Customer Reviews

Clean, Green, and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Another diet book. Oh joy - I'll add it to this stack that I can just barely reach the top of. Wait - what's this about toxins? "Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat," the subtitle reads. Actually, that's one I haven't heard before. Hmmm .... TWO DAYS LATER: This actually sounds totally legitimate and totally doable. Even if you don't need to lose weight, this book would be a worthwhile investment just for the sections on getting rid of the toxins. It turns out that toxins are stored in fat and they compromise the mitochondria, which Crinnion describes as "the cells' power plants." They drive the metabolism by turning fats and sugars into a fuel known as ATP, which is required for the proper functioning of all the body's systems: the brain, the heart, the lungs, everything. When the mitochondria are compromised, your metabolism slows down, and we all know what happens then. So the key is getting rid of the toxins that set this vicious circle in motion, and what it takes is getting rid of the nasty chemicals in your house, eating certain foods (many of them can be taken in supplement form) and phasing others out. There's more you can do, but Crinnion assures us that just making these changes will go a long way, and I'm inclined to suspend my skepticism because it all makes perfect sense. Think about it - I have a hard time believing the human body was intended to feel as rundown as so many adults seem to feel so often. Something's going on. Why WOULDN'T all the chemicals in the air and our food be taking a toll on us? One thing I'd never thought about till reading this book is the fact that these chemicals are a modern thing. Just because our grandparents ate a certain way and lived to 90 doesn't mean we will - we're dealing with way more garbage in the environment than they did. I doubt it's a coincidence that cancer rates have risen since our grandparents' generation. Anyway, I'm just happy to know how this stuff is getting into my body, how to keep it out and how to get rid of what I've been carrying around. This may be the most useful book I've read in a very long time.

I really enjoy being a vine reviewer, I get to read books I normally would not pick up. I am interested in the subjects of diet and nutrition, I have been a RN for 28 years and watched the population get fatter and fatter. This felt like another pop book until I broke it open.

Pros... the writer does a nice job of organizing and explaining a lot of studies and interpreting so they make sense in regards to your health, and your families health. The sections of enviroment toxins and the bodies inablility to release them is worth the price of the book. The solutions are are excellant, and are appliable for many families, and I have done almost all of them in the last 5 years with two cancer patients in the house. The only two I had not done was drinking enough green tea, and organic broccoli. I was impresed by the research and solutions and have made four changes to my daily eating habit. I was stalled at 147 lbs, in two days dropped to 145.

Cons,,,, the material could be a little better organised for general reading, and the sections for change,,, weeks is not going to work for most folks, some of it is serious change in lifestyle,,, so the sections could be labelled, Diet, Home, and Supplements. The book might read easier and make refinding importtant info faster.

Where I disagree with the writer is he is still stuck on soy foods and low fat,,, both of which are highly challenged nutritional ideas at this time. I do not eat any low fat foods or any soy except tofu. So I think he needs to consider some new reseach in those directions.

All in all its a great book , a wake up call for toxic issues and resolving them, I bought tea plant today....good luck in your journey to health.

In Clean, Green, and Lean, Dr. Walter Crinnion makes a very compelling case that the level of toxins in our lives plays a major role in making us fat and sick. About two-thirds of Americans adults are obese. Nealy half of the American population is affected by chronic illness, which consumes 75% of health care spending. The book cites studies which have shown that the levels of toxins in homes was as much as 10 times higher than outdoors--even in industrial areas. Dr. Crinnion makes a convincing case about how toxins are common in our food and in our homes, and how much they are making us sick. Dr. Crinnion then reports that when his patients cleaned up their diets and homes, 83 percent reported good or great improvement in their health, and many had relief from chronic conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and other degenerative diseases. Dr. Crinnion's program was cleaning up the toxins which were the cause of these health problems and obesity issues, and once that happened his patients were healthier and lost weight. His 4 week program in Clean, Green, and Lean is not just a month of changes but really a change for a healthier lifestyle. Most doctors don't have a clue about the effect of toxins in our lives and how they are making us ill, and don't make any effort to change our diets and environments.

If I could I would give the book 4 1/2 stars. In my opinion there were a few oversights in the book.

