Special Diets Books

OK, so I'm not an expert. I am a person who has learned about good nutrituion through a lot of comparative research and experimentation. IMHO, this book is -- and this is a mild, technical term -- Hogwash. It is bad science, bad nutrition and, perhaps worst of all, bad writing. Don't waste your money.

This is a great book that will remain the "Classic" long after all others on this subject have faded. It's written by the physician who found Syndrome X and gives straight-up information on the subject of how uncontrolled insulin and glucose levels damage our health. Although there is a wealth of information on the internet, much of it is inaccurate or partially inaccurate, and that's the case with Syndrome X. All the other Syndrome X books that have been written were knock-offs published after this one by authors who knew far less about the subject. What you get in this book is 100% quality information and solutions that you can trust. However, it's not necessarily written for the customer who wants only touch-feely anecdotes; it tells us the real scoop. Reading the medical journals of new research emerging confirms everything in this book, and shows that high insulin levels can cause other horrible diseases besides Syndrome X, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, such as all these new ones that have been added to the list: colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, sleep breathing disorder, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, impaired cognitive (brain)function, polycystic ovary syndrome, and a couple of others disorders. This book is the best of the bunch.

The book was ok, but with all the information at our fingertips on the web and also knowing some things about the heart and other conditions, I felt like I wasted my money except for the diet part of the book. He didn't really list anything that I didn't already know and he didn't give any symptoms, except for tests. I guess you have to go by that, but I just felt let down by the book. I wanted more from it. I know about the chambers of the heart and techniques used to treat heart problems. I just felt all of that could have been left out. I want to know more about the disease and how they came across it and how people's lives are doing now with the diet and things like that. I just felt like he was a doctor giving advice, but it lacked that punch that keeps you wanting to know more. He didn't give a good review on meds and he just didn't sound like a good writer. I felt like he was saying the same thing over and over at times and he just didn't need to explain all the stuff about the heart and how we burn calories and stuff like that. It just seemed redundant. Some people may want to know all of that stuff or they may already know it. I just felt like I was reading a boring book that had things in there that were of not any use to me. I hope I'm not being to harsh, but I just was so let down.

The lead researcher on HOW too many refined carbs can lead to coronary heart disease. His description of the HOW is quite valuable, if a little repetitive. His prescription for action is adequate with some useful material, but not really his forte. See the reviews of the hardcover version, which has a slightly different title.

This is the first book review I've ever written... Anywhere! However, if my experience can help anyone, I feel I must write a review on this book.
I am not a good writer! My writing style is a reflection primarily of the writing I do most, research notes. I never have to write papers, so my style is for me alone. I'll try to be concise and to-the-point and still add enough seasoning to give a flavor as to why it was important to me and why I wish I had been exposed to these studies and findings years ago.
First of all, this is not a bathroom book that one can read a couple minutes here and a couple of minutes there. I started reading it on the hour-long drive back from the doctor's office where I got the book while my wife drove. Before we got home I realized that I would need to read it as a textbook and not as a novel! For that reason, I set it aside until I could. I carried it on vacation and to business trips hoping to have time to devote to it... Jury duty provided that time. I was right! It did require reading it as a book! I made many margin notes, underlinings, cross-references, and lists inside the front and back covers. I only regretted not having a computer to take more detailed notes. I'm doing that on the second reading.
When I discovered I had high insulin, I started reading all I could about high insulin, type II and insulin resistance. There is a lot of information... Especially on the Internet... But, much of it disagrees with each other. I look primarily for actual studies and not opinions or guesses. Some of those sites provide good information, charts and diagrams to other sites that can be verified by actual studies... I also like to be able to look at the study. Many times what is written about a study isn't what is actually in the study... Especially government studies. Many government studies are even miss-reported by the government! But that's just me. It's the way I try and weed out good information from junk, realizing that I'll still accept junk at times and reject good, but that's why pencils have erasers... I can always change my conclusions whenever new information shows errors in those conclusions.
The problem with antidotal information is that it may be ignoring key parameters that were never considered and never measured, but may be key to the results observed.

My first physical was during the Vietnam War. My blood test results required a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). The GTT results were fine. Since that time, occasional blood tests have also resulted in GT test.... Each time, the GTT passed fine. Now, I suffer from what would normally be considered serious diabetic symptoms without being diagnosed with diabetes (even with the new diagnostic guidelines.) Both my blood sugar and A1c tests are below the diabetic guidelines for type II.
"Syndrome X" explains it all! MY next step is not to criticize the parts of the book that were difficult to read, but to put it into practice and see what happens.
Take this review for whatever it might be worth to you... I really don't care! I'm not selling anything. I don't care how many books are sold.

