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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple strategies for making major dietary changes, August 5, 2008
This review is from: Better Living With Whole Foods (Perfect Paperback)
In this book, Alexander Morentin, a Clinical Exercise Specialist (note: not a doctor or a nutritionist) presents a reference manual to help people make informed, healthy food choices. Morentin's program is based on the consumption of whole foods, or foods that are unprocessed and unrefined. This may not sound too difficult until you consider what items are banned from a whole foods diet, such as wheat/gluten, pasteurized products (milk), table sugar and sweetners, preservatives (ie, most packaged, canned, and frozen foods), etc.
Morentin does take pains to break down the basics of a whole foods diet into simple, easy-to-understand language. He describes the essentials of good nutrition and reviews the detriments of processed and refined foods. He then addresses individual food groups in turn (eg, grains, breads, meats, dairy products, etc.) and explains exactly what specific foods he would recommend in each group. Several Appendices at the end of the book provide a nice summary, including lists of "Foods to Eat" and "Foods to Avoid" as well as "Food Lists" based on category. Clearly, Morentin is striving to be as user-friendly as possible. He repeatedly states that not everyone will go as far with their own diets as he has (he is also a vegetarian); he also lets readers know that it is understandable to make "bad" food choices once and awhile. In addition, his overall plan allows for one "cheat" day per week, which he believes increases motivation to eat well most of the time.
Still, despite all of Morentin's efforts to make his plan easy to swallow (excuse the pun!), it should be noted that this way of eating will be a RADICAL change for most people. Morentin himself does his food shopping exclusively at farmer's markets and whole food stores, NOT at grocery stores, which in and of itself is a likely major departure for the average person. Furthermore, whereas Morentin's program certainly may be attainable to the motivated individual, I find it extremely difficult to envision adapting his plan to a busy family setting, a topic that is not directly addressed in the book (although Morentin does spend time discussing healthy baby food).
As mentioned above, I think this book would be most appropriate for motivated individuals who want assistance in shifting to a whole foods diet. Making the transition to a whole foods diet is quite an extreme change in today's world of processed and refined foods, so if you plan to read this book, be aware that Morentin's program is likely to require a fair amount of effort on your part.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'll Never Look At Food The Same Way!, August 8, 2008
This review is from: Better Living With Whole Foods (Perfect Paperback)
Mr. Morentin has put together a thorough, easy to read, inspiring guide for anyone how is looking to not only lose weight but to dramatically improve their health.
First, I liked the fact that he included a "before" and "after" picture of himself to encourage people who may have lost hope.
In addition to that, I was impressed with the amount of research that went into this book. I have read many books on health and nutrition, yet Mr. Morentin exposed me to information that I had never heard before.
For example, I use extra virgin olive oil regularly but he pointed out that you should get it "first cold pressed." He also pointed out that there is a better oil for cooking than olive oil because it doesn't handle high heat well. Who knew?
Another topic that I found enlightening was when he discussed Soy milk. I use soy milk in my oatmeal but I had no idea how genetically modified soy actually is. I will definitely make an effort to limit my use of soy milk.
I've read in other books that it's best to eat foods in their natural state. Mr. Morentin definitely drives home this point in his book when he discussed other examples of denatured food, besides soy.
The author did a great job in explaining some of the ingredients that are on food labels. (many of which I have a hard time pronouncing) I didn't know that Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil is a trans fat.
In addition, I am glad that he stated in the book that food is primarily designed to provide fuel for the body. Sometimes we lose sight of this when we are gorging ourselves on junk food :>
I am also glad that he recommended having a cheat day because I believe it's ok to treat yourself to some pie or cake, once in awhile. Besides, starvation diets never work.
If you are a health enthusiast, you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book, as I did. But reading it is not enough, you've got to take action.
John Hinds
Author of "What's In Your Water?"
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very influencial, September 10, 2008
This review is from: Better Living With Whole Foods (Perfect Paperback)
This book is very informative and is a quick and easy read. It will change the way that you look at your food. Shopping at traditional grocery stores will be replaced by farmer's markets and Whole Foods type markets. Alexander Morentin has a very efficient writing style, giving just the right amount of information about each topic. This book is a great read and a book that you'll continue to use as a daily resource for planning your daily meals.
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