Customer Reviews

The Maker's Diet: The 40-day health experience that will change your life forever

5 star:		(155)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

This book changed my life! I always knew there was something missing in my diet. I never felt healthy or energetic. I was a size 26 and over 260 lbs. I couldn't lose weight, on the road to diabetes, thyroid and candida problems. I tried every quick weight loss scheme, from Pritikin, to Metabolic Typing to Adkins. Nothing worked. I'd lose 5-10 lbs and gain 20-40. It's not about just low-carb. Carbs are not our problem. Low Nutrient foods are our problem. Today, six months later, I'm a size 20.

Jordan teaches that we need nutrient dense foods such as kombucha, cod liver oil, coconut, naturally fermented foods, organic meats and vegetables, preferably raw goat butter, goat milk and yogurt, organic lamb and organic chicken stocks, celtic sea salt and living water. I eat beets, palm hearts, artichoke hearts, salmon, kefir, organic raw eggs in smoothies, raw honey, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, homemade sauerkraut, sourdough breads. I limit bleached flours, soy food, vegetable, canola, and corn oils, hydrogenated oils and margarine, snack foods, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, TV dinners, store meats that have hormones, pesticides and disease, pork and certain seafoods.
I don't overeat anymore and I'm satisfied. God gave us food to eat and enjoy. When we fight against our own hunger we destroy our relationship to food. I no longer horde food, freak when there's not enough, nor do I eat when I'm sad.
I also take Clear Energy. I went from working in an office and came home ready to collapse, to being a nanny of 5 year old triplet boys. I come home tired, but happy and ready to start my day! I use clenzology. And usually start autumn with a good sinus infection...no sign of one yet!

I think we need to separate the idea that this is a `religious' concept and understand that Jordan is asking us to think about what we put into our mouths. Are we going to accept what we've been told is healthy or are we going to finally question the Standard American Diet? He isn't contradicting himself. Anyone who read the book knows he's saying that sometimes it is necessary to temporarily eliminate certain foods from your diet until the flush is complete. And, regarding the comment about wine, there is an enormous difference between naturally fermented raw drinks and commercial wines. They are pasteurized and highly processed, all the possible nutrients are cooked out. This is the problem with the entire food industry.

Other reviewers suggest many other diet books, however; these books focus on specific concepts and remedies, but not on overall healthy eating. None of them suggest eating all of the foods in Jordan's book including coconut, palm oil and fermented foods which helps correct diabetes, thyroid, cancer, hormonal problems, and digestive problems. I have read many of these books; they completely overlook key nutritive foods.

I met Jordan at a local seminar. He is the picture of health and offers free seminars. He is the least "Commercial" person I have ever known. His products are of the highest quality; made of whole, organic dried fruits, vegetables and seeds and herbs. He isn't peddling a low-grade, laboratory processed, chemical `supplements'. He is personable, kind, without the slightest hint of pretense. And he has feelings. I think twice when reading a review of someone who attacks another human being without having met him personally.

And as far as exercise. I couldn't exercise last year. Every time I got on a tread mill, my blood pressure skyrocketed. Many Americans are in such poor health, that they need to get better first, then consider workout regimens. That's like asking a person who needs open heart surgery to run a marathon. It's impossible. But with health comes the ability to keep on track and exercise and stay in shape. One step at a time!

We need more people like Jordan Rubin to swim upstream, amid a world of nay-sayers, and be a living example of health!

In all reality this book is not about a diet, but rather about a serious life change for the better. This book puts together what my family and I have been trying to do for the past 2-3 years now. It provides a sound model for eating and living based on biblical principles. After reading some of the other reviews, I think some
people are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Just because Rubin has a supplement company that provides alot of the healthy products he describes in the book, doesn't mean his advice is skewed or necessarily biased. It looks like some are questioning Rubin's credentials and education to discredit his advice. However, I have founds many other resources and websites that also come to the same conclusion as Rubin when it comes to our diets and lifestyle. Rubin goes to extensive details to provide the reader plenty of solid medical facts to explain what the human body needs and why other eating patterns fall short.
He provides the names and websites of almost 100+ other companies that provide healthy eating and living information and products.

