Customer Reviews

The McDougall Plan

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This book saved my son's life. He had relapsing polychondritis, a rare autoimmune disease in the lupus family. I learned about Dr. McDougall through a search on the internet for relapsing polychondritis which brought me to a vegetarian website. We had never considered diet as a possible cause or influence in my son's condition, but we bought the book and started the low-fat, whole food diet. It makes total sense that our body is adapted to thrive on this kind of food, and every day on the news comes another study showing fruits and vegetables as the cure for so many problems, while meat and dairy causes so many. This was over a year ago and my son's condition went into remission three months after taking out milk and meat from his diet. He also lost weight and so my husband and I, who had been eating somewhat McDougall, decided to go all the way and try it, which resulted in his losing 30 pounds and my dropping 50. Dr. McDougall saved my son's life and probably my husband's and mine too. Great book.

An essential resource focusing on the diet and its relation to health. Although the McDougalls have made a living off of their "program," the book is free of related propaganda and focuses on well-documented and cited facts. This book has undoubtedly extended and improved many lives. In addition, The McDougall Program is a must-read for those who wonder why friends or loved ones have chosen a diet free of animal products. The book also includes recipes and advice regarding the transition to a vegan diet. The text is very accessible. You certainly do not need to be vegan, liberal, New Age, concerned about animal rights or the about the environment to gain from the information in The McDougall Program!

Dr. McDougall's plan isn't for the short term...it requires changing your life (for the better), and in our fast-paced world many people are looking for the quick fix, no matter the long-term consequences. If you want a fad diet that promises you can eat all the fatty meat and junk food you want, and still drop 15 pounds in a month, by all means don't buy this book. Don't expect to keep your health, either. Dr. McDougall takes a common-sense approach that involves eating whole foods and avoiding animal products. I've been on the plan for a year and have never looked or felt better...I've lost weight, I feel wonderful, my skin is beautiful and I'm constantly told that I look younger. I will stay on this plan for life. Don't be fooled by money-grubbing quacks hawking the latest fad...Dr. McDougall is the real deal.

Following the McDougall plan now for 2.5 years I have never felt or looked healthier. Not to mention loosing over 100 lbs. If you are serious about improving your health, loosing weight, or just want some sound advice about going VEGAN then this book is a MUST! Dr. McDougall makes total sense and is easy to follow. Finnaly someone who understands the real road to long term health and weight loss does NOT start with eating eggs and bacon every day!

It was somewhere in the mid-90's when I first was introduced to a Dr. McDougall book. I now own all of the books he and Mary have written. I remember how I reacted, upon the first reading of this book. It wasn't good. The diet regimen described frightened and depressed me. I, like so many Americans, was raised in my mother and grandmother's kitchens and learned to nuture through food, ahem! through the Standard American Diet. I loved the tastes of our S.A.D. diet! But, included in the SAD diet we did eat fresh salads, we ate the more substantial breads, we ate the best cuts of meat, we ate a lot of cooked vegetables and fresh fruit. We even ate oatmeal and did not eat cold cereal for breakfast. However, we ate and drank dairy products at every meal and, of course, we ate eggs and meat, poultry or fish every day, except on Fridays during Lent. And, we were all crazy about home baking. We loved our desserts.

I was a smoker. Consequently, I developed allergies, asthma, ongoing and severe sinusitis. In my mid-twenties, I began to be plagued with every cold and flu virus that came around. I developed chronic bronchitis. I took a medication called, Respaire, daily, to unblock my sinuses. The medication was so hard on my heart that I developed severe and frequent palpitations and underwent both a cardioversion (my heart was stopped to return it to a normal sinus rhythmn) and a cardio-ablation to correct the areas on my heart causing the palpitations.

I also underwent sinus surgery. I also had shortness of breath where I would become dizzy in the warm and humid weather. I stayed away from mammography because the first time I had one performed, it was done incorrectly and brutally. A couple of decades later, I had an area of suspicion on my breast and underwent 18 mammograms and calcifications were found. Then I was told to have an open biopsy. Well, I didn't have to. I didn't have to go through any of the above IF I had eaten the way Dr. McDougall prescribes.

I am a retired R.N. and I witnessed enough of the criminality of the medical community to never want to return. But, now knowing of the life saving diet that they could be prescribing instead of horrible (and often cancer causing) medications and invasive (and, often cancer-causing) procedures...well, I know I would never want to be a part of that community again.

I kept coming back to that first McDougall book and finally, knew this was the only way to go. I wasn't perfect. I cheated through the years. But, every year I become more committed and, now I don't cheat at all. I don't eat birthday cake or holiday food. I want to live long and vibrantly until I die and to die when I am very, very old.

I have lost 43 lbs through the years and now I have a new goal. There is a chart for what we should weigh in one of Doc MdDougall's books and I want to get down to the low end of the parameter of weight for my height. I will lose the last 12 lbs. now.

