Health Books

As of this writing, only 2 people gave this book anything less than 5 stars, which just shows some people won't be satisfied with anything. Everything about this book is great - the information is current and comprehensive, the tone is funny without being insensitive, every situation is discussed. You probably won't need to read the whole book, since it covers every kind of situation. I'm looking at a hysterectomy for cancer in the near future, and I am so glad I found this book ahead of time. Dr. Streicher, if you ever read this - thank you.

It really is a complete guide. I am 26 and facing a hysterectomy and this book answered every question that I had. It helped to educate me on what's going to happen during surgery, recovery and the long term. I am a lot less afraid to have this procedure.

Very informative and thorough guide to ALL aspects of a hysterectomy - reasons for needing one, choosing the type of surgery, what will happen during surgery, recovery time-table, & post-surgical issues. Written by a gynecologist who consulted colleagues, themselves experts in sub-specialties, when she needed to. The book is crammed with information and written in a conversational tone that is sprinkled with humorous tidbits.

I am in a high risk cancer group, and had a prophylactic hysterectomy resulting in surgical menopause. Unfortunately I found this book at the library AFTER my surgery. I read the entire book anyway, because I wanted to be fully educated on what I had gone through and what was ahead of me.

I had an excellent surgeon at a teaching hospital, but this book would have been a great resource 6 weeks ago! Kudos to the author, and I hope it gets revised as new HRT treatments and studies are released.

I think this is the best book (easy to read no-nonsense, authoritative) on hysterectomy. This doctor had good, sane advice. I underlined lots of it.

After you read this, for the "sister to sister" book about what REALLY goes down once you decide to have a hysterectomy, get the Hyster Sisters book or visit their website: www.hystersisters.com

The combo platter of these two books should help you like it's helped me.

I'm in the process of planning for a hysterectomy. I read this book BEFORE I interviewed surgeons. It was an extremely helpful resource for me to understand the various procedures to perform a hysterectomy, to learn about the decisions I need to make, and to fully understand the pros/cons and risks. As a result, my time in the doctors' offices has been much more valuable because I was better prepared. I highly recommend this book!

Great help during my support group for Fibromyalcia. I learned some of my symptoms and why. Not that there are any cures. However, some suggestions.

Thank you,

Cindy Connor

I purchased this book for a friend of mine, recently. I had all ready bought it and it's companion book about 4 years ago. My friend was absolutely amazed at the "right on" words of Dr. Starlanyl on the FMS and CMP. She also was taken in by the easy to understand material. There was so much she had validated..she couldn't put the book down for a couple of days! It doesn't take the pain away..but it sure helps to know it "isn't all in your head"!!!

Dr. Starlanyl was way ahead of her time when she wrote this book. I actually read this in 2006 after 4 months of extremely painful and useless chiropractic "treatments." Frustrated and in severe pain, I picked up this book and learned a few things I didn't already know. The main one being the difference between Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Trigger point therapy (TPT) is used to treat MPS and my FMS exacerbates the MPS. But now I had found a new treatment that actually allowed me to move again. Before TPT: Vacuuming would leave me in a knotted mess with severe low back pain and full-blown FMS flare. After TPT: Now when vacuuming pretty much feel only the exhaustion of FMS and a slight tension. And this has lasted a year! I am so thankful.

Definitely give this book a read and her other book. Check out my reviews for other helpful FMS books.

Update 01/08: This book is still one of the best out there. I use self-TPT still and plan on seeking a practitioner.

