Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life [Paperback]

Christian B. Allan (Author), Wolfgang Lutz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658001701
• ISBN-13: 978-0658001703
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

623 of 632 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Without Bread -- Low Carb Apologetics, July 28, 2000

By 

Todd Moody (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life (Paperback)

Life Without Bread is an important addition to the growing body of literature on the benefits and importance of low-carb diet. Written by Christian Allan, Ph.D., and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D., the book is based on Dr. Lutz's experience using carbohydrate restricted diets with thousands of patients for over 40 years. It is also based on extensive research in the medical and scientific literature, and provides ample references. The book presents a more or less unified theory of how high (and even "moderate") levels of dietary carbohydrate cause or exacerbate various health problems, and how carbohydrate restriction can help people to recover from those problems. Although obesity is one of the problems, this is not primarily a weight-loss book. There is only one short chapter on weight loss. Other chapters deal with heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), auto-immune disorders, and so on. There is also discussion of dietary carbohydrate from the perspective of humanity's adaptation to the conditions of the long Pleistocene era.

Life Without Bread accomplishes a number of important things. First, it collects a body of evidence for the low-carb way of eating that is carefully thought out, and based on sound research and extensive clinical experience. Second, it debunks the pervasive cholesterol neurosis that has made much of the developed world phobic about fats. This is very important, since there are still relatively few scientists willing to put their reputations on the line in opposition to the cholesterol theory of heart disease. Allan and Lutz join their ranks. Third, it offers good arguments for the positive virtues of saturated animal fats, perhaps the most maligned dietary suspects of the past 100 years. The authors are careful to distinguish levels of support for their claims; when they are somewhat speculative, they say so. They also point out some of the limitations of the low-carb program, and do not claim it to be a panacea. Fourth, they refute the many lame and ill-informed criticisms of low-carb diets that one encounters again and again in the popular (and, unfortunately, sometimes also in the scientific) literature -- such as the claim that these diets harm the kidneys or cause muscle wasting.

For anyone who wants to gain a clearer understanding of the benefits of low-carb diets, or to explain them to someone else (such as a family physician, perhaps), this book is a valuable resource.

155 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST LOW CARB BOOK OF ALL!, May 1, 2002

By 

"cluckedyduckedy" (Springfield, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life (Paperback)

I've read every low carb book under the sun, over 20 in all and this one takes the cake! Not only is it lacking in hype but is the most informative low carb information available. These authors say more than the Eades book, Protein Power Lifeplan. I'm convinced that a low carb diet works from personal experience, but the reasons to STAY on a lower carb diet are explained here. A lot of the information gets technical but for readers who want more explanation than what's usually in Atkins or other style low carb books, this is the book to choose. I'll reread this book many times.

158 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book IS saving my life!, September 14, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Marion, IA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life (Paperback)

I'm 41 years old and recently had a heart cath and 23mm stent implant in the LAD. My Cardiologist, who is from Poland and not tainted by American political dieting correctness, told me I needed a diet considerably lower in Carbohydraes than what I was typically eating. I wasn't sure exactly what he was referring to and luckily I found this book. I was astonished at what I was reading. Everthing I was ever tought about nutrition was wrong. I've been excersizing and keeping my Carbs below 50g a day and I feel phenominal. I've lost 16 pounds in 4 weeks and all of my lipids are way down except my HDL which has risen slightly. My Triglycerides have also went from 291 to 120 in just 3 weeks! This book has given me enough information to lead a healthy life and I thank the authors of this book for saving my life. My four year old son thanks you too!