Customer Reviews

Stop Inflammation Now!

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a follow-up, I lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks following the Phase I diet and daily activity, along with strength training twice per week.

I look and feel the healthiest I have been since high school.

My skin has cleared up and is now mostly blemish-free for the first time in my post-pubescent life.

My gums had always been inflamed despite brushing and flossing, but now look healthy since I've changed my diet.

The information in this book really works!

I haven't re-tested my cholesterol yet. I intend to lose another 15 pounds first.

The author, a nuclear cardiologist, does nice job explaining difficult medical concepts for the rest of us. His book is very similar to Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live". However, given his medical specialties he explains the same methodology in a very different manner. I found this book to be a nice complement to "Eat of Live."

The plans that both books advocate are tough for a "foodie" to follow. However, I have not felt better in 25 years. I decided to try to vegan route to lose weight, fully expecting to return to fish and cheese in a few months. I feel so good now I don't know if I will ever go back to my old eating habits.

If you don't feel like you did as a teenager or twenty something give this book a try. You might just be surprised how good you can feel (even at 43).

Update:

My husband got his blood tests back and the results were beyond what we could have expected. The blood was drawn 24 days after beginning a low fat vegan diet. His total cholesterol went from 177 to 113. His bad cholesterol (LDL) dropped from 100 to 53. There were no other changes to my husband's lifestyle beyond the 24 days with the dietary changes. If a 51 year old nonexercising male can get these results image what this book can do for you. I now recommend this program even more than I had previously. If you need to improve your health please give this program or "Eat to Live" a try. It appears to be working miracles at our home.

Update: July 13, 2006

My husband and I are still following the doctor's ideas. In the last 124 days we have lost 22, and 23 pounds respectively without really trying. We both also feel much better. If you are looking for a plan that will decrease your weight, and increase your health I recommend you give this plan a try.

This book is some of the best money I have ever spent!

Six of my close family members have or had heart disease, of which three had diabetes, and two had cancer.

The information provided by Dr. Fleming provides a primary line of defense against these scourges of humankind, as well as several others, while providing guidelines that help improve health in general.

Even if you decide not to stick to his diet plan (I do), the general information is still extremely useful.

The title just doesn't do justice to the quality, depth, and breadth of information contained within. Most of the book deals with actual case studies and detailed descriptions of the mechanisms of disease as well as how you can influence them, presented in a straightforward fashion that makes for good reading.

I've skimmed through other mainstream books on heart disease, and most of them seem like self-help fluff compared to this book.

Only a few pages are given directly to the diet plan, as well as some recipies - concise and to the point. As for the diet itself - take it or leave it, but at least you will have the information you need to know to make informed decisions for yourself. Personally, I find the dishes surprisingly satisfying and filling, and add some extra spices of my own.

If you care about your health, read this book.

Dr. Fleming's book is full of easy-to-read and simple-to-understand explanations of what goes on within your body. When you eat refined sugar vs. natural complex carbohydrates, when you eat meat vs. vegetables, the list goes on and on.

By far, the BEST text I've ever read on the subject of Cholesterol and Heart Problems, since he also explains so many other related things that are involved in the process of digestion and absorbtion of vitamins/minerals.

I can only give this book the HIGHEST recommendation for anyone out there interested in their own health. He gives you the information and steps necessary to save your own life by heeding the early warning signs of a probably heart attack in your upcoming years. BY ALL MEANS, IF YOU'VE EVER HAD EVEN A SINGLE CHEST PAIN: READ THIS BOOK! And better yet, with the C-RP Blood Test (that costs $10) you can learn of health problems years-in-advance of actual chest pains.

(...)