I cannot tell in words what this program has done for my life. I feel better than I ever felt. My mind is clear, I have boundless energy. I am no longer an allergy sufferer, I don't have asthma, my abdomen is flat, my sinuses are clear, I never experience bronchitis, I haven't smoked in 17 years, I am 58 and I don't need glasses, I run up stairs and never experience shortness of breath, my total cholesterol, at the last testing, was 112. I work out 2 hours per day and feel great doing so. I am not on any medication and when I think of the possibility of going to a doctor, I experience the same kind of fear I would if someone were to tell me I had to meet Satan. My last comment might appear insane to those who have not witnessed what I have witnessed or who have not experienced the things I have from the medical community. I could write my own book on those things alone.

Please, read Dr. McDougall's books and summon up your strength and challenge yourself to do this, for yourself and your loved ones. Try it. Ponder the material and the consequences of NOT changing your ways. Then, if your still not convinced, go on the VegSource.com website and read the dicussions there, maybe get into purchasing and sharing the dvd's they provide from the yearly health conferences they hold, featuring speakers like Dr. McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn, John and Ocean Robbins, T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Joel Fuhrman and too many other big names to mention here. Go on to read The China Study, Dr. Dean Ornishes newer books, John Robbins's books, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's book, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Joel Fuhrman's books. Visit the websites of these doctors and researchers. Learn the truths that are being, actively, hidden from us. Oh, and above all, get a copy of Mike Anderson's DVD's EAT and Curing Cancer from the Inside. The DVD Eat is included, for free, with the purchase of a copy of his book The R.A.V.E. diet and lifestyle book. If you don't have a lot of time to read then these DVD's are a must and what an education is to be had, on many levels, through these DVD's. Go for it...this is your life and that is what you have to lose or gain...it's all up to you. This is long but I know it can help to encourage. Thank you.

The reviewer of 10/18/99 either doesn't know what he's talking about or he's deliberately trashing Dr. McDougall's book. If eating a vegan diet based around starches, fruits and veggies with very little protein is so unhealthy, why is it that the rural Asian and African people, who live mainly on starches and veggies, with very little or no meat, have far fewer instances of cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, etc. than the primarily meat-eating countries do? My father is a perfect example. He was raised on meats and fried foods and had borderline diabetes, high blood pressure, and ultimately ended up having a triple bypass operation, due to his high fat and cholesterol diet. Following a vegan diet is one of the main reasons (along with exercise) that I have been able to maintain an 80-lb. weight loss for almost 10 years now. Please, read this book!

At last an honest view of diet and health. If you wish to avoid the common diseases of the western junk-food culture get this book and follow it.

I have never met a doctor more concerned with the public health than Doctor McDougall. His book is honest and backed up with decades of factual knowledge.

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

I found Dr. McDougall's website while surfing for vegetarian recipes with Vegetarian Times website as a starting point. It definitely sounded interesting, if not completely do-able for the average person.

A couple days ago I spotted the book in a local second-hand store, and snapped it up, to get a better idea of Dr. McDougall's research and background info. You see, I am a lifelong vegetarian (lacto-ovo, not vegan), and I am married to a doctor who is not vegetarian, and scoffs at veganism (but loves my vegetarian cooking).

I don't think I've ever come across a health book that was this hard to put down. Every chapter has a plethora of numbered references citing an amazing array of highly-respected medical journals (some of which, my husband subscribes to) to back up the sweeping and often surprising claims McDougall makes. It also offers case studies of individuals who have wrecked and/or healed their bodies through food. I, being a visual type, found the numerous lists, charts and diagrams helpful as well.

It almost inspires me to go vegan. Almost. The evidence against cage-free vegetarian eggs and organic range-fed milk is not strong. But then, in the early eighties, most people didn't have access to these. Also, the only thing he has against yogurt is that it is made of milk and has no fiber (although he gives medical evidence that it may not be as helpful in digestion as it is touted to be). Also he says pasteurized cheese is not especially harmful, except in that it's fattening. So, I'm not eliminating yogurt or cheese from my diet, or the occasional fresh egg from my friends' chicken coop.

But, it is an extremely engaging book. Reads more like a popular college nutrition lecture than a sermon, definitely. It is unprejudiced and helpful, patient, and offers a variety of options for different types of people. Recommended.

Dr. McDougall's book provides an easy to read, easy to follow, interesting and intelligent view to a healthy lifestyle. At the end of each chapter there are many well documented references to support his approach to a health supporting diet. He addresses many health problems that are prevalent today and explains the process of each concern and how to remedy it with proper eating habits. At the end of the book are many easy to prepare recipes created by Mrs. McDougall. Also included in the book are shopping guides, eating out guidelines, and meal preparation tips. This book is excellent!

This is the first book of Dr. McDougall's that I read. I consider this book the "owners manual" to the human body. This book really helped me to understand things that I was experiancing and the relationship to the food I was eating. All the doctors I had seen, would say "we don't know what causes it, but here is a medication to help with the symtoms,"to the questions I would ask. After reading this book and begining to change to a plant based diet, symptoms started to disapear. I no longer have digestive issues. Although I have tested the system, by reverting to some of my prior diet habits from time to time, I find it doesn't take long for the symptoms to return. I think this is refered to as McDougall's revenge. The work that Dr. McDougall has done in this book, & others has helped me to be much healthier than I would otherwise have been. So far I have avoided developing the diseases that are in my family, and I have reversed all the intestinal issues that I was diagnosed with. If you really follow what he says all the way, it does work, and health is worth the effort!