because we, his patients out here in the hinterlands, are already convinced. The diet works!
This highly exceptional doctor and team of therapists have helped me save my life, and at last he has written a dynamic book to reach the rest of the world! The tone is crisp, bright, and all inclusive (he doesn't miss not one fact that you will need to successfully execute this plan). I know this for sure, because for 12 months I have lived and practiced the 'No Grain Diet', as well as the other techniques mentioned in the book. As a result, I have regained my physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I am no longer insulin-dependent after 25 years, have lost 70 pounds as a bonus, and experiencing what I call the 'windows of joy and passion' for life once again. I will live this plan the rest of my life!
This is truly the LAST diet book you will ever need to buy.
34 Hurrah for "No Grain Diet" and Dr Mercola
Finally a new wrinkle on the 'high-protein' lo-carb diet which I know works so well.
This book is written in a friendly style and tells the truth. There are 3 good eating plans and recipes and dozens of helpful tips. I learned a lot and I've tried a lot of diets. I will have to embrace some of the ideas a little gradually, but the really exciting news is that EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is included. I'd never heard of this. Here is a tool that can be used in conjunction with the diet to get at the emotional causes that made us fat and keeps us fat. Diagrams and drawings show us how to use this wonderful technique to quickly and easily eliminate the causes, allowing us to get on with getting back in great shape.
Thank you Dr. Mercola for the best news I've had in a long, long time.
35 A Healthier, Better Atkins
Dr. Mercola has created a diet program that works, and is actually healthy for you. This book helped me lose weight and enjoy life more. I cannot recommend it highly enough! And the recipes are delicious and easy-to-follow.
36 Fun Recipes
Loved the recipes for walnut pancakes, walnut muffins and bread. Am trying the sweet potato chips tonight. There are recipes in this book I have never seen before that keep the no grain diet interesting. I am now making hummus, and see how easy it is. Thanks Dr. Mercola. I like the idea that he lets you decide how to handle the diet according to your needs. I have tons of allergies, and am now sleeping better because grain allergies aren't keeping me awake. I am finding that when emotional cravings for sweet food come up, and I can have good food on hand, that not only can I get by the craving, the emotional issues begins to heal. I see them dropping with the diet without even using the Emotional Freedom Technique. That was surprising to me.
37 Beyond Atkins
Not only have I read the book but I have been lucky enough to visit Dr. Mercola's Optimal Wellness Center and meet him. I had just accomplished losing almost 70 lbs. with the diet program by Dr. Robert Atkins. My health had dramatically improved after just 3 days on the Atkins diet! However, even after losing almost 70 lbs. within the first year, I was still not completely satisfied with my overall health. Seeing Dr. Mercola gave me new insight and explanation as to how following Atkins alone falls short.
Dr. Mercola's plan is much more strict than Dr. Atkins' approach and it can be very difficult for people in certain areas to obtain the organic and/or grass-fed food sources Mercola recommends (although you can now find much of what you need through his web site store). So, starting a weight loss journey with Atkins and working up to Dr. Mercola's plan like I did may be an easier option for some. Just never lose sight of the true goal... optimal health. That is where Dr. Mercola's plan will take you.
Dr. Mercola is an extraordinary man who proves he really cares about helping others through education - not high priced pills. I highly recommend his book and his newsletter. There is no health newsletter out there that gives you more information for the bargain basement price of $0. Thanks Dr. Mercola!
38 unrealistic
I think the book is good and although I am not a physician, I trust what he is saying in the book, just find it unrealistic. My day is full. I look for time to just plain relax. How am I suppose to follow these restrictive diets and cook or eat plenty of vegetables when time is of the essence? Until this country adopts vegetables as a necessary option (in fast food restaurants for example) these diets are unrealistic. At least for me. Personally, I find it easier to exercise three times a week and try to eat as healthy as possible. But the diet recommended in this book is for either people with enough time on their hands or people with plenty of money to eat at restaurants with healthy food. Dr. Mercola may be a good physician but he is unrealistic in his views. He also promotes a no vaccine policy. Is this a good idea? Makes me wonder...
