1 Magnificent Book! Inspiring
This book is not just a Raw Food book but also very inspirational and educational. I couldn't put it down and read it in only a few days. Other reviewers have mentioned that he mentions his business in the book, I find nothing wrong with this and it is done in a very tactful and non-intrusive way. I believe the way he mentions changing your inner self before changing the way you eat and live is very important when changing lifestyle habits that can be so 'addictive' for most people. If you want information on the raw food diet along with inspiration and motivation to begin and succeed this book is a must!
2 The truth was revealed
This is a wonderful and inspiring book. It was the first and best raw food book I ever read. It changed my life and I am very thankful I came across it. The truth resonated with me. This book covers what I believe is true health. Some of the lessons can be applied to anything in life, not just raw food. I love the quotations and refrences from other motivational/success books and the author's beautiful poems. I must have read this book at least five times. I would pick it up, open up to a random page, read what it said and be inspired to either live a healthy day or focus on my goals. Outstanding book! A must read if you're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
3 Changed my view of life and myself!
I was absolutely inspired by Davis Wolfe to make so many positive changes in my life. Written in easy-to-understand, straight-forward terms about what cooked food does to our bodies and how liberating a raw diet can be!
4 Every page is an inspiration!
This was my first book that got me into the "raw movement." It changed my life, touching every aspect of my being. I cannot express my gratitude toward David Wolfe for creating this masterpiece. Anyone seeking a life of optimism, joy, and success on a personal level should own The Sunfood Diet Success System!
Wolfe's book contains 36 chapters of health transformation. Only ten or so of these specifically deal with the diet, while the book's key focus is on the mental transformation required. Each chapter has exercises at the end for the physical (diet) and mental changes. As recommended by David, keeping a journal and log of your diet will help with the transformation. The book begins with six chapters that ask you to take a look into your life. "Beliefs," "Goals," "Thoughts are Things," and "Faith" are a few of the chapters that promote your well-being on a spiritual level.
Starting with chapter 7, "The Sunfood Diet," the book introduces us to the diet of uncooked fruits, vegetables, and nuts. For those of you who have been wondering about this lifestyle, it's eating foods in their natural, unadulterated state. It is a step further than veganism, being called "raw-veganism." David thoroughly covers all aspects of eating raw. Items discussed are detoxification, food-combining, the SunFood Triangle (new pyramid), hybridized food, common questions, myths, and the wonders of a diet free of toxicity.
"Your idea of the world (what you believe the world is) manifests everything in your life. When you change your idea of the world, the world itself changes. Essentially, your mission isn't to set the world right, but simply to set yourself right. The world does not change, we change."
The Sunfood Diet Success System is filled with all of David's love. Every page is an inspiration. I can't begin to express my gratitude for the information that was revealed to me in this book. Its knowledge has continued to enlighten me through the last year. Inspirational, motivational; it's everything. Please get this book - do it for yourself. --Reviewed by Dan Jerke for vegetarianteen.com.
5 Not just about Raw foods, which is an essential message
I know. When you pick up a book about a diet, you want to read the goodies about what foods to eat and how to achieve optimal physical fitness. It's not that easy. This book is one of a kind in that it focuses on a lot more than diet. In the true sense of what it means to be healthy, diet is only a small fraction of what a truly healthy person really is. Don't get me wrong. Raw foods are a key to unlocking the greatness within you, but it's more than that. You have to find inner peace and change your thinking. David Wolfe points this out in many of his chapters throughout the book.
I enjoy Wolfe's approach to wellness, although he got a little carried away with some of his suggestions as far as disease conditions are concerned. I'm in total agreement with him as far as individualizing the diet according to your own needs, but then he goes and recommends certain ratios to overcome certain ailments. If a 50% greens and 50% fats diet can help one person overcome candida, it's going to make another person more sick. I was hoping to see more Ayurvedic type recomendations according to body type then to give generalized advice. That's my only problem with this book.
I loved the sections on minerals, detox, and his positive, uplifting messages about life. David Wolfe is a salesman, yes. He's very good at marketing. His unnecessary plugs to his website and to his product catalog didn't go unnoticed, but it could be very helpful to someone who lives in the middle of the woods and doesn't have access to some of the superfoods and formulas that can help you get off cooked foods. Anyone who's raw knows it's not as easy as just giving up cooked foods cold turkey. You need to ween yourself off cooked foods, just like drugs. His products can be helpful with that.
All in all, great book. Unlike anything else out there right now. It could be improved upon, but for when it was written and for the powerful messages it delivers, it's one heck of a read. I'd recommend it to anyone. Even if you're not interested in becoming a raw foodist, you can still greatly benefit from reading this book.