Now in a newly updated and expanded third edition, The American Cancer Society's Healthy Eating Cookbook is packed from cover to cover with more than 300 simple, nutritious, delicious, "kitchen cook friendly" recipes that reflect the latest research and recommendations for healthy eating and healthy living. Some of the dishes are from friends and celebrities in the worlds of entertainment, sports, and business. From appetizers like Ginge3r Steak Rumaki; to soups like Mock Sour Cream; to salads including Vivica Fox's Perfect Caesar Salad; to poultry dishes like Herb-Baked Chicken; to seafood entrees such as Ed Begley Jr.'s New Orleans Catfish; to pastas like Creamy Fettucini with Sun-Dried Tomatoes; to vegetarian dishes like Chinese Meatless Balls; to chili's and stews like Robert Hook's Hot Hollywood Chili; to salsas including Pineapple, Peach, and Jalapeno Salsa; to side dishes featuring Turkish Tomatoes and Rice; to magnificent desserts like Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake, The American Cancer Society's Healthy Eating Cookbook is a compendium of fine dining recipes that will satisfy any appetite and please any palate. Enhanced with "Simple Tips in the Kitchen", budget and "best buy" shopping tips, healthy eating ideas, even quick tricks for judging portion sizes, The American Cancer Society's Healthy Eating Cookbook is an important, popular, and enthusiastically recommended addition to any personal or community library's kitchen cook collection!

This new second edition contains 50 new recipes in addition to all the favorites you loved in the original edition! Aspiring chefs and amateur cooks alike will discover more than 250 pages of simple and delicious recipes that will turn healthy eating into a celebration of good food. This new edition provides you and your family with the perfect tools for creating a delectable menu that is as tasty as it is healthy.

This book includes CHARBROILING beef! What utter nonsense. There is no warning about the cancer-causing aspects of meat or charring flesh. I would never trust anything the American Cancer Society says. They are very biased in favor of expensive pharmaceuticals with cancer-causing side-effects. They are the wealthiest "charity" in America, with cash reserves of $1 Billion.

The Role of the ACS in the War Against Cancer

The verdict is unassailable. The American Cancer Society bears a major responsibility for losing the winnable war against cancer.
The launching of the 1971 War Against Cancer provided the ACS with a well-exploited opportunity to pursue it own myopic and self-interested agenda. Its strategies remain based on two lies -- that there has been dramatic progress in the treatment and cure of cancer, and that any increase in the incidence and mortality of cancer is due to aging of the population and smoking while denying any significant role for involuntary exposures to industrial carcinogens in air, water, consumer products and the workplace.

Most of the funds raised by ACS go to pay overhead, salaries, fringe benefits, and travel expenses of its national executives in Atlanta. They also go to pay Chief Executive Officers, who earn six-figure salaries in several states, and the hundreds of other employees who work out of some 3,000 regional offices nationwide. The typical ACS affiliate, which helps raise the money for the national office, spends more than 52 percent of its budget on salaries, pensions, fringe benefits, and overhead for its own employees.

Salaries and overhead for most ACS affiliates also exceeded 50 percent, although most direct community services are handled by unpaid volunteers. DiLorenzo summed up his findings by emphasizing the hoarding of funds by the ACS.

"Most contributors believe their donations are being used to fight cancer, not to accumulate financial reserves. More progress in the war against cancer would be made if they would divest some of their real estate holdings and use the proceeds -- as well as a portion of their cash reserves -- to provide more cancer services."

Aside from high salaries and overhead, most of what is left of the ACS budget goes to basic research and research into profitable, patented cancer drugs.

The current budget of the ACS is $380 million and its cash reserves approach one billion dollars. Yet its aggressive fund-raising campaign continues to plead poverty, and lament the lack of available money for cancer research, while ignoring efforts to prevent cancer by phasing out avoidable exposures to environmental and occupational carcinogens.

Meanwhile, the ACS is silent about its intricate relationships with the wealthy cancer drug industry and chemical industries.