39 Don't be put off by the sample menu plans
I'm a big fan of Dr. Mercola, and I was quite pleased when his book finally came out. Most of the material is not new since it's available in his website, but it's easier to access now since it's all in one spot. The one thing I was really disappointed with was the sample menus for the first three days. Unless you love to cook, you will be quite dismayed when you see it. You are supposed to eat small meals every two hours for the first three days, but no sooner are you done eating one meal then it's time to start cooking the next. Nothing on the menu is grab & go, so to speak. While I agree that eating "real" food is the healthiest, I think that Dr. Mercola grossly underestimates how difficult it is for people to change their cooking and shopping habits. Let's face it, most people don't really cook from scratch anymore. Most meals consist of whatever can be thrown together in 20 minutes or less with minimal thought and preparation. Suddenly you're being asked to cook completely new dishes with new ingredients, lots of veggies with added prep time, etc. Let's not forget additional time preparing a grocery list and shopping since you're completely changing your shopping habits.
Don't get me wrong, these are very necessary changes, but most people can't accomplish them overnight. When you read the sample menus, don't be put off. If you don't have time to cook all those meals, then substitute. Stick with the recommended food lists, but choose the more familiar items. Make use of a variety of cheeses, fruits, familiar veggies and salads that are portable and quick to prepare. As you get more familiar with the basic priniciples you can gradually get fancier with your meals.
40 Powerful health-promoting program! Much more than a diet.
I have followed Dr. Mercola's writings for several years, and he brings together in this book elements from all of his health plan (which until now, I've kept in loose file folders). Moreover, the emphasis on diet in the book is a perfect way to get immersed in what, for me, has been a life-transforming process.
I had been a strict vegetarian when I started subscribing to Dr. Mercola's newsletter, and I started by embracing his Juicing Plan and reduction of grains and sugars in my diet. His EFT plan helped in a number of areas in my life and I began exercising again. Lately I've added some animal food to my diet: mostly for more protein and Omega 3 fats (Wild Pacific Salmon, sardines, fish&cod liver oil and omega3-organic eggs)
Hypertension, high cholesterol, anxiety and depression are all problems of the past. The book is clear and focussed: it provides a great jump-start for beginners and deepens the practice of people like me. Dr. Mercola tirelessly searches and evaluates the scientific and medical literature and has a thriving medical practice. This book is a great way to connect with a truly gifted physician.
41 The No Grain Diet
I have been an interested participant of Dr. Mercola's website for some time now. Finding his website was exactly what I've been looking for for a long time. The No Grain Diet book is great. It is the answer to all my questions and goes beyond every other diet I've tried. I started taking Living Fuel on a Monday, received Dr. Mercola's No Grain Diet book on Friday and I'm busy now trying to figure out how to incorporate the two. Any help would be appreciated. The EFT sounds wonderful and I'm working on that now. I'm 64 years young and have been on every diet out there and managed to gain my 20 lbs. back each time. I feel optimal health is on it's way with these two products. Thank you Dr. Mercola! Gail from Texas
42 this book is wrong
The best book on weight-loss is the time tested, long time best-seller "Fit For Life." Who can live a normal life without grains??
I've tried this diet and felt starved. The fact that Mercola's website sells bad equipment (his so-called greatest juicer for one), also doesn't sit right by me.
43 No Grain, No Hunger
As an insulin dependent diabetic, I'm always looking for ways to improve my health. Since following the diet recomendations Dr. Mercola has in THE NO GRAIN DIET book I've been able to keep my blood glucose levels around 100. As a RN, this is one diet I feel safe in recomending to others. And last of all, as a person who loves food, I am not hungery! In fact I have to almost force myself to eat and sweets have lost their appeal!! Thank you Dr. Mercola!!
