The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total Health [Paperback]

Dr. Gary Null Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1996

Many patients that I see in my medical nutrition practice request specific detailed information in order to move toward a vegetarian lifestyle. Here is a book that will guide them along such a path. It will also assist current vegetarians to reach a new level of understanding by offering specific instruction for improving food habits. The instruction includes the most up-to-date and scientific data regarding food protein. By using the egg as a model of the near perfect protein source and comparing vegetarian foods with the egg, we now have available tools for increasing the benefits of protein from non-meat sources.

"Patients with certain medical problems should consider removing red meat and other animal proteins from their diet and moving toward vegetarian food sources. Some of these medical problems include the following: hypoglycemia, obesity, digestive disorders including diverticultitis and other colon problems, gout, and elevated cholestrol. Many specfic studies have shown that the vegetarian diet may help with these problems. This book presents a clear and sophisticated road map for becoming a vegetarian or moving in this direction." --Dr Martin Feldman

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Null, who holds a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition and Public Health Science, has published over fifty on health and nutrition, and has his own nationally syndicatied radio show on WBAI. He is the founder and director of the Health and Nutrition Certificate Program at the Pratt Institute, and he lectures throughout the country on health and nutrition topics. He has received numerous awards for his work.

Dr. Martin Feldman, the medical authority for this book, graduated from Yale College and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was resident in neurology at Mt. Sinai Hospital and an assistant clinical professor of neurology at Mt. Sinai Medical School. He has a medical nutrition practice in Manhattan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Rev Sub edition (May 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312144415
• ISBN-13: 978-0312144418
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, informative book!, June 10, 2001

By 

Shannon Haggard (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total Health (Paperback)

I also bought this book shortly before becoming a vegetarian and found it to be a wonderful resource. It goes into a great amount of detail regarding nutrition, dispelling many commonly held beliefs about protein requirements and what is healthy. (No, vegatarians are not starving to death from lack of protein and just too stupid to know it, but they do have a 47% lower risk of heart attack!)

This book is very well research and has a huge bibligraphy section for those wanting to learn more. It details the scientific, social, political, and relgiious reasons that different vegetarians have for their lifestyle. My only complaint with this book is that the recipes inside are vegan, not vegetarian (no milk, cheese, eggs, etc.) But, vegan or not, they are delicious!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye-opener and great intro into vegetarian life., December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total Health (Paperback)

I purchased this book about 3 months after becoming a vegetarian, and from my perspective it reiterates a lot of points I already knew, and also brought up many things I was unaware of. Mr. Null's writing style is very clear and thorough; the reader will not be left guessing what the point was nor looking through a dictionary for the meanings to technical terms. If you're considering becoming vegetarian, I'd recommend picking this one up. What you learn will surprise you. And if you're unsure how to eat once you've decided to go vegetarian, Mr. Null has a considerable number of recipes in the back of the book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information, February 26, 2006

By 

Gareth Baron "Gareth B." (Redwood City, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total Health (Paperback)

Although some of the statistics in this book may be out of date, the information is still quite accurate (you just have to use the ratios given and apply to todays costs).

This book will provide you an education on why a vegetarian diet is good for you and how you can actually provide all the nutrition you need from various fruit, veg & legumes. Even if you are not intending to become a total vegetarian it will provide you with a newer healthy perspective of what to eat and how to find the various products.

One aspect of the book that I find interesting is the wide amount of research done about socio-economic impacts of a general meat-eating populus. It actually points out that a lot of essential foods (vegetables etc) are used in producing cattle/meats, where this could quite sensibly be used for human consumption instead (why feed animals when you can feed humans ?). The ratio of vegetable protein used to produce meat is 16:1. That means that you are wasting 15 of the 16 pounds of grain to provide the same amount of useful consumable meat protein. A simple but a very poignant observation.

All in all, the book provides a lot of information and clarifies mis-information about a vegetarian (or vegan) lifestyle. I would strongly recommend you read it even if it's just for your education. You will absolutely learn something.