Read more....... http://www.corporations.org/cancer/boycottacs.html

I purchased this book to support the American Cancer Society so I wasn't expecting it to be something I could necessarily use. I was pleased to find that in fact it is very good. Yes, as one of the other reviewers notes, it suggests cooking the shrimp too long in one recipe but the majority are solidly conceived and take everyday cooking to a more sophisticated and doable level. This book can be appreciated by beginners and experienced cooks. The recipes emphasize fresh, whole ingredients but occasionally use convenience foods like canned beans. The conversions charts are up-to-date, thorough and user-friendly. I did not need the celebrity pictures and their recipes, but it is nice to know they support a very important cause.

This book had a nice mix of recipes, and some good ideas for substituting ingredients in some popular recipes such as brownies and cheesecake. Some recipes seemed too tasty to be low fat!

Listen to Chris Wallace's closing remarks on Bill Moyers on Fox News Sunday (8/26/07) and you will understand who and what we are dealing with in Bill Moyers - a radical, pagan, left wing, bomb throwing crazy!!!

With the sad state of health care in this country, Bill Moyers' engaging series looks to be quite prophetic 10 years after it first aired. As a casual observer of illness my whole life, I firmly believe that so much of what ails people is psychosomatic. Understanding how the mind works will be crucial in health care in the 21st century, as the model we currently have just isn't cutting the mustard. The book is a nice companion to the series, but the video of the Chinese lady receiving brain surgery using only acupuncture as anesthesia needs to be SEEN to be fully appreciated. My favorite video part is Jon Kabat-Zinn's use of meditation as a way of alleviating pain. I often show this Episode 3 to my classes and they are certainly fascinated. The book is a good place to start, but try to find the tapes at your local library also. P.S. Bill Moyers deserves some kind of national medal for his sustained excellence as a broadcaster!!!

This book, which stayed on the bestseller list for quite some time and is the companion book for the PBS special of the same name, sprang from Moyer's friendship with Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness and from viewing his father's debilitating headaches that began after Moyer's brother died. Each chapter is an in-depth interview with various healers, some from Western traditions, some with interests in Eastern traditions. The quality of the interviews is sporadic; I felt that since Moyer's doesn't have a medical background that there were times better questions would have elicited a more interesting turn to the conversation. Some interviews will put you right to sleep unless comprehensive discussions of neuropeptides excite the heck out of you! The most informational interviews came from physicians speaking about their fears and admitting to the types of limitations and insecurities they experience in the course of practicing - and how these fears are never discussed with patients in case they should "get too close". For my purposes, the interview with Ron Anderson, CEO of Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas was particularly enlightening particularly his statement that "But as we shift to more chronic disease models, we've got to have people who are able to help take care of themselves when they go home. Chronic diseases have to be dealt with as illness in the community and in the family." (p.33) And I would add, in the workplace. I wouldn't purchase this book, but taking it out from the library for a quick skim would be fine.

I found the cassette format difficult at best to enjoy due to the foreign language discussions throughout. I am sure that authenticity was the goal for Moyers, but I would rather have not had my time wasted on not understanding words and would have rather enjoyed the tapes entirely in English with editing done. Have you ever tried to drive and constantly push the fast forward button on the radio/cassette player? The book would have been better for me.

A very conservative look from one angle of alternative medicene yields opinions from respected medical practioners that there is more to healing then completing your perscription on time. The last section, focussed on traditional Chinese Healing, is the most interesting, although Moyers can be a bit of a dolt with his constant questioning about "chi". Really really gets one thinking about what is health, and what should be the role of physicians today.

I agree with Steve. There is a lot of reduncancy and repetition. There is some pretty good nutritional info, but more preaching than teaching, I feel.

This book is well written. It includes many juice recipies and various health issues and what fruit or veggies will help those issues. This book has quite a bit of information and is laid out for easy reading.

This book has totally helped me in learning all the ins and outs to juicing. Continually I find something new in this book. Of all the books I have seen I love this one!

This has some great recipes. That is the core of what is in this book and it will do the trick if you are looking for a list of great tasting juice recipes.

This book is a rip off. I bought this book for the recipes and was extremely disappointed. Entire pages are dedicated to common sense recipes such as Apple Juice (2-3 apples), Orange Juice (2-3 oranges), Pineapple Juice, Carrot Juice, Cantaloupe Juice, etc., etc. If that wasn't bad enough they waste paper by printing one recipe per page, when they could easily fit 4 recipes per page. I suggest saving your money and searching the internet for better tasting and more expansive recipes.