My family and I considered ourselves very healthy compared to most people we know, but were shocked to find out the negative side effects of Soy products. We have been consuming a good deal of Soy over the past two years, from Tofu, Soy Milk, Cheese, veggie burgers, etc. I was shocked to learn of the side affects
"Processed" soy can have, especially in Baby formula (where there are several lawsuits now against soy manufacturers). This was a reality check for us to look at what we are really eating, even though we thought we were healthy. If anyone wants more info on soy dangers see the website: http://www.westonaprice.org

Overall, I would Rubin's advice very highly. Can you actually imagine what would happen if millions of people actually switched to a lifestyle similar to the Maker's Diet? Our nation's health would dramatically increase almost immediately. All those people who are hopping from one diet to the next would really benefit from this book. If nothing else, this book serves as a huge wake up call to all those who are unaware of the toxins that surround us. From chlorinated/flouronated public water supplies to Hydrogenated fats/oils that are labeled as "healthy" by most food companies to the hormone laden chickens and beef we eat to the herbicide/pesticide vegetables that line our groceries. Yes, I do think it is time people took a hard look what the put into our bodies and ask themselves what has changed over the last 100 years of modern agriculture and food processing. Do youself a favor and get this book to read...

I had read "What the Bible says about Healthy Living", which is an awesome book, but it did not give a food plan to follow. The Maker's Diet is not an easy plan and is not a quick fix, but you will see significant results if you stick with it.

My husband and I haven't even finished Phase 1 yet and can already see major differences in our appearance and our health. He has lost 1.5 - 2 inches around his stomach. I haven't measured, but my clothes are fitting looser. The big thing for me is the way my skin has changed. I had severe adult acne for the last 10 years and no matter what I tried, nothing ever cleared up my face. I have been on The Maker's Diet for 12 days and my face is practically clear! And I know it's because my body no longer has the toxins in it that was causing the break-outs. The other huge item for us is the fact that our energy levels have already significantly increased.

If you're looking for a quick weight loss program, this isn't it. This is a life changing program that will truly change your life.

Have to admit I was disappointed in this book. Why?

Because the section on what foods to avoid in the phases of the plan. Coming at this from a kosher or Biblical viewpoint, very few people in Christs time ate meat on a regular basis, if one studies history. It was special occasion food. Fish yes, yogurt etc yes. And bread. Bread was a daily food and was the hearty type of bread, not what most Americans eat. So not allowing bread in my opinion is unbiblical. Same with Garbanzo beans also known as chickpeas which are almost a daily food in the middle east, the heart of the Bible. On page 126 he notes fruits to avoid in phase two and lists Biblical fruits like raisins, dates figs and prunes.

Beverages he says not to have are all alcoholic beverages, ignoring the fact that in kosher and Judicia living real wine is a daily or at least weekly beverage for adults. Again one need only read history to see the author is ignorant.

And then he talks about (and sells) something called Clenzology. Good hygiene is one thing, and does prevent health problems, but Clenzology seems to be something he made up to make extra money. And I disagree with his idea that one need whole food fiber in water every morning which is basically what Benefiber and other constipation regulators are.

In phase three he notes that beans and legumes that are soaked or fermented are best. Never mind that during biblical time fermented beans etc were not kosher. Then he starts to allow in what I consider unhealthy foods like canned fruit in its own juices. Canned anything should be avoided since canning unlike freezing and drying reduces nutrients. And he constantly says that veggie burgers are to be avoided. Makes me wonder if he know much about the dozens of type available that are Biblical and healthy.

Study history and read up on food thru the centuries. Get the facts not stuff like this book pushes.

