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274 of 289 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good idea but could be better executed, January 21, 2003
By A Customer
This book is typical of its type. It's written and produced by a well-meaning individual who has good information not available from mainstream health professionals, but has no formal scientific or medical background to lend credibility to the effort. This would not matter as much if the book were written or edited by a professional. There's also the matter of the related products the author promotes liberally throughout the book and the high cover price. For me, these factors along with poor organization throughout hurts the book's potential and author credibility. Fifteen years ago, I was introduced to another version of this diet. Having fallen off the wagon and experiencing the same debilitating symptoms, I initially was very glad to have stumbled across the book. Unfortunately, I find this book well intentioned but complicates instead of streamlining the process of getting well. For instance, there's a warning against eating nightshade vegetables (peppers and tomatoes are mentioned) but there are recipes for "new potatoes" (another nightshade vegetable), which I take to mean red potatoes, but I'm not sure because there is no distinction made as to exactly what kind of potato you can eat. Also, the author says she's against sesame seeds, but offers no explanation as to why they should be avoided. She also extols the virtues of kefir and claims it's superior to yogurt but doesn't offer a full explanation as to why she believes it. Yogurt has been a first-line defense against yeast infections for years. True, both yogurt and kefir contain beneficial bacteria. But kefir, she says, also features yeast but there's no information on why kefir works better than yogurt or even why this yeast is safe to consume. This is important because the people who need this diet have digestive tracts overrun with yeast. Her explanation is simple yet incomplete: kefir offers "more nutritive value" than yogurt. There's more information about kefir on her website, but it's pretty skimpy, too. I also take exception to the recipes that call for cauliflower and cabbage. These vegetables are known gas producers (whether raw or cooked) and for people with sensitive digestive tracts, I can't help but wonder at the logic at work here. Ditto for carrots. Most diets to combat yeast steer away from them. I'd love to make "Baked Eggs" but can't find the recipe. Overall, the recipe section could be better organized and include more recipes. As a reader looking to implement the diet correctly, there are too many instances where crucial information is placed too far out in the section or chapter. This is particularly true when it comes to caveats or usage instructions. This information needs to be mentioned up front or in a sidebar at or near the beginning of the topic. For example: For seven pages we hear how wonderful kefir is, but author's first mention on when to introduce the stuff doesn't show up until the eighth page. If you get too caught up in the enthusiasm of kefir's healing benefits and rush off to make some, you'll miss the warning to not start it until 2 to 3 months into the diet. Advice about juicing follows a similar and confusing path. It was frustrating to find additional information about certain principles mentioned later, far from the their original introductions. The Shopping List in the appendix is a good idea and nicely done. It's condensed and easy to follow. The index, however, doesn't fare as well. It needs to be more complete and in some versions, according to the author's website, the index has been left out entirely! There are also too many typos for a seventh edition [at this price]. Because so much information flows through the book's nearly 300 pages, you have to be really dedicated to slog through it and extract a workable program for yourself. In addition, the author's own experiences intermingled throughout get in the way because aren't especially meaningful to the reader or go on too long. It's too bad because the diet offers hope and real potential to people with chronic immune and/or digestive problems. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to produce a book on a difficult subject and I hope the author will take my gripes in the spirit they are meant: to take a fundamentally good thing and make it better.
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by Donna Gates
by Sally Fallon
by Robert O. Young