Readers, take note of a few things -
Though the author comes up eventually in favor of cutting back on meat products for ecological reasons, it is my impression is not generally sympathetic to vegetarians. The book largely focuses on the hacks and crazies that adopted vegetarianism between 1600-1800. Gandhi gets a scarce few pages.
Second, this is A cultural history of vegetarianism, specifically the relationship between western europe and India. His thesis is that India was largely responsible for transplanting many strands of vegetarianism into Europe, specifically England and a few French philosophers. This very well may be true, but a more expansive survey would have made for a more interesting book. I got very bogged down in the first few chapters.
All these negatives included, it is a well researched, reasonably well written book on a narrow topic.

There is no doubt that Tristram Stuart has conducted a great deal of research in order to write The Bloodless Revolution. He has a astute eye for minute details unique personalities. Doctors, cranks, religious fanatics, scientists, and others, some famous and some obscure, are rendered with thorough and loving detail. If nothing else, the sheer scope of Stuart's work is illustrative of how broad and diverse a movement vegetarianism is.

Yet sometimes I feel that Stuart was in some ways blinded by his own hypotheses and unwilling to look at alternative views. Stuart believes that European vegetarianism is rooted in Indian culture. This is not an indefensible view, but his case for it would have been stronger if he had answered some potential objections to such assertions, rather than ignoring them. Furthermore, literally all of European history between Pythagoras and English Revolution is simply missing. It is perfectly reasonable for Mr. Stuart to focus on a particular era, but readers with some preestablished famniliarity with vegetarian history -- a group likely to comprise a significant portion of The Bloodless Revolution's readers -- are likely to ask questions. For instance, why does St. Francis of Assisi not appear once in the entire book? Why is Leonardo da Vinci only mentioned in a quote comparing him to the Indians? Should the Cathars be ignored? It is one thing to focus on a specific era of history -- the English Revolution to the Second World War -- but it is another to leap straight from Pythagoras to Francis Bacon while ignoring virtually all of the intervening millenia. In short, if Stuart wants to emphasis the critical role of Indian influence on European vegetarianism, he should have investigated earlier indigenous European vegetarian movements or ideas and, if the evidence showed them not to be influential, shown us such evidence, rather than ignoring the whole question.

Second, Stuart often magnifies a dichotomy between animal welfare activists who called for less brutal treatment of domesticated animals and vegetarians who opposed meat consumption. While it is certainly true that there were and are numerous animal welfare activists who sought the reform, rather than abolition, of meat consumption (and vegetarians indifferent to animal welfare), Stuart seems to imply that these were each others' chief opponents. There is little mention of the arguments of those who opposed both animal welfarists and vegetarians. From my impression, it seems that Stuart himself happens to be an animal welfarist who has no problems with meat consumption so long as the animals involved are treated humanely. There is nothing wrong with this viewpoint, but sometimes I wonder whether Stuart's emphasis on welfarists as opponents, rather than allies, of vegetarians, is an attempt to defend his own position against worries about the persuasiveness of ethical vegetarian arguments, and whether Stuart ignores most views less sympathetic to animals than welfarism or vegetarianism because he personally finds them so unpersuasive that he feels they needn't be covered.

Lastly, while Stuart has a brilliant eye for detail and color, he has little time for facts or demographics. Such information may be hard to come by, but could there have been more information? For example, could there be some way of estimating the fraction of vegetarians in the British population from 1600 to modern times? Could we find out the average meat consumption per capita over time? I did not pick this up expecting a book heavy on statistics or demographics, but I nonetheless found the absence of even minimal attention to such matters disappointing.

Nonetheless, The Bloodless Revolution is a thoroughly researched, well-written, and original work. It provides a valuable resource to anyone interested in the history of vegetarianism in the modern era. I found it quite an enjoyable read, and the detailed portraits of the individuals, from meticulous scientists to enthusiastic religious cranks, were all a pleasure to read. I took great pleasure in reading it over several weeks.

I've been a vegetarian for 25 years and was excited to get this book, which would give me insight into the history of 'my people'. Unfortunately, it's a snooze - dry, with references to all kinds of historical figures that I know nothing about, jumping from here to there, with nothing compelling to keep me adrift on a sea of historical mumbo-jumbo. I gave up after less than 100 pages. Sorry - it's obviously well-intentioned, but just not compelling or gripping reading - even for someone who is the core target audience!