God brought the Hebrews into a promised land flowing with milk and honey. Thankfully for them, Dr. Ornish and Dr. Atkins were not along for the ride or else the doctors would have argued against the health of the place. At least that's what Dr. Jordan Rubin, the author of "The Maker's Diet" believes. He claims in this latest chart-topping diet book that the Maker of Heaven and Earth was right all along.

Rubin starts this book with the same inspiring story he used to begin his bestselling "Physician Heal Thyself," his comeback from near death due to advanced Crohn's disease. In his latest, he details the diet that restored his health, one based on the Old Testament's dietary laws. While there's not enough space here to detail the specifics of eating kosher, the advice here boils down to avoiding eating "unclean" animals (e.g. - shrimp, pork, eels), buying organic, forsaking sugar, shunning processed foods, getting eight hours of sleep, developing a deeper spirituality, and doing "natural" exercises. Plus, eating a little dirt now and then helps, too.

What bothers me about "The Maker's Diet" goes beyond its infomercial script and to its very premise. The book is published by Strang Communications, a charismatic Christian publisher, and it claims the Bible as its source. Rubin argues that God gave Man the right to eat vegetables until the time of Noah, adding the eating of animal flesh after the flood. The Mosaic Laws further refined what was considered clean and unclean eating. It is largely the diet of Moses' day that Rubin endorses as being God's perfect diet.

But there is a convenient Scriptural omission: Mark 7:18-19, wherein Jesus Himself declares all foods clean. Later in Acts 10:9-15 Peter is told by God to kill and eat unclean animals. When he responds that he has never eaten anything unclean or "common," God replies, "You must stop calling unclean what God has made clean." Peter now understood that Jesus's finished work fulfilled the OT Law for all of us, rendering moot issues of what was clean and unclean. No longer were the Gentiles considered "unclean," just as food was no longer classified as clean and unclean (as in the Mark passage.) To further this point, the Apostle Paul routinely denounced Jewish Christians who insisted that the Gentile converts follow the OT laws (including the dietary laws espoused by Dr. Rubin.) As Paul writes later in Galatians 5:18, "But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Resurrecting the Law carries its own problems. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it." Living by the Law instead of the Spirit, compels a person to obey the entire Law--a tall order that no one was able to accomplish, and one of the primary reasons why Jesus came. That a publisher like Strang overlooks the flawed theology in "The Maker's Diet" is simply inexcusable.

Some of the concepts Rubin lauds as gospel truth are questionable. The author routinely talks about the excellent heath of primitive people, but the lifespans of those people are remarkably low, in truth. Compare the overall appearance of an average woman in her mid-forties in a Western country with her primitive counterpart and the latter appears far older and decrepit. The author notes the perfect dentition of primitive people, but anyone with a few copies of National Geographic lying around can open to a lot of really poor teeth in the very people Rubin lauds. The argument for eating only "clean" foods also fails factually. The Japanese, for instance, live longer than anyone and enjoy remarkably healthy lives, yet they eat large amounts of meat (especially seafood) classified by Dr. Rubin as "unclean." Rubin also cites many older medical texts that support his claims, although some of the science in those texts has been disproven in other areas. Lastly, the author's own story relates his quest for health by noting he tried hundreds of different diets in an effort to erase his ill health before he settled on this one, supposedly God's very own. A different person might have responded positively to one of those other diets, as millions of others have, considering the testimonials we get in the cornucopia of diet books out there. If Rubin had gotten results from eating a Tibetan monk's diet, we'd probably be getting a completely different title for the book.

Inconsistencies in the advice abound, as well. Rubin says that exercise should not consist of unnatural exercises (e.g. - running, jogging) that elevate the heart rate for long periods. In other words, aerobics are out, while yardwork is in. Exercises that can put a lot of stress on the body, or are risky in general, are to be avoided, too. But then Rubin recommends exercising on a mini-trampoline, a completely unnatural exercise (by his own definition) that is the cause of thousands of injuries a year. Inconsistencies extend to the diet itself. Many of the foods of the Bible are uncommon around the world, and Rubin recommends foods (e.g. - blueberries, curry) that did not exist in the Hebrew diet. How this keeps in line with his premise is not clear. How do we know that God considers corn, a New World food, "clean?" Rubin doesn't say. Even specific foods are approached with contradictory advice: Peanut oil is highly recommended, but peanuts themselves are not. Rubin recommends fermented foods, but not fermented drinks (yet, some of the recipes included in the book include that classic fermented drink, wine.)