Exceptional book helps everyone who has this depliating disease. A must have I think .. glad i got it

Regardless if you have this condition, know someone that has the condition, if your going to work/or do work in a clinical setting, YOU MUST OWN THIS BOOK!! I'm a recently retired Federal Clinical Social Worker who regrets not owning this book sooner. If your a librarian, do your clients a favor, PURCHASE THIS BOOK!! I plan to purchase this book for my PAIN CLINIC TEAM at the Veterans Hospital. Anyone knowing a veteran, military person, or a dependent of such should take a look at this book. Military people, past & present, take a body beating from the constant physical demands. This, in the long run, will effect you. Please, read the symptoms & be honset with yourself when doing so. There is no gain with pain if you don't acquire the needed help to manage it. It also doesn't make you less a person to admit your smart enough to accept help when needed. I was in the Marine Corps from 84 to 90. I didn't begin to feel the symptoms till 1999. I worked for the Veterans Hospital from 1994 til I medically retired in 2006. What is known as the Persian Gulf Syndrome is Fibromyalgia!!!! You need not have been in the Gulf to get this condition!!! Please, consider what I've typed & help another with the knowledge you will acquire from this wonderful MUST HAVE book.

While I agree with those who contend that even in large doses vitamin C undoubtedly doesn't cure cancer, neither do the deadly poisons of chemotherapy and radiation. Unlike the horrible side effects and life shortening poisons of chemotherpy and radiation, even in large doses vitamin C won't poison your system and shorten your life. Having said that, I convinced that you can take to much of even an excellent vitamin such as C.

The mildest form of chemotherapy, mustard gas was used in WWI. It was so difiguring that it's use was outlawed at that time. The form most often used in present day cancer treatment is the most toxic form available. As it burns the tissues, radiation is no safer than chemotherapy.

In the 1970's Nixon declared a war on cnacer, which meant he was declaring war on our bodies. I'm not war with my body, but rather desire to do all in my power to treat as the fearfully and wonderful made creation of God that it is.

While not a cure for cancer either, a truly healthy diet, optimal doses of all vitamins and minerals, fresh air, moderate sun exposure, plenty of rest, dealing with emotional issures, etc, can prolong people's lifes, give them a better quality of life with less pain and in less advanced cases even reverse the disease. Way to often we are looking for a magic bullet supplement or treatment for disease. There are no magice bullets, but rather we all need to take "responsibility" and care for our bodies the way they were designed to be cared for. Prevention of disease not cure should be our emphasis.

User "L. POWER lp542": while Linus Pauling is a great mind and his vitamin regimine is a wonderful way to maintain a healthy immune system, his mega-doses of Vitamin C are ABSOLUTELY NOT a primary treatment for cancer, as you suggested. It is irresponsible of you to suggest that taking large doses of vitamin C can push one's cancer into remission. The only effective prescriptions for cancer are those offered by leading oncologists, like surgery, if possible; chemotherapy; radiation treatment; radiofrequency ablation; monoclonal antibodies; etc. It is irresponsible and morally abhorrent to suggest that vitamins can be an effective primary treatment for cancer when leading oncologists have never supported this hogwash. You are presenting a supplementary treatment as a primary treatment. And, since cancer is a fatal disease, your advice can actually shorten the lives of patients who would otherwise be receiving treatments that actually work and have been proven to do so in double-blind randomized placebo trials. Do you really believe that a random book (written by a Nobel laureate or not) contains secret cancer fighting tools that leading researchers and oncologists are not aware of? If vitamin C loading was so groundbreaking in the treatment of cancer, don't you think there would be articles about it in major medical journals and presentations on it at the annual ASCO (American Society of Clinincal Oncology) convention? There is a reason that mega-doses of vitamins are not used as primary treatment at cancer hospitals. That reason is that vitamin C loading is NOT a proven primary treatment for any type of cancer. There are NO studies proving that vitamins can push any type of cancer into remission. Those cancer patients you mentioned who are alive today are not living because of their vitamin loading. They're alive because of the primary treatment (e.g. chemotherapy, radiation, monoclonal antibodies, etc.) they received.

I have not read this book, but I somehow doubt that Linus Pauling would suggest in it that vitamins are a good primary treatment for cancer. In fact, I'm sure he didn't. Something this riculous could only come from a crackpot poster on Amazon...

