The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family [Paperback]

Virginia Messina (Author), Mark Messina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 1996

The Vegetarian Way is the vegetarian bible. It is an authoritative, comprehensive, single-source reference book for the growing number of people who are embracing a vegetarian diet, as well as for more than 12 million Americans who are already committed vegetarians.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The vegetarian lifestyle, which has varying levels of strictness, may be adopted for health reasons or out of ethical concerns, e.g., animal welfare, the environment. In this comprehensive guidebook, the Messinas (she is a dietician; he has a Ph.D. in nutrition), who are longtime vegetarians, place the emphasis on health. Citing numerous studies, they argue persuasively that going meatless lowers the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases, and they write reassuringly about any possible protein, mineral or vitamin deficiencies in a meat-free diet. For beginners, they offer a nine-step program for getting started, with recipes and sections on meal planning and food buying. The special needs of pregnant women and nursing mothers, infants, children, teenagers and seniors are addressed, as are those of diabetics, athletes and the overweight. A resource directory is included, along with advice on eating out, entertaining and dealing with the gibes of omnivores.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Here is a wonderfully succinct yet complete beginner's guide to eliminating animal products from one's diet. The authors?Virginia Messina is a registered dietitian and Mark Messina holds a doctorate in nutrition?employ a sensible, nonideological approach that stresses the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, although they also explore the global environmental and political aspects of eating meat. Their book is packed with information?the history of vegetarianism; the various types of vegetarian diets; and basic nutrition, including up-to-date research that finally addresses concerns on protein, calcium, and Vitamin B-12 requirements. The authors discuss the vegetarian diet for individuals with special needs, such as diabetics, pregnant women, seniors, athletes, and children, as well as tips for buying and cooking the vegetarian way. Their book concludes with an easy-to-follow nine-step program to introduce the vegetarian diet and includes a sampling of recipes and a resource directory that will start the reader off right. A perfect choice for a smaller public library that may need only one title on the subject. Recommended for most collections.?Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (May 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517882752
• ISBN-13: 978-0517882757
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #869,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Virginia Messina, MPH, RD is a dietitian and public health nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has a degree in nutrition from Douglass College of Rutgers University and a master's degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan.

Ginny publishes widely on topics related to vegan diets for both health professionals and the public. She has twice co-authored the American Dietetic Association's Position on Vegetarian Diets, and is co-author of a textbook on vegetarianism written for health professionals and nutrition students.

She has worked as a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), taught nutrition to dietetics students at the university level, and was the director of nutrition services for a medical clinic serving 50,000 patients at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Ginny serves on advisory boards to PCRM and the Vegetarian Resource Group

A long-time vegan herself, she seeks to share the best and most up-to-date information on vegan nutrition and to make ethical eating an easy and realistic option for everyone. She writes about a variety of issues related to health and animal rights on her blog www.TheVeganRD.com and as the National Vegan Examiner at www.examiner.com and consults with a variety of organizations on nutrition.

In addition to her work as a vegan dietitian, Ginny volunteers at the local animal shelter, serves as a board member of a local spay/neuter outreach organization and of the national advocacy group Alley Cat Rescue, and spends her leisure time feeding feral cats, reading, gardening, and learning piano.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - A must for the reference shelf, July 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (Paperback)

Highly recommended. I am a vegan who continuously looks for good reference books which contain useful information and are based on research rather than speculation. The Messina's are unbiased in their approach and tackle the information in a clear and concise manner. The book is packed with good information and can easily be read straight through or used as a reference book

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only get one book GET THIS BOOK and read it!!!, June 21, 1999

By 

Carol M. Meerschaert "Freelance Writer and Ma... (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (Paperback)

This is THE BOOK on vegetarian nutrition, written by experts who are themselves vegetarian. I am a registered dietitian and this is the book I recommend to my clients--vegetarian or not. Great info on all nutrition topics from babies to seniors, from protein to B12. Carol M. Coughlin, RD

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nutrition information and more, July 16, 2001

By 

Pumpkin King - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (Paperback)

This was one of the first books I read when I decided to follow a vegan diet, and a year and a half later, I am glad that I found it so soon. Though it also contains stuff about other issues and problems that many vegetarians encounter, the main value of this book lies in the nutritional information it contains. The book goes through what vitamins and minerals are needed, why they are needed, where to find them in vegetarian foods, and what studies have shown about vegetarians and their relations to these nutrients. There are larger chapters discussing protein and calcium, which are the primary concerns that people who don't know much about vegetarianism seem to have. Messina is a registered dietician and cites her references carefully. She tries not to make any unfounded claims, though she cites correlational studies whose conclusions are more unclear than she makes them seem. For the most part, the information is very much consistent with current knowledge of nutritional science, and if you are a new vegetarian who is unsure of where to start, this book will prove to be extremely useful in understanding why other people become vegetarians, how such a diet affects certain illnesses, how to address the special needs of infants, children, teenagers, pregnant women, athletes, and how to start planning and preparing vegetarian meals. Of course, it's a big change to alter your dietary habits, so you want to read many other books as well. And cookbooks will no doubt be helpful. But you can't go wrong starting with The Vegetarian Way.