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56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Close, but..., October 14, 2007
This review is from: The PCOS Diet Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
I was a little disappointed with this cookbook. The recipes themselves are good and contain a lot of useful and creative ideas. In addition to reducing the GI of dishes, it also aims to make them healthier all around by lowering fat and sodium. My favorite aspect is that many recipes are large and freeze well.. convenience foods have always been my diet downfall, and pulling something out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave is perfect for me.
BUT the book ONLY focuses on low-GI diets. I was disappointed that there was absolutely no mention of eliminating foods that throw off your hormonal balance by containing too many plant estrogens, and foods and food substitutes that contain hormones or hormone-mimicking chemicals. There is no mention of limiting things like soy and certain herbal teas and supplements. Did you know that aspartame blocks certain androgen receptors? If you have PCOS, you shouldn't be drinking a lot of diet sodas! Do you have any idea how many hormones are pumped into commercially-raised meat and dairy animals, and thus are passed along to you in their food products? Women suffering from PCOS need to know that they also ought to switch to organic meats and dairy, and try to reduce the number of complex chemicals in the pre-packaged food they buy. If you don't know what it is, you may not understand what it does inside your body. This book ONLY focuses on the insulin effects of PCOS and views a low-GI diet as the only nutritional consideration, to its readers' detriment.
Although this cookbook comes with some super ideas, I would not recommend it as my only reference for PCOS-related nutrition information. There is a great (but too-short) chapter on foods in Dr. Vliet's book "The Savvy Woman's Guide to PCOS", as well as a couple of nutrition books aimed at PCOS patients (which I've ordered but haven't received yet, so can't recommend).
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PCOS Diet Cookbook is Fantastic!, September 9, 2007
This review is from: The PCOS Diet Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
As a woman with PCOS who is trying to use a low-GI diet and lose weight, this cookbook has given me LOTS of ideas! The recipes are varied and tasty and simple enough for people who aren't amazing chefs. I've tried about 10 of the recipes so far and have enjoyed them all! Especially the soups. The one drawback to this book is that the recipes make HUGE portions, some as many as 15 servings! I have tried halving the recipes with much success, however. Many of the recipes also freeze well, so if the recipe makes too much for your family, you can save some for another time! If you have PCOS, like me, and are trying to take better care of your diet and nutrition, I highly recommend this book!
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20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is the first time I've ever returned a book..., November 16, 2007
This review is from: The PCOS Diet Cookbook (Spiral-bound)
I'm so disappointed. I was so excited to finally find a book related to cooking for women with PCOS....so I ordered the book 11/13, received it yesterday and returning it today. I simply was not impressed with the recipes or the content of information given. But to be fair, it could be though that I'm also on PCOS informatin overload. The recipes were just not appetizing. Don't get me wrong I LOVE vegetables,but these recipes were certainly not anything exciting, they were mostly vegetable side dishes turned into a meal. Which leads me to there was very little protein in the recipes as far as meats. Yes there was chicken and some fish, but truth be told not much... The culinary experts choice of beef was BRISKET and only 2 recipes, could it be because this meat is so high in FAT, there are so many lean beef recipes one can create and that's what they came up with? Are they serious? I know I didn't give the recipes a chance by even trying them, but my tasting palette already knew what I'd be experiencing and really it wasn't going to be anything exciting..yes this is very unfair of me. I don't want this book to be tossed and lost with my other books. So instead it will be returned and hopefully someone else will find value in it, it just wasn't for me.
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