Dr. Jordan Rubin's "The Maker's Diet" is a frustrating book. Somewhat of an infomercial for itself and for the author's (convenient) nutrition company, it still contains decent dietary advice that, if followed, will produce a healthier lifestyle. However, despite the touting that this is God's own dietary advice to modern men, the advice distills down to little more than common sense and temperance.

I have long believed and followed Jordan Rubin's recommendations to avoid processed food and attempt to eat organic (dairy, veggie, fruit and meat/fish/fowl) whenever possible. At 44, I have never had any health problems, and my cholesterol has always been low - strangely enough, considering my diet consists of quite a few high-fat items (butter, cream, chocolate, cheese, steak, roast chicken, etc.) Reading this book was wonderfully affirming, realizing my gut instincts have always steered me in the right direction, as science finally throws out margarine in favor of butter, finds antioxidants in dark chocolate, and now confirms saturated FAT is not responsible for heart disease or high cholesterol!

I was suffering from some candida overgrowth symptoms, however, due to a course of antibiotics, and Jordan's book helped me greatly - his recommended diet (am now in my 3rd week) has helped starve the candida and I've lost 7 pounds in the process! Everything I've read recently points to sugar and grains as the cause of many diseases - and although it is hard at first to cut out sugar and wheat, it becomes much easier after a week! Adding in some berries after 14 days was a wonderful treat, and tasted incredibly sweet after my tastebuds were re-programmed.

As far as the comment by Daniel Edelen ("bad theology") - I am no expert, but here are my thoughts. Yes, Jesus abolished the Law of Moses - but His emphasis in declaring there was no longer any 'unclean food' was spiritual, not physical. Jesus' life and death achieved what the Law could never achieve - justification! The Law was declared fulfilled and we were entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience (never before attainable!) However, the dietary advice given to Moses still contained much wisdom, as proven by present day science. After all, our bodies did not suddenly change physiologically from B.C. to A.D. Avoiding the consumption of scavenger animals makes sense from any vantage point. In summary - just because Jesus abolished the Law doesn't mean we should ignore the sound nutritional advice given to the Jews, since after all, we live in the same bodies now as we did then.

There's a lot of good information in this book, and the diet has helped many people. But I have intelligent patients who want more information and science backing that information. Many of them have also been put off by the Biblical bent, not to mention the relentless pushing of Garden of Life supplements. So here's what I'd recommend in addition to Jordan's book. Elaine Gottchall's "Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet,"the probable source of many of his best ideas. Kaayla Daniel's "The Whole Soy Story" to explain not only what's wrong with soy but what's wrong with highly processed health food products in general. She also explains how clever marketing convinces so many of us that unhealthy foods are healthy. If you are looking for one book to buy instead of this, go for Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions,"which Jordan properly acknowledges as an essential resource.

Is there a divine plan for health and nutrition that we can follow? Jordan Rubin emphatically says there is in The Maker's Diet. Based on his study of scriptures, health and nutrition, and his own experience of sickness and recovery, Rubin presents a diet and overall wellness plan that he believes lines up with God's plan for healthy people.

The Maker's Diet begins with Rubin's inspiring story of his battle with severe Crohn?s disease. His doctors called his case the worst they had seen. During college, Rubin went from the picture of health to death's doorstep--6'1 and weighing 111 pounds due to digestive problems related to Crohn's disease. Rather than giving up after over a year of sickness, Rubin clung to his faith in God and sought one more solution. The final try was a man who had developed a Biblically-based diet and health plan. This early version of the Maker's Diet saved Rubin's life and led to his complete recovery and healing over the course of several months. He includes astounding before and after pictures of himself that demonstrate the diet's effect.

