The Protein Power Lifeplan [Paperback]

Michael R. Eades (Author), Mary Dan Eades (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

The authors of Protein Power are back to advocate the "protein-rich, moderate-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diet" that opposes the high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet that every professional medical and dietetic organization (including those who have no diet books to sell) believes to be your best bet for avoiding heart disease, the number one killer. The authors insist, in the face of all this medical opposition, that "the whole idea that fat and cholesterol cause heart disease is just that: an idea." We're meant to be hunters, say the authors: bring on the meat. Let's go back to the Paleolithic diet (no mention of the brief life span of Paleolithic men and women).The Protein Power Lifeplan is not easy reading--most of the book is made up of scientific explanations, research summaries and interpretations, and nutritional warnings--but no recipes. Besides recommending eating protein and fat, the authors recommend sunbathing without sunblock (but "never, never let your skin burn!") and exercises such as "bringing home the buffalo" and "defending the camp." The authors admit that if you're trying to lose weight, you have to limit calories, but if you're not, you can "munch on nuts, seeds, nut butters, cheeses, jerky, guacamole, and olives all day long."Carbohydrates, say the authors, "are totally nonessential to your health and well-being"--words to make dieticians and cardiologists shudder.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The authors of Protein Power are back to advocate the "protein-rich, moderate-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diet" that opposes the high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet that every professional medical and dietetic organization (including those who have no diet books to sell) believes to be your best bet for avoiding heart disease, the number one killer. The authors insist, in the face of all this medical opposition, that "the whole idea that fat and cholesterol cause heart disease is just that: an idea." We're meant to be hunters, say the authors: bring on the meat. Let's go back to the Paleolithic diet (no mention of the brief life span of Paleolithic men and women).

The Protein Power Lifeplan is not easy reading--most of the book is made up of scientific explanations, research summaries and interpretations, and nutritional warnings--but no recipes. Besides recommending eating protein and fat, the authors recommend sunbathing without sunblock (but "never, never let your skin burn!") and exercises such as "bringing home the buffalo" and "defending the camp." The authors admit that if you're trying to lose weight, you have to limit calories, but if you're not, you can "munch on nuts, seeds, nut butters, cheeses, jerky, guacamole, and olives all day long." Carbohydrates, say the authors, "are totally nonessential to your health and well-being"--words to make dieticians and cardiologists shudder. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Just what's needed after the best-selling Protein Power, the brand-name protein powder, and the infomercial.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446678678
• ISBN-13: 978-0446678674
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

223 of 224 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oustanding Sequel to the Best Protein Diet Available, January 3, 2000

By 

William S. Harnsberger (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Protein Power Lifeplan : A New Comprehensive Blueprint for Optimal Health (Hardcover)

Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades follow up the runaway success of their first book, Protein Power, with another avalanche of evidence that the conventional low-fat, high-carb diet is a huge failure.

Instead of simply rehashing material from their first book (as many diet authors do), the Eades expand on the Protein Power concept to help improve long-term success on it. From a fascinating trip through the human digestive system, to new, damaging information about artificial sweeteners, this book will forever change the way you think about the power of food.

For high-carb pundits who think humans have always been grain-eaters, the Eades' chapter on the latest paleopathological research settles the argument once and for all...we were hunters (and gatherers, but only on occasion) and our bodies are designed to thrive on protein and good fats.

The chapter on sunlight is also refreshing...shedding new (pardon the pun) light on its healing powers when used correctly. Read this chapter before you put on sunblock again.

In addition to these and other fascinating chapters on health, the doctors also have refined the Protein Power Plan itself. Anyone who says protein diets are too limited and boring need to read this new book. You'll see that the food choices are quite varied, and you don't have to be a dietary extremist to thrive on the plan (unless that's your choice). I've been on it for over 2 years---it's done wonders for me.

The book gets technical at times, but the effect is more engrossing than boring, I assure you. The summaries at the end of each chapter help condense the content into laymen's terms for quick reference.

The writing is on the wall. Protein diets are proving to be so overwhelmingly effective that it's simply a matter of time before the diet industry and the government throw out the horrifically unsuccessful "food pyramid." My advice is to get the paperback edition of Protein Power, and then a copy of the new Protein Power Lifeplan. If the doctors can't convince you of the powerful therapeutic effects of simple nutrition, no one can.

Five stars...and deep thanks to the doctors for restoring me to my high school weight while making me feel years younger.

160 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-grounded arguement for low-carb, plus much more., December 9, 2000

By 

Levi (Reston, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Protein Power Lifeplan : A New Comprehensive Blueprint for Optimal Health (Hardcover)

Dr. Michael Eades and Mary Dan Eades, M.D.'s have written a follow-up to their popular "Protein Power" published in 1995. The Eades are a husband-and-wife team that has a joint practice where they dish out the same advice as in their books - that of a restricted carbohydrate diet. But unlike the much more popular Dr. Atkins Diet, the Eades concentrate much more on gaining the best nutritional bang for your buck. Like their first book it is well organized with helpful summaries of each chapter, but it also delves into different subjects like exercise, meditation and even sunbathing.