Now that the low-cholesterol and low-fat dogmas are beginning to die, the health gurus have a new horse to flog: inflammation. It started only a few years ago and now there are a dozen books on the subject. I've looked at four of them carefully and, as you'd expect, you can't get the experts to agree. I would prefer not to give any rating to this book because I think only someone who has followed the diet for a year is really qualified. I think Fleming makes important points in pointing out the danger of eating too much protein, which most Americans do, and how calcium and eating a lot of diary products are way overrated as prevention of osteoporosis. This is important stuff. But the book is really for desperate people who have tried everything and are convinced here is The Answer. I doubt that more than one percent of the readers will follow its regime. This includes starting out with 10 percent fat in your diet, including olive oil and avocados, etc., then moving on to 15 percent. Forget about bread, eggs. cheese, stuff with refined sugar. In fact if you think of your 10 favorite foods the chances no no's will be on eight of them. Oh, make sure you eat 10 servings of fruits and 17 servings of vegetables daily and two servings of whole grains and cereals. See what I mean by desperate? How did our ancestors manage to survive when they were lucky to get a dozen different foods daily, and that was only in the summer.

While the three other authors I read think very highly of taking high quality fish oil daily Fleming says no, it will just go rancid in your stomach. What did grandma, with her cod liver oil know? This is science. And stay away from coffee.

If I sound irritated I am. The stupid rationale is that people who have heart attacks or strokes also have high levels of C-reactive protein, ergo, if you lower C-reactive protein in your blood you will not have various illnesses. C-reactive protein is a sign of inflammation in your body. (Incidentally, two other books I looked at recommend a very expensive blood test to test for inflammation when your doctor can order the cheap CRP test that is just as good. Unfortunately, if you get tested several times on different days the results will vary based on what you did, ate or felt that day. Nothing is simple. Two of the authors also promote very expensive fish oil when you can get fine high quality oil at Whole Foods for a third of the price.)

I say the rationale is stupid because, while heart attack victims can have high CRP readings, lowering CRP does not mean this is proof that you will avoid heart attacks or stroke. Case in point: an amino acid called homocysteine was found in high levels in people who had heart attacks or were considered in danger. Since lowering homocysteine with B vitamins is easy, researchers at McMaster University in Canada gave 5,522 subjects the vitamins, with a control placebo group, and followed them for five years. Result: the B vitamin-taking group had wonderful homocysteine levels but the same number of heart attacks and strokes as the placebo group. Another example: recently two huge studies were announced which tried to determine if a low-fat diet would reduce breast cancer in women. One study said no difference, the other study said a low-fat diet made a very slight difference.

So what can we do? The above does not mean that lowering CRP won't reduce your chances of getting a heart attack or stroke. Just that if you wait for proof and for the MDs and PhDs to come to an agreement you may have to wait 20 years. After all, we waited that long for the cholesterol and low-fat myths to start vaporizing. If the Fleming diet makes you feel energetic and healthy and the doc says your veins are clear, great. Or you can decide that eating habits people practiced for centuries outweigh the latest announcement from grant-hungry researchers, especially those funded by the processed food and drug industries. And when I say "eating habits people have practiced for centuries" I don't mean the last 50 years, which are a triumph of business over health.

And for what it's worth, I though the best book of the four was "The Inflammation Cure" by William J. Meggs, M.D., PhD. It is well written and takes a wholistic approach, something Fleming's book lacks.

Gives just enough information to convey the essence of his hypotheses. As with any dietary book, conclusive prospective studies are perhaps not possible, so I believe that as long as an auther gives sources and reasonable rationale, that the logic contained in the material can reasonably be expected to help a person figure out exactly what a proper diet should be.

For me, he has done that. Plenty of sources and logic pretty well spelled out. I have learned more about what was probably wrong with my diet from this book than I did in college level courses about nutrition.

I don't have life/death heart problems so I took this book in stride and have been incorporating it into my life gradually. In 3 mos 15lbs, reduced cholesterol by 30 pts, resting heart rate shockingly dropped 15 beats a minute. My "good" food list continues to expand and I have begun to feel better than I have in years. Another 15 lbs and we'll see, I believe my life will have been tranformed and changed by this book.

The plans he describes are very difficult, but at the end of the day, I believe that having hope that heart disease can be reversed, is worth the time and effort. I am testimonial that this approach can work for some. I have loaned my book out, but look forward to reading it again, as I am sure there are plenty of nuggets that I either missed or will appreciate more fully this time.