This experience inspired Rubin to enhance the Biblically-based diet through additional research and create Garden of Life, a health and wellness company.

Rubin's in-depth analysis of the typical American's diet compared to what he considers to be a healthy, nutritious diet impacted me. In the recent weeks since reading the book, I have changed my grocery shopping and eating habits to better follow the book's general guidelines for healthy eating.

Rubin emphasizes the benefits of natural and organic foods in contrast to the nutritional deficits found in processed and engineered foods. He also compares the nutritional value of foods God included in the diet plan for the Israelites versus those excluded such as pork and shellfish.

While he makes no claims that his diet is a "cure-all," he believes "the book was inspired by God and that the practical protocol it contains can greatly improve your health."

The Maker's Diet offers a 40-day diet plan targeting not only weight loss but overall health and disease prevention. It consists of three phases. The general diet is a list of foods to enjoy and foods to avoid during the phases. For example, Rubin encourages readers to enjoy beef but to avoid pork. For all of the food, he recommends natural, organic or free range products for reasons he specifies. He includes sample meals and recipes. His diet also includes regular fasting for physical and spiritual health.

His Garden of Life company supplies many nutritional supplements and products to complement the diet. He recommends some of these but also lists various other suppliers of natural foods and products for the reader's benefit.

Some of Rubin's comments focus on healthcare and exercise. These are not Rubin's areas of expertise. His sincere though pedestrian writing about these topics offers little insight and may do a disservice to readers who follow his advice too literally. At times he seems combative toward the medical profession, as he contradicts what physicians and medical experts would advise regarding medicine, vaccinations and exercise.

He does come across as an expert in nutrition and natural remedies. Although not from mainstream universities, his advanced degrees are in naturopathic medicine, nutrition and natural therapies.

I think The Maker's Diet will benefit all readers who are willing to make changes in their diets. It offers general guidelines and specific programs to follow. Throughout the book, Rubin expresses the importance of his relationship to God and the Biblical foundation to his diet. In addition to his own miraculous story, he includes testimonies of sick people who recovered on this diet and overweight people who lost weight while on it.

The Maker's Diet book is not just "another diet book". First, this book is a guide to a change in overall eating habits and wellness for life. There IS a 40 day plan to follow to initially detoxify your system, and get on the right road to being healthier, however, this plan extends well past the 40 days.
If you want a quick fix, extremt weight loss, simple book, this is not the book for you. If you want to look better, feel better, enhance your life from more than just a physical standpoint, and achieve your best possible total wellness- then buy this book! I have read the book, cooked the recipes, and done the 40 day plan. I have changed my eating habits, and my overall health in a relatively short time. Has it been easy? No. But is anything worth doing, really worth doing, easy? No. If you are tired of looking in the mirror and knowing you are not healthy, whether overweight, sickly, poor skin, etc- then try this plan- try it for 40 days. You can do anything for 40 days right? Yeah, you definately can. You will be glad you did. Your body will be glad you did, and anyone who knows you will see a difference. If you need to lose pounds- you will. If you need better health- you will achieve it. If you just want to feel better- that will happen.
Remember- garbage in/garbage out. This book will guide you to replace garbage with good...good in/GREAT out.

Here's to your health! =)

I have to admit I wanted to love this book - it had the makings of a wonderful book. It's just that, when compared to other publications similar to this one, The Maker's Diet just failed to support it's claims. Not to mention it takes biblical references out of context and doesn't really rely too heavily on those either.

Considering this is supposed to be a Bible based diet, I found very little biblical reference.

Also, I began to feel that this was just a storefront for Rubin's line of supplements that he sells on his website (which, by the way, NEVER mentions the Bible at all).

I opted to put this one down and pick up "What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles That Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health". It is much more sensible and has support for its claims.