Elizabeth Somer
1 Some structural problems with this book...
I have no comments as yet about the content of this book -- I'm trying it out and will have to see for myself how the advice works for me. (I will say that it's kind of hard to argue with someone who tells you to stop eating donuts and start working out, and I for one am glad to have qualified advice on how to approximate a more natural diet with the foods that are available today. Not all of us have the wherewithal to track down gazelle.)
However, as an ex-tech writer, I do have to comment about the structure of this book. Some chapters are straightforward heading/sub-heading text, but once the guidelines and lists and tip callouts start, you're in trouble. I found it incredibly difficult to determine which set of "Five Habits" or "Seven Guidelines" I was reading. I'd routinely run into, say, item four of some continuing list and have to flip back to remind myself what subject I was on.
This book needs:
- fewer and clearer heading styles
- fewer and clearer numbering styles (ABC, 123, and bullets abound...)
- a page design that differentiates between central content and informational asides.
I am looking forward to the Origin Diet Cookbook should such a thing be in the offing (not to mention the Origin Diet Shopping Guide -- where DOES one obtain bison burger, anyway?) However, I hope that future offerings are a little more carefully designed than this one.
2 What an excellent book! The best I have ever read
Elizabeth Somer has done it again. The Origin Diet is insightful and presents sound nutritional idea in a way that is easy to understand without oversimplifying this difficult subject. Our ancestors ate a mixed diet of plants and lean game. By staying close to our origins, we provide our bodies what they need and deserve. I have found this book to be an excellent addition to my library. Read it for yourself and make up your own mind.
3 Absurd Nonsense
Dietician Elizabeth Somer has done it again: she has written yet another politically correct nutrition book that has little truth in it. In this one, she's attemtping to cash in on the current interest in the Paleolithic diet--the way our ancestors ate.
Somer starts off by rightly stating that for 99% of its history, humanity lived and thrived on a hunter-gatherer diet and that widespread use of agricultural foods is a relatively recent phenomenon. She rightly states that, at the genetic level, people are still the Paleolithic eaters of yesteryear, implying that we should eat more Paleolithic foods.
After that, her premise gets thrown right out the window and she recommends such modern food items as skim milk, whole grains, low-fat cheese, and soybeans! I'd like to see evidence of paleolithic peoples eating a bowl of brown rice. It is just stupid and historically impossible. Her book is full of Food Pyramid hogwash--from misinformation on fatty acids to eating tons of grains to maintain optimal health.
Don't waste your money on this piece of unmitigated garbage. Better and more accurate buys would be Allan and Lutz' book LIFE WITHOUT BREAD, Weston price's NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL DEGENERATION, or Fallon and Enig's NOURISHING TRADITIONS.
4 Amazing, Inspiring, and Motivating Book!
This book is written in a style that is honest, and really motivates you to eat healthier. The lists, illustrastions, and recipies are extremely helpful, and I have lost 10 pounds by adopting the techniques of my ancestors. An excellent read!
5 Not really stone age
This book is an absurd contradiction. The author correctly states that a truly healthy diet should follow the way man ate before civilization and society changed the way we eat. That is how we evolved. Then, she advocates whole grains which had no part in the foods available for consumption in those ages.
6 Nothing new here
It is obvious the author read S. Boyd Eaton and Dean Ornish, which are echoed quite heavily in this text. Suggest that you skip to the source and read the Paleolithic Prescription and, of course, any of Dean Ornish's book. There are some "good" fictional passages in here that are somewhat amusing, at least if you have done any research in this area.
7 Another Great Book By Elizabeth Somer
The Origin Diet is another great book by Elizabeth Somer. As always, Ms. Somer writes with authority and presents information in a way that makes it easy to read, understand, and apply to life today. I find that Ms. Somer is one of the most knowledgable nutrition writers today. I look forward to her books and never question whether they will be worth reading. The Origin Diet is no exception--a must read!