6 Good, but a spot on the EGO side!
I found this to be a pretty good and encouraging resource but it has a couple of serious down points which you may want to consider before investing so much time in reading it.
Basically, as with most NFL books, the author thinks he is the worlds' greatest authority on the subject and tells you so in no uncertain terms. It's ego in print and the tone can be rather irritating if, like me, you prefer modesty in authors and them not to insult everyone who thinks something else and condemn their ideas as just being "cooked".
Also, the author picks scriptures out of the Bible wildly out of context and uses them to support his view when they are talking about nothing of the sort.
[Another reviewer] has a good point too about too much space being taken up with Wolfe's views on things, even if some are interesting and even inspiring - I like the bit about reading for an hour a day on a subject making you an authority on it in 3 years, a national authority in 5 years and an international one in 7 years, BUT it does depend on whether you're reading worthwhile and valid info on the subject....
If you can look past all this nonsense, then go ahead and read this book. If you prefer something more moderate, then Fred Patenaude's "The Raw Secrets" or Karen Knowler and Susie Miller's "Feel Good Food" are much more the thing.
7 Not Worth It
I feel though David Wolfe brings up some good information he assumes many things where his knowledge comes short. For example: he doesn't understand the digestion of fats very well. His advice can be very misleading. He prescribes a formula for balancing a candida overgrowth very poorly without good evidence. Much of it is very general.
I feel that in this book David Wolfe is trying to sell the raw vegan diet instead of just spreading the word. He constantly recommends his company's products at his website. He has an entire chapter about how great true raw olives are and then says at the end of the chapter that his store is the only reliable source to get good olives. What a salesman. I felt like I was reading a catalogue in many parts of the book.
The beginning and end of the book have nothing to do with the sunfood diet but more about his philosophy of life. I bought the book thinking I would have 300 pages of raw food information. The book is about two-thirds nonsense. He even goes as far as to give financial advice. I feel that David Wolfe turned a pretty good 100 page book into an overpriced 300 page catalogue on how to think like him and buy his products. I don't suggest the book there are better out there.
8 David Wolfe rocks!
Another winner in the Raw Foodists library. Detailed with lots of info and encouragement. Go raw, everybody.
9 Excellent resource. most important acid/alkaline balance
This is the 5th raw food book I've read and my favorite so far. It gives clear examples of what to eat and what not to eat and more importantly why. It describes the pitfalls one may encounter when on a raw food diet and how to correct them. Another book I recommend is "Hooked on Raw". I've been able to fine tune my diet with astonishing results and will never go back to eating cooked food again. This is the way all of us were meant to eat ... and the first stepping stone on the journey to not eating at all. Benefits of this diet include less sleep, more energy, better immune system, weight loss to the level you should weigh, muscle mass that seems to last longer, tanning without ever having to use poisonous sun tan lotion, stronger nails, hair and clearer skin.... and most importantly reconnecting with yourself. If you are limited to buying just one Raw Food book this is the one! Once you experience the benefits of eating raw you never want to go back.
10 interesting, but.......
I am quite sure that Mr. Wolfe means well and is a healthy
young man. And I am also sure a lot of us need to include more
fresh fruit and vegetables in our diet. It's proven to
improve our health. However; an all raw diet is something that
is awfully hard to stick with for any length of time. A more
common sense approach would be better. People who eat this
way (those who are able to stick to it....a tiny percentage)
are vitamin B-12 deficient. I think most people just crave
warm food sometimes and that is our nature. The book is not
a waste of money though by any means and if you even incorporate
some of the recommendations into your diet, you will feel better.
11 At last! The truth about food!
I found most of David's nutrition and diet information informative and validating to my own research of the last 40 yrs. Being of a different mind regarding religion, the origin of the species, spirituality etc., I quickly scanned thru those chapters and moved on. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. I found the food and nutrition chapters helpful and hope that more people begin to question the food they eat and what the government is doing to it.
12 Revolutional Book
This book has helped me transition into being a Raw Foodist. David Wolfe has hit the nail on the head and I can not wait to see the world become 100% RAW. Buy this book. It will change your life forever!
13 Good Info but crosses that invisible line
When you first start reading the book you are amazed at the info being provided and you begin to feel like you have just had a dark cloud lifted from around you but..... It's a big but, you start to read lines that are a bit radical that don't seem like it's something that can really work. All of us can't retreat to the woods and eat watermelon (with the seeds mind you) all day. Stuff like that was annoying. I do however agree with a lot of the food principles especially since a lot of it has been substantiated by other authors. I do find this book is good as a reference from time to time and I try not to think to hard about the patronizing attitude of the author.
