The McDougall Program for Women (Hardcover)

by John A. McDougall (Author), Mary McDougall (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Women trust and rely on their doctors for medical guidance. "Unfortunately, that advice is sometimes biased or ill-informed," says John McDougall, M.D. "The consequence is that a lot of women choose treatments that are ineffective at best, or harmful at worst." In The McDougall Program for Women, he discusses the most common medical conditions affecting women, such as breast cancer, menopause, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis (don't miss his explanation of how high consumption of animal protein destroys bones). He describes how best to treat these conditions and the benefits and risks of the usual treatments. His solution to women's health problems isn't hormones, drugs, or surgery--it's diet and lifestyle changes, specifically a starch-based, vegetarian diet, moderate exercise, and eliminating the "most toxic of [your] bad habits," such as smoking.

McDougall is well known from his other books and his program at St. Helena Hospital in California, with a loyal bevy of followers who report tremendous health gains and weight loss by eating mainly bulky complex carbohydrates (whole grains, beans, legumes, starchy vegetables), no meat or dairy products, and no added oil. The 102 recipes show that this eating plan can be varied and tasty. This is no trendy diet-of-the-month scheme--McDougall includes 82 pages of scientific references that support his views. --Joan Price

Product Description
Dr. John McDougall has long been at the forefront of women's health care. First to publish a groundbreaking article showing the benefits of a low-fat diet for women with breast cancer in 1983, he continues to lecture regularly on women's health issues and has cared for tens of thousands of women who have benefited dramatically from his advice. Now he arms women with the facts needed to achieve a lifetime of good health in his timely, important, comprehensive new book The McDOUGALL Program for Women. Thoroughly covering general topics such as weight loss and exercise programs, Dr. McDougall also includes more specialized subjects like herbal treatments for the symptoms of menopause, dietary approaches to preventing osteoporosis, and balancing the positives and negatives of hormone replacement therapy. A comprehensive guide for women with specific health problems or those who simply seek a healthier lifestyle, The McDougall Program for Women belongs in every home reference library.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525942092
• ISBN-13: 978-0525942092
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,316 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling information on how our foods affect our health., June 27, 1999

By	Susan G. Spillers (Nevada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I never thought my food choices had much to do with my health, since I've always been slim. Dr. McDougall supplies an impressive amount of information to prove how wrong my thinking was. I have been following his program for five months now, and the difference in my weight, cheerfulness, energy, and cellulite is truly amazing. The recipes will help you learn to love the good taste of vegatables, fruits, grains, and beans as opposed to the standard American diet of meat, dairy, and sugary treats. I'd always suspected that my hysterectomy (at only 32 years old) for uterine fibroids and craniotomy (last year at age 34) for a meningioma brain tumor (hormone related) were due to my poor eating habits, and Dr. McDougall confirmed my suspicions. Our regular doctors don't tell us how important diet and exercise are to our health. They treat our symptoms. Dr. McDougall's program will help you prevent the symptoms. Every woman needs to read this book! Get ready for a whole new life!

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Listen To Those Negative Punks With the Bad Reviews!, September 19, 2002

By	Stephanie Scarborough (Weatherford, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The McDougall Program for Women (Paperback)

I am 20 years old and I have been following the McDougall Program for a year and a half now, and it has changed my life. I had been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for 3 years before I began this program. I had been overweight all my life, pretty much ever since I was born. Even as an ovo-lacto I was overweight and could never lose weight. I love to eat. I never had energy. I was always hungry and on a diet. I tried high-protein and it made me ill in scary ways. Then I discovered the McDougall program and I can eat happily and satisfy my appetite, lost 40 pounds and feel so much better. I feel good knowing that I only put healthy food in my body. Anyone who says you can't live without animial products doesn't know what they are talking about. If vegetarianism and veganism were dangerous the Seventh Day Adventist religion would have died out long ago. The notion that this program is restrictive is nonsense. Look at all the McDougall cookbooks there are. And almost any recipe is modifiable to the program with a few substitutions. If you think you need to eat fat, have some avocados or nuts or tofu. They won't clog your arteries like milk and eggs. This program is liberating and life-changing, and Americans would be much healthier if they adopted the McDougalls' principles.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You either love McDougall or hate him, August 31, 2001

By	Paul Doland (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The McDougall Program for Women (Paperback)

Well, of the 18 reviews (at the moment) of this book, there are 2 one-star reviews and the rest are 4 or 5 stars. McDougall is one of those that really generates strong reactions, positive and negative.

The reviewer that claims that high-starch diet is "scientifically proven" to mess with you insulin is off-base. High fat with high starch does, high starch with low fat does not.

As far as the reviewer that felt that McDougall displays a blase attitude about breast cancer and mamography... Well, what can I say? I'm not a woman and never had breast cancer. So I'm sure she would have a very different perspective than I would. But I really don't see how McDougall's attitude can be considered "blase". He is very passionate, you may disagree with him, but I don't see how he can be called "blase".

Now McDougall does have a very negative attitude towards radiation, chemo, and most "standard" treatments for cancers, such as breast cancers. But I think he makes a good case for his negative attitudes, they have not been shown to extend life, and significantly harm life.

Basically, McDougall believes the best treatment for cancer is prevention, and shows why he feels diet and lifestyle are the best preventions.