I'm barely half way thru this book but already it's making a huge impact on my health. This book has shined a light on my life-long eating habits and what impact that "diet" has had on my health, as well as show me where that path was taking me. Just knowing how our "normal" eating habits effect our bodies and how it makes it extremely difficult to lose weight was very eye opening. I'm on my 3rd week of my new found awareness and I've lost 12 pounds already. I am walking on my treadmill everyday and I've worked up to 30 minutes a day. At first I was only doing 10 to 12 minutes a day but it's getting easier to go longer. The process of eating healthier is easier than I thought. As long as I'm eating the healthy things, I can eat as much as I want and that keeps me from feeling hungry and snacking on the bad stuff. The explanation of how the high protein diets work was also a real eye opener, I'll never do Atkins again. I can't believe I used to think eating as much steak, lobster, butter, cream, etc., could really be healthy! I'm merely following the premise of eating LOTS of fruits and vegetables and avoiding the processed foods as much as possible. This book explains why that works and how each of those effect your body and health. In less than 3 weeks, I've lost 12 pounds, feel better, have more energy, and more importantly, feel like I've found a plan I can live with for the long run. I'll update more as I go, best of luck to you as well. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

I lost a lot of weight using the Fleming Program. I'm at my lowest weight in 28 years. It was easy for me to basically follow because a person can eat a large volume of food and not go hungry. The person just has to eat the right foods. The loss came at a rate of about a pound a week. I also lowered my blood pressure, cholesterol and pulse rate. I believe the Fleming Program is the healthiest program out there.

I don't usually cook and eat out. I modified the program slightly to fit my needs. The Phase I was quite strict and I cheated on it a little and still lost a lot of weight.

Typical eat-out meals that fit some of the program:

Veggies with tofu from a Chinese take-out place.

Vegetable chop suey.

Vegetarian chili.

A vegetable burrito bowl with beans.

Apples twice a day.

Going to a buffet and eating vegetables (except rice, potato and bread.)

A veggie delight sandwich from a sandwich chain after Phase I.

Following Dr, Flemmings protocol for reversing effects of inflammation will make you new again.

In 30 days, my wife has rejoiced in loosing over 20 lbs, two dress sizes. As for me I celebrate a loss of 18 lbs. We both expect to reach our target goals in the next 60 days.

We no longer see people as we used to. I don't see fat people anymore. I see people suffering inflamation. I/we see people who are gorged on corn syrup, msg, aspartame,sugar, salt and carbohydrates dipped in hydrogenated oils, fried or otherwise. We feel compassion for others now like never before. People who are high bloodpressure, pill poppin nutritionaly starved food addicts in grave cardio danger.

We have dramtically reversed the inflamation effects in our own bodies, thank you Dr. Flemming! Today, food tastes better than ever. Every bite of our food is now loaded with nutrition. This is not dieting, because we are eating our way to good health. This is taking responsibility for our own health and reclaiming our youth.

This book offers a marvelous education that is easy to earn.

It saddens me when I see Captain Kirk doing TV commercials. I don't see a fat man anymore. I see a man who's body is enduring inflamation and he most likely doesn't even know it.

Inflamation is a lethal disease! Get rid of it or it will get rid of you. Our body organs can only take so much. Someone needs to beam a copy his book over to Captain Kirk.

Have you seen what Jerry Lewis looks like on television now? Good grief.He needs a copy of this book also. These people used to be thin. Inflamation is killing us. Wake up America.Wake up!!

You need this book. Your family needs this book. Your relatives and the people that you love and care about need to read this wonderful book. Thank you again, Dr. Fleming.

I look at it this way: If your doctor told you, that the foods you are eating is causing all your health problems, would'nt you at least attempt a non-meat, non-dairy and non-sugar diet?

Well I tried it beginning Feb. 2005 and I feel great. Much more energy for the trips to the fitness club, sleep better and more alert during the day. Plus my blood pressure is normal at 124/78 and the weight dropped 8 lbs. All in less than four weeks.

The first 21 pages should convince you. Great book. Buy the paperback: ISBN: 1583332006

Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings---And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally

by Neal D. Barnard is also a good book.