14 Put nature's first law into practical action.
If you buy one book on raw foods, I recommend this one. I find myself using this book as a constant reference. It picks up nicely where "Nature's First Law" leaves off, with practical and well written advice on how to make the transition to a raw living diet. It also gives specific advice for individual problems such as losing weight, gaining weight, correcting imbalances and deficiencies. It even gives advice for dealing with the reaction of others while making the changes to your diet and lifestyle.
I had already been following the Sunfood Diet System with wonderful results. When I recently heard David Wolfe speak in person, it gave me confidence that his methods are sound in the long view. This is one of the author's of "Nature's First Law" and while I loved the book and found it motivational, others have been put off by the way it's material is presented. I'd like to mention here that this book is not written in the same style and is addressed to raw and partially raw readers equally. It is unlikely to offend and can be used by anyone who wants to improve their health and well being, whether they give up cooked food or not.
15 A must read for beginners and others
This is the first book of its kind, that basically summarizes how to be successful on the living and raw food diet. I believe that David has summarized what I have struggled to learn on my own, on how to be balanced on the diet. It is an excellent book for beginners and people that have already embraced this way of natural living. I wish the book would have been published about 5 years ago, it would have made my life much easier, but I did enjoy the (much slower) path of learning on my own, what he shares in his book.
16 Good Information, but insubstantiated.
Overall, I tend to agree that living foods are the way to go, and intuitively, the idea of the sunfood triangle in the book makes sense.
However, there are some serious problems with the book. For example, the author claims that the "high" one gets from the alkaloids in coffee and psychoactive drugs (hemp, etc.) is due to the alkalizing effect of the alkaloids on the blood. This is not correct. While it is true that ALKAloids are ALKAlizing, the general class of plant alkaloids used in herbal medicine (which includes caffeine, etc.) work by forcing metabolic change in the body, or by directly influencing brain chemistry. Eating lots of spinach is NOT equivalent to (herbal) plant alkaloids.
There are other errors in the book, such as applying the "quantum jump" metaphor to explain evolution - a situation where Quantum Mechanics does not apply. In general, the author makes many claims without providing a source, which given some of the more radical claims less believable. I would take a lot of the information with a big grain of NaCl.
However, the more specific advice makes a lot of sense. (avoiding seedless fruits, the sunfood triangle, buying organic, etc.)
17 Informative and Inspirational
I am new to the idea of raw foods, and this is the first book that I have read on the subject. It was perfect for me because it has alot of information that gave me a better understanding, and also many reasons to back the information up. This book is written with a very positive and energetic attitude which made it easy for me to read, and also made me willing to try its ideas. There are journal activities that helped me to personalize the ideas and fit them into my own life. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for inspiration along with new and clear knowlede.
18 One of the Best Books Written to help people in all areas
This Book is now my favorite book, next to the Bible. It could save your life, and it will help you no matter where you are sitting. We all need to get our thoughts and emotions and our health in the right places to prosper and this book will help you in every area of your life. I have seven people in my family. All 7 of us now have a copy of the book and it is almost the only thing we talk about. We are so excited about what this book has done for many members of our family. It will change your life and your whole well-being. Thank You God for the wisdom you have imparted upon the author to help people in all areas of our lives. Even though the book does not impart a biblical message, it has brought me closer to God. It will bring anybody closer to their spiritual selves as well as being able to take control of their lives. This is a book the whole world must read!
19 If you where to invest in one book then invest in this one.
In life we are exposed to information that literally changes who we are becoming.
The Sunfood Diet Success System does that it takes what we already know deep down inside and simply reminds us of what Heaven on Earth can be and how to do it.
What impresses me most about the book is the way it is written the flow of the book is powerful. Dave literally walks you through a personal transformation from his own and others experiences. Dave words are even more powerful because he is an example of what can be and walks his talk.
In a world full of information that confuses most people the Sunfood Diet Success System removes any confusion and allows you to live life fully.
No home should be without this book.
Thank you Dave for putting together a masterpiece.
This book will change your life.
20 An inspiringFore invitation to live the raw food lifestyle..
Just as a tropical mango, glistening in the Sun, is an open invitation to eat it, reading this book is an open invitation to live it. Written by one who clearly does, this book is an inspiring synthesis of life-proven success technologies and the author's understanding of Nature's unchanging laws. --Eliot Jay Rosen, author of Experiencing the Soul
21 Finally! The definitive A to Z raw foods diet book.
This book is simply wonderful: profound, educational, sensible, practical, sacred, witty, etc., etc., etc. This book will takes us step-by-step through the process of embracing the best diet on earth next to breatharinism -- raw foods. The Sunfoods Diet takes the fear out of major dietary change, and will most likely become the raw foodist "Bible" of the new millenium -- and well it should. Author, David Wolfe's name,without a doubt, will become a household name over the next few years.
