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114 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, but lacking..., July 28, 2009
This review is from: Detox for Women: An All New Approach for a Sleek Body and Radiant Health in 4 Weeks (Hardcover)
+1 Star for Personality: This book definitely takes the "girl's best friend" approach. Natalia Rose is cute, sassy, and personable. Her conversational writing style makes this book a quick read, especially for those who are new to the health-food dialogue.
+1 Star for "Easy-to-Read": I finished the book in about 2 hours. It's an easy read, full of little stories of success and fun ideas related to your becoming healthy. There's a lot of hope in each page, an explanation for why you feel the way you do, and how you can beat that bloat, stop that constipation, live a life full of energy, etc, etc. The Receipes are even fun to peruse, as Natalia's comments are squeezed in.
+ 1 Star for Decent Concept of eating: The test of any detoxification/diet-specific/change-your-life-by-eating book is the recipes. I've tried some doozies in the past, but this book actually has the best juicing recipe I've ever tried. The Green Lemonade is fantastic. The salads are good (CAUTION: see my note below about stevia) and she mixes raw with cooked vegetables to the health of the reader. She supports the concept of a mix of mostly raw/some cooked foods is the optimum way to good health, and it's delicious to try.
- 1 Star for Lack of Sound Information: The nutritional jargon is kept to a minimum, and any specific buzz words/nutrition vocabulary is given an everyday example to make it relatable - the definition of Alkaline vs. Acid is wrapped up in a story about 7th grad science class, and detoxification is given broad, sweeping, feel-good meaning. This is fine, if you're looking for it, but as Natalia is not a doctor, nor an RD, but a nutritionist, I was hoping to see some sort of research included in footnotes to support her nutritional advice. There is none of this, it's simply "take Natalia's word for it", and as she doesn't have the credentials behind her, I don't feel comfortable with that. Be cautious of those who think they have the answer and can't show any proof of it other than a few promotional client accounts. In fact, in one case specifically, she discounts all sound advice and research and advocates not eating breakfast. Big red flag. It felt like there were big gaping holes in her book (holes called "research" and "other opinions from those in the nutrition field" and "facts" in the midst of feel-good advice).
- 1 Star for limited menu and STEVIA: Look, I like me some stevia. But this woman puts it in EVERYTHING! I've never seen someone encourage stevia for every dish they make. She has essentially widdled her personal menu down to a few things - stevia, lemons, salads, goat cheese and marinara over vegetables - and she advocates the same thing for every woman. It's like she found a way to keep really thin eating these five things and she says that's what everyone should eat, regardless of supported research or other professionals' views. I have an issue with that. She focuses primarily on healing Candidas, which is a serious problem for many, but doesn't really give any medical explanation, any supported viewpoint.
Bottom-line: Fun read, took away a few tips and pointers, but I would not follow the book to the letter. Hope this helps you!
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74 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This will be my "Spring Cleaning", April 17, 2009
This review is from: Detox for Women: An All New Approach for a Sleek Body and Radiant Health in 4 Weeks (Hardcover)
This book was a delight to read. Natalia's endearing style of addressing the readers as "Ladies,.." makes for an especially personable tone. (She does say at one point that men are also welcome to join in!)
The beginning of the book builds suspense with comments such as, "You will see results in the first few days, and in one month you will have scaled the heights of what the female body can become--and it only gets better the longer you do it!"
The first section explains the importance of cleaning out on a cellular level and how toxins compromise not only our health but appearance (under-circle eyes, puffiness around the eyes, cellulite, etc). The second section deals with 3 steps to detox: various stages of starving the yeast, making a plan, and gearing up for action and discipline. Part three contains the program: what to eat, what food combinations work (and she has made this very simple!), what to avoid, what to stock up on, etc. There is even a 30-day guide for those that like everything spelled out for them. Part four is filled with recipes.
Part five has all kinds of detox and exercise tips, including handling ten objections of procrastinators. I love the way she handles the "my family doesn't eat this way" excuse. She tells people to gradually feed the family better food, sneaking it in so they won't even notice or feel deprived! She does a great job of handling the "but I'm on vacation" excuse as well. This section also dispels many myths, such as the causes of infertility, body odor, cancer, etc, showing that at the root of all dis-ease are toxins. Even the menstrual period is light and breezy when a woman is cleansed, which I discovered very quickly after going raw.
Interspersed throughout the text are real-life testimonials from women whom Natalia has worked with, as well as nice boxed information about various items such as the importance of alkalinity, herbal cleansers, and raw goat cheese.
I have read hundreds of books on health and nutrition (even wrote one myself) and yet learned lots of little tidbits of info, such as a new brand of stevia that isn't bitter, which brand of enema is best, and the scientific explanation of why I feel so much energy after eating greens.
Since I am a raw fooder, I rarely actually go on the diets recommended by nutrition books, but my size 6 jeans are a bit tight so I think I will do this "spring cleaning." This diet will be easy to adapt since it is mostly raw. I will forgo the raw goat cheese (which I find constipating), eat only a bit of fish, but raw (ceviche), and steam the squash lightly instead of baking it (fewer toxins produced). I'll keep my chocolate treats raw as well. The only hard part for me will be making the juices since I hate juicing, but Natalia holds that juicing is "sacred" and I have to agree. I just don't like the work involved :-(.
The main criticism I have is that while Natalia recommends eating fish, she doesn't point out which fish are especially to be avoided (the larger ones, such as tuna and swordfish, which are higher in mercury). Other than that, this is a great book and even though I will miss my curried almonds and macadamia nuts, I actually can't wait to get on this diet and try many of the recipes!
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A diet plan that actually delivers!, January 24, 2010
I'm just starting the third week of Natalia Rose's detox plan, and I have to say I love it. I did it last year for about four weeks and lost 15-20 pounds; this time I'm not weighing myself, but my pants are definitely fitting better. Besides helping me get closer to the "sleek" body Natalia promises, I notice other consistent results. I have more energy, and I do feel healthier. I also never get bloated or nauseous--my body is at ease.
I've tried other plans that give me such good results--namely Gittleman's Fat Flush plan, but this plan is remarkably easy to follow. As other's have said, I feel as though (with the addition of some "safe grains" Natalia mentions and more fruits occasionally) I can follow this plan for life. Like the Fat Flush, this plan consists of mostly vegetables and a few proteins (eggs, wild non-predatory fish) and virtually no fruit, no grains at all (save for a few safe choices like buckwheat, millet, or quinoa, if you must). But unlike some other hardcore detox plans, Natalia understands you may need some dark chocolate after your dinner and a few glasses of wine with it.
For best results, if you are low-energy like me, make sure you find away to get those vegetable juices in the morning--it really makes this plan work. And please, don't believe the bad reviews about the green lemonade until you've tried it yourself! If someone had told me I would be leaving my old standby carrot juice behind for a blend of primarily kale and romaine (don't forget the lemon, ginger and stevia) I would have scoffed for sure. Now it is my favorite breakfast drink and my slimming body loves it!!!
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