C.S. Lewis once delightedly insisted that he couldn't be offered "a mug of tea that was too big or a book that was too long." Being less stalwart than he, my heart sank when I saw the size of the wonderfully named Tristram Stuart's The Bloodless Revolution. But I was quickly captivated by Stuart's enjoyable style, his astounding erudition, the sheer interest of his subject matter, and the exquisite illustrations, in both color and black-and-white.

Stuart writes intellectual history in the old-fashioned graceful way of a Basil Wiley, Keith Thomas, or Carolyn Merchant. He excels at showing the cultural, economic, moral, and religious influences from Francis Bacon through the nineteenth century romantic period on attitudes towards a meatless diet. I was especially intrigued to discover that some of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century utilitarians and economists regarded vegetarianism as a means of overcoming the Malthusian disparity between population and resources--a very forward-looking strategy indeed. Stuart's epilogue, in which he discusses the early twentieth-century's "post-Rousseauist" back-to-nature movement that inspired folks as diverse as Gandhi and Hitler, is fascinating. I hope that it serves as the seed for Stuart's next book.

All in all, highly recommended for those interested in the history and culture of vegetarianism as well as those interested in modern British intellectual history. For collections of some of the primary sources referred to by Stuart, the reader may wish to consult Ethical Vegetarianism from Pythagoras to Peter Singer and Religious Vegetarianism from Hesiod to the Dalai Lama.

This is one of the most informative and important books that I have ever read. I have worked for a half century in the diet and health research and policy arena and have reluctantly but most assuredly because convinced of the health superiority of a diet comprised of plant-based foods. Along the way I also have become very much aware of the difficulty of communicating this message to the professional and public communities. Although serious interest in this topic is emerging in the last few years, even last few months, I am also aware of a visceral sometimes very hostile reaction against this view from a relatively small but sometimes influential group of people. The gap between the believers and non-believers in this way of eating could hardly be more contentious. Thus I have frequently wondered about the question of whatever happened to rational, civil discourse on a topic such as this, especially at a time when we are getting so much empirical data to support the use of a plant-based diet and so much demand for health care solutions.

This book comes as close as any to providing the explanation that I have sought. Although I am not a professional historian or philosopher, I have long had an avid interest in these disciplines. I strongly believe in that age-old adage that those who ignore history are bound to repeat it. However limited my perspective may be, I nonetheless find this book by Tristram Stuart to be an incredible presentation of some events and ideas that really go a long way to help provide an answer to my question.

I am still awed by the depth and sophistication of knowledge that existed among leading scholars and medical people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries concerning the use of a plant-based diet. I am sure that it is possible to quibble about Stuart's selection and interpretation of references, as is true of almost any historical account. Nonetheless, I am impressed with these references, not only because of their number, but also because of Stuart's liberal use of direct quotations--these can be easily confirmed, if necessary. But, more to the point, I found that so many of the views of these early writers, who had limited access to empirical data, to be remarkably well confirmed with the highly technical findings gathered in recent years. With my son, Tom, we write about these findings in our own book, "The China Study. Startling Implications of Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health".

There are many other impressive and largely unknown findings told in this book. I especially enjoyed the views on diet and health of these writers that were at the core of philosophical discussions that were to shape Renaissance thinking, especially on matters that led to political reform.

I highly recommend this book--it is full of enormously impressive content that says so much about what we are now experiencing in this field. Tristram Stuart is a remarkably capable young writer and I very much hope that he will continue writing more such material!

In the meanwhile, we now desperately need some of the courage and creativity of these early writers--a revolution in health could hardly be more needed. Thank you, Tristram Stuart, for sharing your thoughts.

When I saw the list of dietary restrictions on the cover of this book, I thought it would have lots of great things for my daughter, who has almost all the allergies this book supposedly addresses. The adjustments included in the recipes, however, are common sense, and only work if you have some of the restrictions. Ex- If you can't have dairy, use margarine, if you can't have corn or soy, use butter. I was expecting more recipies that don't need all the substitutes. The lay-out was also very cluttered, between the lists of possible alterations and dorky cartoons.

This is a helpful book for anyone on a weird special diet. My only complaint is that because it addresses so many different restrictive diets, it is sometimes a little hard to figure out what you can use if you are only restricting one thing, like sodium. But the recipes are tasty and they work.