Linus Carl Pauling is regarded by many as the premier chemist of the twentieth century. Pauling received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing, and is the only person to win two Nobel prizes that were not shared with another recipient. The other people who have received two Nobel prizes are Marie Curie (physics and chemistry), John Bardeen (both in physics) and Frederick Sanger (both in chemistry). Later in life, he became an advocate for greatly increased consumption of vitamin C and other nutrients. He generalized his ideas to define orthomolecular medicine, which is still regarded as unorthodox by conventional medicine. He popularized his concepts, analyses, research and insights in several successful but controversial books centered around vitamin C and orthomolecular medicine

Linus Pauling, best known as an advocate of the health value of mega doses of Vitamin C, and a two time Nobel Prize winner.

In a major cancer hospital in 1976, they carried out a study of terminal patients for whom conventional treatment was stopped. The control group of 1,000 who had no Vitamin C therapy all died by August 10, 1976. The test group of 100 patients who were treated with Ascorbate (Vitamin C) had eighteen people surviving by this date. The average survival time of those getting Vitamin C therapy was 4.2 times longer than the control group, on average living over 300 days longer. Some of this group continued to live indefinitely. You can probably imagine that people in a less dire state would show even better results.

Another study indicated that people with cancer tend to have lower amounts of Vitamin C. It is possible that the Vitamin C is depleted because it is being used by the body to fight disease, and therefore it might be reasonable concluded, according to Dr Pauling, that an ill person would need more of this supplement.

Dr Pauling himself took about 18g a day.

There are anecdotal stories in the book. One in particular of a man who took 10-12g a day for a 52mm liver cancer lesion. The cancer was stopped from progressing, and eventually much to the surprise of medical experts shrunk 32%. Dr Pauling recommended he up the dose to 25g daily, and he eventually on his own initiative went to 36 g. At the time he wrote to Dr Pauling he had survived two years.

One of the key issues we face as we grow older is disease of our connective tissue, and inflammation. This is manifested through conditions such as arthritis. I remember reading somewhere that about 80% of people age 60 have some form of arthritis. Vitamin C is an excellent anti inflammatory, and also great for allergies and colds.

If you are interested in learning more about health and longevity, I recommend reading this book.

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My grandmother was taking about 26 different meds for all sorts of conditions, COPD, arthritis, diabetes, cholesterol, fibromylagia, etc. etc. I figured most of her symptoms were a result of over medication and side effects. I first got the book "Best pills, Worst Pills" to review her meds. I highly recommend it. Then I started getting books on nutrition and vitamin supplementation. This book by Pauling is the best I have read. After you read it, it will give you a better understanding of how to look at you health from a big picture point of view. The other book I highly recommend is a book by Hoffer called "Putting it all together: The New Orthomolecular Medicine". He writes more about his clinical experiences. If you read the Hoffer book first, you would probably be a little more skeptical, but if you read the Linus book first, it will give you a better foundation for accepting Hoffer's propositions. GET THE BOOKS!!

Of all the many books I have read about child rearing, this book is by far the best and most useful book for dealing with your everyday (and not so everyday) problems. Betsy's words are relatable, concise and her approach makes complete sense. Her advice is presented in a readable (often very funny) manner that translates very easily to the real world. From nose picking and back talk to table manners, sex and death, this book covers it all. Besty's words are absolutely invaluable. Buy this book and refer to it often. You will not be sorry!

The best book I've found so far! Practical ideas for all parents. I've implemented a lot of the tips and it works wonders!!!!!

It works and gets to the point quickly.

I have a stack of parenting books, many of them I haven't finished. Braun's book is easy to read and gave me useful advice that made an immediate difference with my two boys (5 and 6).

Along with Siblings Without Rivalry, this is my go-to manual for help when I'm tongue-tied or spinning my wheels with my kids.

This is the best parenting book I've read. I have two boys (2 and 4), and most every topic has been an issue within our household. I've recommended this book to all my friends, and those who have purchased it are also singing its praises. I love the author's "scripted" responses -- takes all the guess work out!

Thank goodness! This is NOT another "Raise-Your-Child-According-To-Me" book. Betsy assumes you already know a little something about parenting and can handle most day-to-day situations. But she also knows that we're all going to get stuck occasionally wondering about the right thing to say. THIS is when you pick up her book and look for help -- and you WILL find it. It's brilliant! Think of it as WD-40 for the parenting brain.

