Customer Reviews

Tao of Balanced Diet: Secrets of a Thin and Healthy Body

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I used this book while recovering from a serious illness in my digestive tract,,, The MD I was seeing was amazed and so was I, A MUST READ

Balance is key to both a healthy body and a happy life. That balance can be attained by studying the chinese five element theory, the characteristics of foods and simple massage and accupressure techniques.

Dr. Stephen Chang outlines the basics in an easily understandable manner. There are diagrams of the exercises, really simple massage techniques and the accupressure points. He includes his dietary plan with a fairly large selection of recipes.

I applaud his approach to diet. Exclusionary diets are almost certainly designed to fail. His position that even small quantities of junk food are good because they stimulate the liver makes sense. The internal organ massage exerices are amazing and effiective. I use the stomach massage for any digestive upset and thrilled with the results. The exercises are quite simple and take very little time.

However there are some points that I am not totally sold on. He advocates a strict adherence to a three meal a day plan with no snacks or none of the little mini meals that are so popular today. He insists that if you stick tojust the three meals a day, you will lose weight. My experience has been to the contrary. I am one of the many who are ravenous at three and find a healthy snack at that time staves off later overeating or binges.

He also limits the amount of water one is to drink to six cups a day. He claims that excess water leads to cellulite and excess weight. Prevailing thought is that excess water cannot hurt you; it is just excreted. Dehydration is the current hobgoblin of contemporary health concerns. Again,I think that balance is key and limitation is as hazardous as excess.

This is an interesting book,nicely written with some excellent points. It is a good introduction taoist theory and the internal organ exercises are well worth the purchase price price.

My friend and I both have a copy, so we can work through it together. We both love it. Its practical, easy to understand and non-judgemental e.g. I am a vegan and my friend is a carnivour and the book is perfect for both of us as it is so inclusive. Personally I dont like the use of the word 'thin' in the subtitle, I want a healthy body and I dont need to lose weight, but I did want to use Taoist principles to be healthy and I am improving my health with this book and Dr Chang's book on Internal Exercises. Some information is repeated in both books, but thats okay, it bears repeating.

this is a great book, it puts the whole science of chinese medicine and food and weight loss in a new perspective. It is already working for me

This book is wonderful, full of information. However, it does not have actual menus, except one that is used as a guide. I would have liked to have actual munus planned for at least a week so I can get a better idea of how to plan my days. Other than that, it is an excellent book.

This is a wonderful book. It goes far beyond the usual written word re: diet. You will learn more than you thought possible.

I am happy to have finally gotten Dr. Stephens Chang's book. I have great respect for Dr. Chang and his knowledge.
Sincerely, Miss Quest