I am celiac, allergic to corn, soy and diary, and I try to eat vegetarian. I thought I was limited to bland, plain foods but this book taught me that I can enjoy eating again! I love this book and use it all the time. The variety of vegetarian entrees is tremendous and there are recipes for things I never knew existed. And no fancy or hard to find ingredients are used which makes the meals so easy to make. This book has been my life-saver! There is a user-friendly chart at the back of the book which makes it so easy to see exactly which foods comply with my diet. I wish I had found this book sooner!

I bought this book because it appeared to be good for vegans and vegetarians who also want to reduce their gluten/wheat consumption. I thought with the word "vegan" on the front of the book, that at least the author would know what that was. There's a definition section that involves the author making uninformed statements about a (lacto-ovo) vegetarian diet not causing death to animals. There are supposed vegetarian items with marshmallows and Worcestershire sauce. Page 36 involves a recipe, Surprise Muffins, that states that vegans and vegetarians need to omit the gelatin; yet on the SAME page, Applesauce Bread tells egg-free people and vegans to ADD gelatin to the recipe. I am very disappointed in this book and the way it is written. I can understand that people make mistakes, but these are repeated throughout the book.

This book is such an invaluable resource for anyone on a special diet!!! I found the author to be knowledable and incredibly interesting and the recipes to be delicious and easy to make. I've bought copies of this book for all my friends - even those who are NOT on special diets...that's how good these recipes are! Thank goodness for Connie Sarros - she has truly filled a need for those of us suffering from food allergies!

From food and nutrition to lifestyle and spirituality, this book covers EVERY aspect of macrobiotics. This is an important book.

People should always be careful of self-proclaimed gurus who have universal remedies...

I was a macrobiotic myself and gave up because I couldn't stand so many irrational restrictions and religious proclaims.

80% of macrobiotics is just vegetarian commom sense and has been around for millenia... but the remaining 20% is a dangerous mix of the Japanese likes and dislikes in food, with more than a pinch of new age mumbo jumbo.

Look for a good vegetarian book for food and search in philosophy or religion if you want answers on the meaning of life.

A profound an logical study of Man and the Universe evolving as a whole. An extensive study which encompasses evolution of Man and the Universe, based on Eastern and Western knowledge. A guide to reestablish physical, psychological and spiritual quality of life as the fundamental means to achieving world peace. This is a book to raise consciousness and awareness to continue human biological and spiritual evolution within a frame of a conscientious life style of continued transformation and awareness, enjoying the endless process of change and self-transformation, bringing health and happiness into our lives.

Warning: This book simply may have not been for me, so take the star rating with a grain of salt.

I wanted to like this book, having heard a great many good things about the Macrobiotic diet. And I understand that to understand the dietary and health theories behind Macrobiotics, it's important to understand the philosophical basis. However, the way this book is structured, I found it quite frustrating to read, and I honestly failed to follow many of the connections that it was trying to make between the philosophical systems and eating issues.

I'm not giving up on the subject matter completely, but I suspect that this was not the place to begin. Great appendixes, on the other hand, and almost worth it just for them.

I did not try this diet because I couldn't get past the first few chapters, it's a pretty boring read. The informatation makes sense, but the diet does not. Soft Chew or Hard Chew foods, I don't get. There are too many rules. I will be interested to see other reviews.

It's ok if you are serious about this way of eating. I gave it away.

This book makes total sense. It takes effort to eat vegetables and proteins, as most Americans eat unhealthy diets of fast food, junk and anything out of a box. This type of eating is causing even children to be diagnosed with diabetes and other illnesses. Our bodies were made to eat vegetables, fruits, proteins and grains, but the average American ingests more starches than anything else. Starches are already hidden in many processed foods. If people would eat mostly fresh, non-starchy vegetables with proteins, along with a couple of fruits a day and only 1 or 2 servings of a WHOLE grain or healthy serving of fresh corn or a potato, they would heal from their weight and health issues. It's that simple. Most people either don't care enough or do not want to take responsibility for their health or weight. That's why -- for some -- this book might be too much work. However, it has worked wonders for me, my clients and my friends...and everyone else who is willing to change their unhealthy lifestyles. I have a lot of energy as a result of following Ms. Puhn's recommendations.

This book is extremely helpful for the person who is ready to make a complete lifestyle change. It makes more sense if you first read the book that comes before it, "The 5-Day Miracle Diet." This book builds on the principles of that book and is a good choice for people 35 and over. My entire family is on this plan and we all have lost weight and have much more energy. This is not for the person who is wishy-washy about dieting. It takes a real committment, but it works.