44 No Pizza. No Beer. No Fun
You may lose weight following this diet. But, at what cost? No Pizza. No Beer. No fun.
45 Discover your inner carnivore
We knew it was coming. Only a matter of time until the awful demons of our aberrant agrarian civilization were all stripped away. Back to Planet of the Apes for us deluded humans. Dr. Mercola would have us go back, way back, to an era that precedes such modern habits as sowing seeds of grains and planting rice paddies. His simple solution for good health: stop eating grains, starches, and sweets. Throw away those high tech protein bars and embrace the hidden hunter-gatherer within. Oh for those Paleolithic days of yore. Haven•À?t we all been waiting for the diet that allows all the kale and kohlrabi we can eat? Just imagine your diet as a combination of T-Rex and Tricerotops, or lion and elephant. You•À?ve got it.
This could be the next big thing, following close on the heels of the Sears/Atkins revolution advocating high protein diets. Dr. Mercola has evolved a new system, light years beyond the Zone and avoiding the dangers of the Atkins meat program. In order to enter Mercola•À?s universe, you must give up grains for life, or at least for two months. After that time you may eat a few tablespoons of oats or rice. Grains and other starchy foods, like potatoes, stimulate way too much insulin production, which we all know by now is like poison to the notion of staying slim. Mercola has the answer to the obesity plague of the Western world •À? forget wheat, and live on meat and vegetables. He prefers his vegetables raw thank you, or lightly steamed if you prefer. And don•À?t try to sneak in any carrots •À? way too much sugar. By the way, no sweets, added sugar, fruit juice, or alcohol.
Mercola offers three possible eating plans depending on how sick, obese, or Spartan you are. Take your health quiz and then take your pick of the levels of deprivation, from the fairly lenient (you can still eat fruit) to the absolutely pure, ostrich, buffalo, and vegetable juices. The common denominator? You guessed it, no grains.
He recommends the strict regimen for anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, autoimmune disease, or a lot of extra pounds to shed.
The book includes menu plans, recipes, and loads of encouraging examples of Mercola•À?s patients who have recovered their health on the No-Grain program. It•À?s an easy read because there is not much to do. No calorie counting, no fat gram calculations, no carbohydrate to protein ratios, just meat, veges, and little fruit.
Try it, you too could return those thrilling days of yesteryear when organic meat roamed the plains and green leafy vegetables call to us with their scrumptious message of pleasure.
46 Beyond Atkins
I want to thank Dr. Mercola for taking the Atkins diet to the next level. This diet is healthier, simpler to follow, and easier to stay on. You're not hungry, you feel nourished, and don't miss grains very much at all. The book's also nicely written, with a feeling of real intelligence and sound science behind it. I think that anyone who liked Atkins will love Mercola.
47 Eat More Variety, Be Healthy & Lose Weight
In "No grain Diet" Dr. Mercola provides a three-step program for losing weight and keeping it off. His experience is based upon research and his work as an Osteopathic physician. He's also the Director of the Optimal Wellness Center in the Chicago area. In other words, he's got the resumŽ.
Dr. Mercola is one of a growing number of physicians that conclude that the current USDA nutritional food pyramid is not conducive to our bodies' needs nor optimal health. In fact, it's flat-out not healthy. To Mercola, significant or excessive amount of carbohydrates are the major causes of weight gain, a number of diseases, illnesses, and disorders. However, this is not an exclusively anti-carbo diet or regimen, but simply a reduction. And, for the good, this is not an absolute no-grain diet. After some time on this program people can introduce grains back into their diet. What's new here is that Dr. Mercola is also not a proponent of the high protein diet programs that have become so prevalent in recent years.
There are three phases of this eating and living method. Three-day, fifty-day, and the long-term maintenance plan. Achieving the optimal weight and being healthy is the goal of this diet program.
You can learn a lot about foods and what they do to us. This seems to be more balanced and healthy than a lot of other programs out there today.