Haven't used it too much yet, but it seems like just what I need for our family of 3. Tasty looking recipes, without too much fuss!

This is my 2nd copy of this book. My first copy somehow turned up missing and there are some recipes in here that I just had to have so I ordered another. Great tasting healthier versions of old recipes and tips. I love this cookbook.

This book is very well written. The author shows HOW she decreased the fat and calories and comes up with a very tasty alternative. Food values for the revised recipe are listed. A most valuable interesting tool for anyone trying to decrease their cholesterol or lose weight. The food is attractively pictured and her color choices make for a light bright plate of food. Evelyn Tribole is a very imaginative dietitian, many dietitians make diet food look so dull and boring!

My wife and I love this cookbook. We started Weight Watchers a few months ago and their books use unusual ingredients and are often lacking in flavor.

This book on the other hand is fabulous. It uses common ingedients that you either have on hand or are easy to find in the local grocery store. It also includes all the information you need to calculate your points for Weight Watchers and the food is delicious. We have loved every recipe we have tried. I recomend the Spicy Peanut Penne!! It's my favorite so far.

These are more kid-pleasers and for those who aren't real experimental in food tastes, but for basic "comfort food" there are some good recipes. My one complaint is that some of them take a while to make, and there's no time estimates on the recipes-- so read them carefully and think about what you have time for. Otherwise, very good.

I purchased the Mosby's Medical Dictionary and I am extremely pleased with it. It has many color photos throughout the book so you can see examples of diseases, skin disorders, etc. It is a great book, well worth the money, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Item came just as described and on time. I would definitely work with them again.

I really like this dictionary, I wish I could get this much info in a pocket dictionary!

I got this book because it had such awesome reviews. I'm going to be taking a test in the near future, and you're allowed to use a medical dictionary, and I picked this one.

I've been taking practice tests. On the first practice test I took, the first 6 out of 7 medical terms I tried to look up weren't in the book. I was stunned, and several of them were pretty basic words that I just wanted to get a very clear definition of.

I'm not sure it's even going to be worth lugging this book to the test, or even keeping the book. I may just sell it and try another book.

Jane

I'm in a medical school, and I find this book insanely useful...even for very elementary things. It has EVERYTHING in it and I don't regret buying it for a second :).

Great book filled with wonderful and useful info. For those looking to parent their children in a naturally minded informed way this is THE book.

This book has saved my life in so many ways!! When my oldest son was five years old, he had been on various antibiotics, decongestants, antihistamines, steroids, and you name it to treat asthma, and chronic ear infections and colds for two years almost non-stop. At the time, I felt like the only thing I could do to help him was keep pumping this stuff into him... it was so depressing, and what was even worse was that nothing I gave him was even working! I felt like I had hit a wall. I didn't know what to do. Then a friend recommended this book to me. Ever since I got my hands on this gem, we have started living again. It's amazing how much valuable information and guidance for parents can be packed into one single book. One of the many sections in this book has an extensive list of illnesses, what is normally prescribed in conventional medicine for these illnesses, and then the real good stuff --homeopathic remedies that can knock out the illnesses much faster than conventional medicine, and get this -- with NO SIDE EFFECTS! My son is off of all of his old medications and is feeling and looking so much better and stronger. Now I use this book as a reference on what to do and use whenever my two younger boys, I, and even my husband are sick. And keep in mind there is so much more in this priceless book, I've only mentioned one section. I open up this book several times each week and I know once you see what this book has to offer, you will too!

All I can say is WOW. I feel like this book has helped me to be a better parent, and I can say...that my daughter has never had and anti-biotic as a result of following this book and visiting Dr. Feder. I have loaned this book to neighbors, family and friends...It is a life saver!

Natural Baby and Childcare is a great book for treating conditions in adults as well as children. While I was visiting my daughter and grandchildren, I came down with a cold, and used Dr. Feder's book to treat my symptoms. The A to Z section on treating illnesses was easy to navigate and understand. I appreciated the guidelines on home treatments and found the right homeopathic medicine for my symptoms. I feel that the treatments allowed me to heal quicker and enjoy my time with my family. I would recommend this book to adults too!