This was my first time to read a book by Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld and I was pleasantly surprised! I found this book to be user-friendly and sensible in its approach to how one might use food as an added treatment for ailments, without negating the usefulness of modern medications and other treatment modalities. I think the best part is that Dr. Rosenfeld avoids outlandish promises. As a matter of fact, he offers his information as just that -- "food" for thought. He is consistent in advising readers to converse with one's own health care provider about the information he is suggesting. And Rosenfeld is careful to tell the reader when he has limited knowledge or available information, about a certain vitamin, mineral or food and its relationship to the particular ailment being discussed. The book is formatted in a way that allows one to flip around, not necessarily reading the chapters in order. The author also repeats information when it is relevant to several diseases, so as not to assume the reader has read any previous chapters where the data appeared. Thank you, Dr. Rosenfeld, for offering up some palatable information that is sound, moderate and sensible, in a non-judgmental forum.

The book is a big list of disorders in alphabetical order, from acne, actinic keratoses, aging, and alcohol through flatulence and halitosis to vaginal yeast infection. For each one there are several pages outlining the features of the disease and how diet plays a role. Rosenfeld talks about what is known to work, what might work, and what probably won't work even if you thought it would.

Straightforward, not comprehensive, but clear in what it does cover. At least one or two useful suggestions are given for each disorder. And from a reputable source.

EXCELLENT, excellent, excellent! A common-sense approach to controlling your own ills without resorting to pills. I have purchased many copies to give to friends and the results have always been positive. What you eat is the basis of your health. Remember,(just like computers), garbage in = garbage out. Look up your personal problem, then read how to take care of it.

I love Dr. Rosenfield, but this is a useless book. Sorry, doc.

With our new state regulations this will be perfect! The book was even better than I though it was going to be. Thanks so much

The problem with books like this is they do not address the problem of dealing with disabilities in he Real World.

Unlike a book such as Greg Perry's Disabling America: The Unintended Consequences of the Government's Protection of the Handicapped, Don't Call Me Special is more of a reactive book instead of a proactive book that teaches children - and more importantly PARENTS - how to cope in society and how to give your kids the VERY BEST CHANCE AT SUCCESS no matter what challenges they may face.

I doubt it was the author's intent, but this book is almost like a "feel good about yourself and that you're different" and focuses on self-esteem, etc., without giving any guidance on the best way for parents and their disabled children to have the best chance to be happy and content AND, yes, successful however you define it.

If a feel-good-about-yourself book is important to you, this will probably work. But if you want answers, you need to look elsewhere. The first place to find the answers is in Perry's Disabling America: The Unintended Consequences of the Government's Protection of the Handicapped - be warned - it's a caustic book that pulls no punches about problems with the ADA, etc. But do you want answers or not? Don't you want the VERY BEST FOR YOUR CHILD? It's a prescriptive book.

Once you get a better perspective there on today's world of disability problems and how your kids can copy not only better but FAR better, then you need to check some NLP titles such as PsychoCybernetics. It's not psycho-babble in spite of the title, it's a general approach that allows anyone to overcome their challenges.

This book is subtitled, a first look at disability. I ask this though; wouldn't kids get a much better first look across the lunch table at their neighbourhood school? I'm not sure why authors think that we need all of these books to teach us about disability, It seems like an n out-of-date notion to me. Give us an engaging storyline not a medical lesson.

I love this book. First I'd like to point out that this is a children's book - for children. Don't Call Me Special is intended for the typical child audience. The title itself is refreshing and pulls away from the idea that "Special Needs" children are different. We donate this book to our childrens' school libraries and have asked and been granted that our county libraries carry this book. This book is not a book about specific disabilities or about rights for your child. This information can be found in other books, at your local support group, through state agencies and your local schools. What this book DOES do is open dialog for elementary school typical children. We read this book in many of our childrens' elementary school classrooms. The first thing that the book points out to children is that we are all different and that each of us has things we are good at and things we need help with (and to not assume things just because a person has a disability). The secondary lesson is to explain why children who have disabilities get help and what some of that help is. I feel this information helps demystify where children with disabilities go if and when they leave the classroom and why they get additional help in school. To me, reading this book in the classrooms with typical students helps those students realize that having a disability is no big deal. This book is not intended to help those with disabilities. The book is intended to help typical children address concerns they have for students they share a classroom with that may have learning or physical disabilities. Get this book and use it as a tool to open up a great discussion!