8 The Origin Diet
I've been interested in nutrition and weight issues for most of my adult life. The Origin Diet really put things in perspective. When I eat in sync with my body, putting in the kinds of foods that our bodies are designed to use, I experience a sense of healthy balance that allows my weight to stabilize or decrease. (I don't have experience with needing to gain weight but I assume that would happen if the person was underweight from restrictive dieting.) Anyway, this book explains the concepts from an evolutionary point of view that just make sense. The author uses that point of view to explain why vegetables are healthy for us, why saturated fat in red meat is not and why we crave chocolate but not chard. I'm using this book to learn why and how to work with my natural instincts to lose weight, have more energy and curb cravings. I've always hoped I could feel this good! Best of all, the advice in the book is practical and up-to-date with modern life. I usually don't like menus and shopping lists but I have the sense that these were created for "real people." The recipes are really good! As with Somer's other books, The Origin Diet is research-based but the information is clear and easy to apply. I highly recommend The Origin Diet for people who want to jump off the fad diet bandwagon and get on with losing weight for good. For good health, that is!
9 Why I follow the Origin Diet myself
Finally, a nutrition book that makes sense. The Origin Diet is so well researched and the information is so thorough and practical, it has made it easy for me to incorporate healthy habits into my life, lose weight and still enjoy food. Somer takes age-old wisdom adn finetunes it for today's busy lifestyles so that you don't have to eat woolly mammoth or live in a cave, You can still enjoy yummy foods while boosting your health and losing inchces off your waistline. I just had to write something after reading a few of the bad reviews on this book. Obviously, these comments came from people who haven't read this book and have not yet discovered tha you don't need to follow dangerous fad diets. Elizabeth Somer is among the top nutritionists in the country, if not the world. Readers should take advantage of her vast wealth of nutritional and weight loss expertise and eat this book up--as well as every nugget of nutritional information in it.Carole Jacobs Senior Editor, Shape Magazine
10 Breath of Fresh Air
The Origin Diet is a breath of fresh air after all those ridiculous fad diet books. The research and reasoning behind this book makes perfect sense. But, Somer isn't a food faddist that wants you to eat baked eel or gather weeds for dinner. The book is loaded with great brown-bag lunch ideas, breakfast and dinner suggestions, shopping lists, fast-food ideas, recipes, menus, you name it. The Origin Diet has everything I needed to get started in finally taking care of myself the way my body needs to be cared for. I've lost weight, but more importantly, I feel better than I've ever felt! Shannon in Gardnerville, Nevada
11 The USDA food pyramid in a caveman's suit
Elizabeth Somer's plan doesn't even come close to the diet of early humans. Humans have only consumed grains for a few a few thousand years with with grain making its way to Northern Europe a mere 5,000 years ago. For the other 2.6 million years, humans consumed no grains whatsoever. Why, then, would a diet based on the diet of early humans contain grain? It wouldn't. A modern version of the paleolithic diet also would contain far more than 20% protein. Legumes (peanuts, soy, navy beans, etc.) would not be allowed either as they, too, are very recent additions to the human diet. Yet Somer promotes tofu and other soy foods. Did you know that all legumes contain lectins, a protein which has been shown to cause rheumatoid arthritis? Not only that, but soy has been shown to promote breast cancer in women, reduced cognitive function in men and developmental disabilites among infants fed soy-based formulas. As for grains, wheat is one of the most common food allergens. There's a reason; the human digestive system was not designed to consume grains. Bread is not the staff of life. According to Amazon's own review, "much of Somer's advice is similar to what you hear from all the major health and medical associations." That itself is the problem. The US government is required by law to promote the USDA food pyramid, a grain-based, low-fat, low-protein diet. In order to recieve the government's blessing (and research grants), major health and medical assocations must do the same. The almighty dollar has more to do with the USDA food pyramid than unbiased research; the USDA depends only on its own research for dietary recommendations and is only allow to conduct research on dietary prototypes that support the USDA food pyramid. Not only that, but major food producers spend millions on lobbying efforts. Even the American Dietetic Association, of which Ms. Somers is a member, recieves major funding from such corporate giants as Monsanto, makers of Equal (aspartame). The US government and mainstream health professionals have promoted a low-fat grain-based diet for decades now. US fat consumption is at its all-time low with obesity and diabetes both at their all-time highs. The food pyramid doesn't work. But it is literally the law of the land. While someone who lives on Coke and Twinkies would do well to follow Somer's plan, he or she would only go halfway there if the goal is optimal health. If this person was insulin resistant (three out of four Americans are), this diet would get barely get him past first base; all starch turns to sugar in the bloodstream. Ms. Somers has no right to refer to the diet of early humans in her book; her plan is nothing more than the USDA food pyramid in a caveman's suit.