* There is a recommendation to avoid artificial sweeteners, but the book does not name them by name such as Nutrasweet, Aspartame, etc. So you won't find these sweeteners listed by name in the index. And one of Dr. Crinnion's recipes (for seared ham) calls for 3 packets of Splenda. Well Splenda is not splendid. It is one of the artificial sweeteners that has been linked to weight gain and health problems. Page 167 has some suggestions for sweeteners including Stevia, which is a natural sweetener.

* There are some recommendations for using soy products, but there is no warning that some soy products (and corn products) may be genetically modified. Also, Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills recommends avoiding all processed soy products because many of them have free glutamate or MSG in them and cause health problems. And The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food states that "Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, even heart disease and cancer."

* There is no recommendation to avoid MSG. MSG has been linked to weight gain and is an excitotoxin that has been found to promote cancer growth and metastasis, and caused lesions in the brains of lab animals.

* There is no recommendation to avoid fluoride, which is probably in your toothpaste. Sodium fluoride increases the potency of other toxins, damages the liver and kidneys, and weakens the immune system. The US Agency for Toxic Substances lists fluoride in the top 20 of 275 substances that pose the greatest threat to health.

* There is a recommendation to take more Vitamin E, but the book does not state which of kind of Vitamin E is best. According to the DoctorYourself web site, the best form is "D-alpha tocopherol with mixed natural tocopherols" which is made from vegetable oil. Avoid the synthetic form, which is DL-alpha tocopherol. (Note the "D-" versus "DL-".)

I would highly recommend Clean, Green, and Lean to anyone who wants to improve their health and/or lose weight. Dr. Crinnion's program shows us how we can improve our health naturally and that can lead to less need for expensive medical services.

"Clean, Green & Lean" by Dr. Crinnion is all about going green and organic. This is not your typical diet book in that Crinnion doesn't offer any exercises that you must do in order to lose weight. Instead, he suggests going green and organic and that by doing both, you'll lose weight effortlessly. This book goes in depth describing what going organic really means. Unlike many books, this one goes beyond the typical organic food realm and tackles going natural in all aspects of your life: cleaning products, hygiene, sprays, food, household products ... everything you can think of, Dr. Crinnion tackles it and tells you how some of these things may be the cause of your weight and health issues and how you can lose weight and get leaner just by making smarter, greener selections in the stores.

The Good: What the book does best is define and describe what going 'organic' really means. In most books, there's just a small section that talks about buying organic fruits and vegetables. The information is usually very broad, vague and never entirely convincing. Crinnion tackles organic foods and not only explains how they're healthier but distinguishes between the produce that you absolutely must buy organic and those that aren't as important, trying to help you save money while eating healthier. He also describes how going organic with all aspects of your life is a wise choice. Taking on cleaning products and chemicals, he describes how many people are overloaded and overwhelmed with toxic chemicals and toxins and how many are unaware, leading to sicknesses, allergies and at times unwanted weight gain. By the end of the book you're given a lot of helpful tips and information on making the transition to a more green/healthy approach to what you buy. I did take some of his advice and at least in terms of sleep quality saw dramatic improvements.

The Bad: The only part of the book that made me feel a bit uneasy was the heavy reliance on supplements. From my experience and what I've read, if your diet is healthy and you're eating right, you shouldn't need to take or rely on a dozen supplements each day. He offers an explanation of most of the supplements he recommends but still, I think it's a bit unsafe for many to run out and take whatever he recommends, considering some of the supplements may conflict with medications you're taking. It also makes me feel that there's something missing from the nutrition/diet part of the book or plan if you need to take so many supplements just to be healthy.

In all, a good book, pretty easy read. It offered a lot of easy-to-follow advice and ways to go green and organic without spending too much money. For those looking to lose weight or stop relying on so many pesticide and chemicals in everyday food and products, this book is definitely for you.