Read it as a novel, read it when your kids are sick and you are looking for help, read it when you are sick, read it when you want your family to stay healthy. Read it!!!!

This is an excellent, straight-forward, sensitive book that deals with a topic that is difficult. It is written so that it can be easily understood and is incredibly helpful to victims as well as therapists who treat them. The author validates the victim's world and encourages the victim to get help and talks about the many males who have survived and are healing.

As a spouse of a survivor, I read this book which also offered advice to partners and spouses. This book gave way too many examples and other info for the first 4 chapters. Most of us already have an idea of what sexual abuse against boys can entail, there were just way too many stories of survivors that were disturbing and difficult to read. It did however give important insight and ways to get help and help yourself but it came along with a lot of unneeded information. If you have the time and patience it is a good tool towards recovery.

A thoughtful book re sexual abuse of people who are trying to get past the victim ideology. The writer has had much experience in treating these people and his suggestions are helpful.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of childhood sexual abuse then this book is an excellent resourcee. It deals primarily with Male Survivors and provides great insight into how coping mechanisms have become a way of life. It allows survivors to carefully examine their feelings and relationship choices in a positive and affirming manner, and begin to make changes to a healty lifestyle. If you have decided to read this book, well done!!! You have taken the first steps to reclaiming your life!

I gave this wonderful book to my husband who is in recovery from childhood sexual abuse by his father. He cried and read , cried and read from start to finish. The book is empowering, healing and filled with truth that heals. I recommend it as an essential read for those in recovery and for those who love them. Kate

This is the book that first opened my eyes to both fully understanding the disease and HOPE about what steps can be done to regain wellness. ALL BRIAN'S BOOKS & HIS ANNUAL REPORTS ARE A MUST for both patients and doctors!

I became interested in rife machines, and the hope that they might bring an end to my 13 years of Lyme disease suffering, after reading the chapter on electro-medicine in Bryan Rosner's second book, The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine.

At that point, I knew that I needed to purchase Rosner's first book for a deeper study of rife machine therapy. Since he recovered from a devastating case of Lyme using rife machines himself, and since he is an eminently-readable author, I trusted his analysis of rife machine technology.

My family and I have not been disappointed. Rosner's Rife Machine book has been our handbook not only for understanding rife machines but also many other supportive measures (especially detoxification of Lyme poisons and by-products) which must be employed if rife is going to work.

As with his other books (The Top Ten Treatments and the 2008 Lyme Disease Annual Report), Brian shines as a true journalist - objective and understandable. He does not minimize the suffering involved in recovering from Lyme (due to the Herxheimer reactions and detoxification regimens), but prepares the reader for them gently and honestly. As with his other books, he does not betray a loyalty to any specific rife manufacturer or Lyme treatment provider of any kind - although he does quickly and efficiently expose the reader to the names of the most reputable rife manufacturers, detoxification experts, etc., which streamlines the research process for very sick people such as myself.

Finally, he provides additional sources of information, many of them on the Internet such as Yahoo discussion boards about rife and other therapies, so that the reader can quickly connect with thousands of other real people with whom to share their woes and discuss viable treatment options. All of this helped me identify which rife machine to buy first in a matter of about 48 hours!

If you wish to find a real, possibly permanent solution to the Lyme infection ravaging your body, please consider the information presented in Bryan's book and also his second book, The Top Ten Treatments for Lyme Disease, which will probably help "close the circle" of complementary therapies to rife.

Please note: I am not a medical professional of any kind. Please consult your regular physician(s) and other health-care providers for information and relief if you believe yourself to have a medical problem of any kind. Also, please consult your regular physician(s) and other health-care provider(s) before attempting any treatment for any medical problem you believe yourself to have, including treatments such as rife machines and those described in Bryan Rosner's books, discussed above.

