Customer Reviews

The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating Right for Total Health

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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!

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.

Although some of the statistics in this book may be out of date, the information is still quite accurate (you just have to use the ratios given and apply to todays costs).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

I've been on Gary Null's program for health, which consists mostly of vegetarian foods. I lost weight and had more energy. I did not have his THE VEGETARIAN HANDBOOK to guide me, as Gary had not written it yet. For the beginner interested in becoming a vegetarian, Gary Null tells the truth about eating meat and dairy as opposed to vegetables. He establishes the benefits of being a vegetarian without "pushing it" in your face. This book is well worth your time reading. It lays out an approach to changing your life's eating habits from being a meat eater to being a vegetarian. A lot of research has gone into this book and the outline of an approach to changing your life is wonderful and sensibly written. Oh, there are others you can consult, such as Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. McDougal, or Dr. Dean Ornish. All are good, but none offer the vegetarian way in so simple and easily understood a form. Worth your time and money if you are TRULY interested in changing your life.

Most of the information was in his other books. I was looking for recipes not a rehash of his other factual writing. The few receipes included were not very exciting.