I chose this book as a vine reviewer, but secretly grimaced inside when I did. Why, because I knew this book would point out all the things I do wrong with my eating and lifestyle. Who really wants to hear all that stuff. BUT, I needed it and you probably do too. I am almost done reading this book, the last section includes recipes, so I don't feel the need to read each one of those, but I have been spouting off to my husband, kids and neighbors about this book. It makes so much sense and is easy to read and understand. The basic premise is that we are inundated with toxins in our daily life, i.e. carpet chemicals, car fumes, chemicals in foods, on the plastics, in deodorizers. Where do these toxins go? Into our body, lodging themselves comfortably in our numerous fat cells. There they can slow your cells down, making you sluggish and so much more. Generally unhealthy. So you lose weight and some fat cells, the toxins just relocate into your remaining fat cells. Increasing their concentration. You need to get them out. How? Smart eating and living. Your liver is your friend and is the major detoxifier. Help it out by drinking green tea, eating high protein, low carb, low fat. Those aren't novel ideas. But you have to think about what you are eating. Canned salmon? Unless it is wild Alaskan, you may be doing more harm by adding additional mercury into your body. Apples and grapes? Are they organic, otherwise you may be ingesting pesticides and fruit that has lower nutrition than organic fruit. Grow food in chemical laden soil, you don't get the optimum food out of it. This book tells you what foods you need to buy organic, and which you don't. You think it is a ploy for organic food? I don't. The pesticide industry is booming. We may not use DDT anymore, but other countries do, and some of your fruit comes from there I bet. I had to tell my husband to quit using the Febreeze room spray when the dog made unpleasant odors. Because many deodorizers=neurotoxins=chemical poisons. I read the side of the spray can and it warns about harmful inhalation. Yet, they want you to inhale their pretty smell. Sure, spray it once or twice a week, fine(not really), but add it to all the other toxins and continued use, no thanks.

Anyways, normally I don't get too excited about books like this. But I am implementing a change and this book helped kick start it for me. A simple thing to do is drink 2 cups of green tea a day, your liver will thank you. Take vitamins and supplements. The author explains what ones to get and how and why they work. I just placed an online order based on his recommendations. You may think you don't need them because you take a multivitamin or eat okay, well, if you have toxins in you (and you do, newborn babies have been tested and have inherited them from their mother), then you need extra supplements to combat them.

This is a no nonsense book, filled with lots of good information and suggestions. Many, if not all the statements or claims by the author are backed up by medical tests and studies. If you want to feel better, lose weight, have more energy, then quit with the excuses and make some changes. This doesn't have fad stuff in it, doesn't have you starve or eat one food for a week. Doesn't require an exercise program (but admits it helps). Think about it. Does your doctor prescribe you pills for this and that? This doctor gets down to the cause, as to why your body is acting that way. I have to take blood pressure medicine, I'm not overweight, don't smoke, but my doctor just gave me a prescription. This type of doctor, naturopathic, finds out why you need them and how you can fix your body so you don't. I am hopeful that if I can quit eating sugar and processed foods, I can be healthy without medicines. With this book, I think I have a good shot at it.

On the plus side, this book had lots of good tips on avoiding chemicals and other toxins in every day life. We practice many of the suggestions in the book already, such as not buying pressed wood furniture, cooking with nontoxic pots and pans, having plants as natural air cleaners, removing carpeting, etc. If the book were about detoxification only, I'd give it 4 stars.

On the downside, I don't think the author really proved his point that toxins are making people overweight. If you follow the diet in the book, you would most likely lose weight because it is abundant in fruits and vegetables, which are foods generally recommended for weight loss because they are high in fiber and low in calories. If a person was on an 800 calorie a day diet I suspect they would still lose weight, even if that food was highly processed, nonorganic and full of preservatives. After reading the book I'm not convinced that toxin removal is more important in losing weight than simply cutting calories.

One other downside is the blanket recommendations on vitamin and mineral supplementation, especially the part about taking extra vitamin E. Vitamin E is a blood thinner and supplementation may be ill advised for people with bleeding issues or on certain medications. I personally don't think it is advisable to dole out one size fits all advice on supplements.

Overall I would say this book has lots of good advice on detoxification, but less than stellar advice on weight loss tips and supplementation.

"Clean, Green & Lean" is a great book to motivate you to do an inner and outer makeover, a "Spring clean" for your body and your environment. It is very informative about the toxins in our food and the many products we buy, from make-up to wall-to-wall carpeting. Dr. Crinnion gives us a 30 day program to slowly eliminate the things that are causing allergic reactions, and help prevent everything from simple fatigue to cancer from our lives. Since it's done slowly (even taking 12 months over the process is OK) it's not a "here today, gone tomorrow" approach that many would find too drastic to implement.