12 Stone Age Claptrap
This book was so dry as to be useless to me. I found the comparison of modern humans to stone age ones ridiculous. The point was made that our ancestors had virtually no occurence of diabetes or cancer, or much fewer instances of these diseases. Of course not--they had a life span of about 30 years! No time to develop those diseases.
The book continually made those inane comparisons while offering no practical tips on how to achieve the guidelines laid out in the book.
Furthermore, a diet book with no recipes is useless.
This book was a waste of money.
13 Very Nice addition to Evolutionary Diet Library
Elizabeth continues to expand the library of evolutionary books, adding anouther valuable source which encourages readers to return, as much as possible, to our original human diet.
While she allows whole grains, which were not part of our original diet, it's with an eye towards practicality in our modern world in the hopes of getting more people to get as close as possible to a much healthier diet, and the happy results of doing so.
I applaude her effort and, as one of few authors in this area other than Ray Audette and myself (Ray Audettes "NeanderThin" and "Charles Hunt's Diet Evolution"), ecourage anyone to add her new book to the growing library of evolutionary dietary knowlege that will add life and happiness to your years.
Congratulations Elizabeth, and much success!
14 Back to Basics
Elizabeth Somers really makes sense when she talks about getting back to the basics. By eating foods that our ancestors ate and getting lots of exercise, she believes that we can lose weight and feel great. She includes some simple and tasty recipes in the beginning of her book that were very easy to follow. If you are trying to lose weight, I highly recommend this book.
15 For lasting and comprehensive nutritional changes
This is the best advice from Elizabeth Somers' books compiled into one simple nutrition plan. As always, her emphasis is on high-fiber, minimally-processed foods, especially vegetables, fruits and grains (Somer recommends eating two fruits or vegetables at each of three daily meals, and at least one at each of two daily snacks for a daily minimum of eight); She also urges readers to select ONLY whole grains, and suggests strategies to help boost intake of omega-3 fats and soy-protein. While her plan challenges readers to create real nutritional changes in their lives, she helps to make these changes accessible through helpful lists of meal-planning techniques and ideas -- a personal favorite of mine is her list of suggestions for "brown bag lunches" for those of us who work and cannot be in the kitchen at lunch-time! Another helpful one for me was the "origin grocery list" designed to help readers navigate modern supermarkets for foods the closest to what our ancestors made. She also includes information on avoiding chemical pesticides and waxes in produce items, a sample five-day eating plan and recipes -- and lots more! I'm just highlighting what I personally found most useful.
Personally, I read the book for it's nutritional advice, but Somer also explores her "Origin" theme -- that returning to the diet/ lifestyles that humans evolved on (as much as possible) will lead to the most vital health possible -- from multiple angles. She includes information on exercise, environmental conditions (i.e. household toxins, getting outdoors, including exposure to fresh air in our daily lives), and stress-management. While these sections can be helpful, her nutritional program will likely pose the most rigorous challenge to readers.
Although the changes Somer encourages nutritionally are comprehensive, she allows room for "the human factor" by suggesting strategies for making changes slowly, and finding ways to include old, "forbidden" favorites in your new eating plan.
This book offers no quick-fixes. It is solidly research-based and Somer honestly endevors to guide readers gently toward a wonderful new way of living and eating.