"Protein Power Lifeplan" is not simply a diet book, but more of a nutritional and health philosophy. The Eades underline their main low-carbohydrate philosophy throughout the book, which, for the uneducated goes something like this: it is not fat that makes us fat, gives us diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. Rather it is sugar. Starches, since they are basically the same thing as sugar (just chained together and easily broken into their component sugars in the digestive process), are counted as well. The Eades describe how the body produces the hormone insulin when carbs are ingested. The more carbs we have in our diet, the more insulin is produced. Insulin is used by the body to remove sugar from the bloodstream, where it can cause harm. Unfortunately, the insulin that removes it can also cause harm in excessive amounts. In addition, when exposed to these large amounts of insulin, the body slowly becomes more and more resistant to the hormone and the body has to produce more of it to have the same effect, so it is a vicious cycle. The end of this cycle results when the body is so resistant that it simply can't produce enough and adult onset diabetes occurs.

The other main theme sounded throughout the book is the whole idea that humans are not made for consuming the amount of carbs that we do today. The Eades make a good argument, which has been made by others, that agriculture is only a ten-thousand-year-old innovation, and that before this our ancestors were all hunter-gatherers, consuming primarily animals with perhaps a few wild vegetables nuts, seeds, and berries thrown in. Due to the slow pace of evolution and natural selection, they argue, our bodies have not caught up to the last ten thousand years of vastly increased carbohydrates in our diets from the farming of grains. They point out that anthropological finds bear out that those who lived before the advent of agriculture display strong bones, tall statures, perfect teeth and jaws, and no evidence of the diseases of modern man. On the contrary, even the inhabitants of ancient Egypt five thousand or so years ago, who lived on a mainly vegetarian, grain-based diet, show (or their mummies do, I should say), evidence of diabetes, heart disease, gum disease, crumbling bones, and many other maladies.

As far as the diet itself, the Eades have honed it somewhat. They now suggest three different approaches to the diet, so called "hedonist," "dilettante," and "purist." The main differences are in how strict the diets are to the Paleolithic Ideal, so to speak. So purists would not eat any dairy products or grains, and only range-reared meat or wild game, since the alternatives would not have been available to their ancient ancestors. The diet starts out at an "intervention stage" which allots seven to ten grams of carbs per meal. Once the person is no longer experiencing health problems, or has gotten close to their goal weight/body fat percentage, they would go on the transition plan, which increases carbs by about 50%. Finally, after you've gotten to exactly the place you want body-wise and health-wise and don't need added improvement, you go onto the "maintenance" level, which doubles, give or take, the transition level of carbs.

Despite certain vocal dissenters like Dr. Dean Ornish, the AMA, and ADA, there are an increasing number of medical doctors and nutritionists who are starting to appreciate the validitiy of the low-carb philosophy. I was shocked to learn that the whole idea behind fat causing all these health problems in the first place is just that - an IDEA. It is a hypothesis that the whole medical industry latched onto 25 or 30 years ago, because it made some logical sense at the time, and has only recently started to let go on the edges despite there being absolutely no proof that low fat diets are conducive to health, and many that indicate the exact opposite! There are many cliché criticisms that get foisted on low-carb diets and the Eades tackle many of them, including the "vampire myths" ( myths that won't die) that these diets cause kidney problems in otherwise healthy individuals, or that the Chinese (who eat a primarily rice-based diet) do not suffer from much heart disease, etc. Yet these myths are constantly invoked by those who have convinced themselves that their philosophy is right and this one is wrong. Unfortunately, these individuals never research whether studies bear their claims out, nor are most even willing to read the full argument of the "other side". I have an idea as to why this may be the case. One of the first adherents of low-carb diets in recent times has been Dr. Robert Atkins, and his attitude is so combative (unlike the Eades who are so open-minded as to even admit to being wrong about some things they said in their previous book), that it encourages those who oppose him to be equally as combative and close-minded. Do yourself a favor and read something with a refreshingly even-handed tone. Whether you agree with their overall philosophies or not, there is a lot of helpful information on vitamins and minerals and other topics which do not require you to change your diet, despite my own opinion that it would be in your best interest to do so.

136 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Protein Power Lifeplan, January 10, 2000

By 

Jackie Whitebread (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Protein Power Lifeplan : A New Comprehensive Blueprint for Optimal Health (Hardcover)

Unlike other reviewers, I have not read previous books by the authors. I have read two other best sellers on low carb diet plans. I lost 22 lbs and became concerned about possible harm due to a fairly radical change to my diet. The Eades book provides the answers to my concerns about supplements to protect my overall health. Their historical perspective is excellent and the explanations of body chemistry as it relates to nutrition is also complete and informative. I believe readers will stick to a plan if they understand the reasoning behind it. At times I feel like I am taking a course in Anthropology and Chemistry, but the chapter summaries lighten up and help to clarify. This is the first time I have understood the role of free radicals. The Protein Power Lifeplan is the most complete diet book I have read. I am a registered nurse and have written a book, For Patients Only, on patient safety and will suggest this book for those who wish to diet safely.