Though I'm not going to follow "Clean, Green & Lean" 100%, it has given me a major impetus towards more natural choices when buying food (spend the extra money on organic...it's most likely worth it, and cheaper in the long run compared to doctor's bills) and beauty products. Homeowners will find a lot of information on building materials too, and families with young children should learn a lot. There are some sobering statistics on the rise of cancer, diabetes, and obesity among our kids, and the connection to the chemicals that they eat and live with.

Dr. Crinnion has a lot of specifics on diet, what certain foods can do for us, and there is a chapter with some delicious recipes, and another with a 14-Day Menu Plan. Again, there is nothing drastic, and there are plenty of selections for meat eaters. Dr. Crinnion promotes the drinking of green tea in many chapters; he says "It may be the single most potent health food available." For those who don't like the taste, shop around and try different flavors and types (my personal favorite is the Japanese brown rice green tea...a fabulous aroma and taste!). All in all, "Clean, Green & Lean" is an excellent book to spur you on towards a life with better health and more energy.

Having begun my health odyssey nearly seven years ago. I've already done the basic principle of the book, I eat only organic foods, and I avoid wheat and dairy products like the plague. (Although goat cheese and goat milk products seem to be beneficial, unlike products made from cow's milk.) And while I lost weight when I started my health journey, it eventually came back and then some. And I've been puzzled as to why. Until now that is. This book explains that in order to effectively lose weight one must eliminate the toxins first. As while losing fat, toxins get recycled into the blood stream and the body ends up creating more fat in order to protect itself from the toxins. What I particularly found beneficial about this book since most of the material is not new to me, (however, for newcomers to health it is probably the best single resource out there) is being explained which foods to heavily emphasize and why. Eating broccoli every single day for instance since it is a superpower when removing toxins out of the body and eating brown rice to push the fats and toxins out with it. He also emphasizes colonics, which I haven't tried yet since I haven't been able to find a suitable place in town. However, I can vouchsafe for the basic principle of eating only organic and avoiding wheat. As when I did that, my flexibility for dance returned, my mind and memory improved, and I even grew an inch in my late twenties. My Mother did the same and ended up growing three/quarters of an inch in her late fifties. So I recommend this book highly. The author has an easy, breezy, writing style. And the world will be a better place if we all follow the principles of this book. By the way, some delicious recipes that are gluten-free and everything bad free are included as well. So this book is a deal all around. Go organic!

Much as I try to eat and live clean, sometimes we need the additional help and information and this book provides much of it. I am not sure about detoxifying in order to lose weight as I don't suffer from obesity, but the information in this book will help us to live clean and toxic free and give our bodies a good cleansing.

I find the information on household toxins to be the most helpful. Being someone who likes to keep the bathroom and kitchen clean, sometimes we are using more harmful products than it helps us. Thankfully there are toxic free alternatives and I am itching to try them all out. Some people believe it's better to be exposed to all the poisons and toxins out there so that we have a system that is "immune" to many things, but I'd rather have a clean system that is healthy enough to fend off the nastiness naturally.

This is a great book for those of us trying to live as toxic free as possible.

I don't want to cover the weight loss aspect of the book, but another benefit this book provides.

Backstory: I recently went through the dissolving of a relationship with the mother of my sons. As the events unfolded, I lost my sons in the custody battle. The summation of events left me with overwhelming depression and felt emotionally drained. I picked up this book out of the interest of the few extra pounds I picked up from the extra weight I gained because I was too tired to prepare beneficial sufficient meals. I was intrigued by some of the initial claims of the book, and was opened minded to it.

From the first two weeks, I noticed a change in my energy level, as I had a little more spruce in my step. However, over the last 14 weeks I found more of a psychological benefit of this book, more than a physical benefit. I followed most of the eating suggestions, with the exception of the dairy...sorry, I need my yogurt and milk. What I found is that the way you eat has a profound effect on the way you feel, the way you think, and how what you eat provides certain levels of clarity. This book isn't a cure all for what I went through, but it did provide an aspect that helped me through a hard time.

By the way, I lost over 80 pounds from the benefits of having the energy of going out and living a positive life.