If you or someone you love has Lyme Disease or any other tick bourne illness, then you absolutely owe it to yourself or to them to read this book. I believe every Doctor on the planet should read this book! There are so many illnesses which truly are Lyme related, this is an epidemic which the world needs to be made aware of.
Rosner does a superb job of detailing alternative methods of healing and gives you a light at the end of the tunnel. If not for the information reavealed to me within these pages, I would have probably died of complications due to Lyme and it's co-infections. This is written by someone who has really done significant research and knows what he is talking about. I value every word of Rosner's books and this is another one that I would never be without!

As a person who has the difficult diagnosis of Lyme disease, I have to say that this book gave me a very clear view of exactly what I was fighting and helped me develop a successful game plan for treatment. I was even able to better educate my doctor about the disease and about effective protocols using electromagnetic resonance therapy. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has or knows someone who has Lyme disease!

Bryan Rosner has written two well researched and easy-to-read books, both for people with Lyme and for the health care professionals who treat them--The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments and When Antibiotics Fail: Lyme Disease and Rife Machines. Lyme disease is a difficult and debilitating condition that most often defies the best of what allopathic (Western) medicine has to offer. However, Mr. Rosner has offered us a variety of non-invasive, holistic, cutting edge methods, sometimes to be used in conjunction with more conventional therapies. Rosner explains what works, why it works, how it works, and why it may not work. I consider both of these books indispensable. They belong in the library of anyone who is seriously investigating this disease.

Nenah Sylver, PhD
author, The Handbook of Rife Frequency Healing
and The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy

As a "professional" dieter for many years I was a bit skeptical when I purchased the Automatic Diet. While it is true there is no magic formula for weight loss ( too bad), I did like the practical approach suggested in this book. Although a lot of the information is just plain old common sense, it provided a refresher course on the best way to succeed at any diet, simply but making simple but permanent changes to make your "diet" a permanent way of life, hopefully leading to permanent weight loss.

This book goes a long way to help us understand eating behavior and how to break unhealthy habits and develop healthy ones

After losing 40 pounds on Weight Watchers, tremendously improving my health, my appearance, and my pleasure in life, I started regaining weight and could not stop gaining. Rejoining Weight Watchers did not help. I kept gaining! I was at the point where I could not stick to a diet for more than four hours! I was desparate by the time I'd regained 25 of the 40 pounds I'd lost. Fortunately, I found Charles Platkin's The Automatic Diet and was able to turn things around. He explains not only what to do but also how to do it and make it part of a lifestyle I can comfortably live with. One week after starting to follow his suggestions, I was down four pounds and am actually enjoying my life while losing! Many of his suggestions are things I already knew but it was like taking an advanced course after completing a beginners course. I've read many wonderful books on fitness and nutrition, but Charles Platkin just puts everything together in a simple way that works and that I (or anyone) can enjoy living with!

"Muscle mass is the body's most ancient furnace." ~Charles Stuart Platkin

Charles Stuart Platkin's "Breaking the Pattern" helped me to analyze my self-sabotaging behaviors and again in The Automatic Diet, he presents strategies for overcoming negative patterns in eating.

The Automatic Diet presents ideas for promoting overall health, controlling weight and enhancing your self-esteem. Charles Stuart Platkin unveils misconceptions about weight control and shows you how to have long-term success.

The Diet Detective takes you through your eating behaviors and you can decide if you want to include behavior modification strategies to your everyday diet. Through self-analysis you start to break negative patterns and destructive eating tendencies. He explains how most diets deliver temporary results and most people gain the weight back. How is this diet different?

This is not a diet where you have to give up chocolate (Who could give up Leonidas Belgium chocolates?) or your favorite foods. What the author seeks to encourage is a healthier lifestyle. Since most diets don't bring the results we are looking for, Charles Stuart Platkin advises a lifestyle change. In most cases, he doesn't take away foods like popcorn and carrots; he shows you the best choice. There are a few lists of "items you ought to think about throwing out." These include the usual suspects - sugar, soda, ice cream. I was a little shocked to learn about the calories in the Starbucks Classic Coffee Cake.

I still think in moderation, you can handle a little ice cream, although I must say I feel terrible if I eat too much sugar in a day and it can produce the feeling of chronic fatigue for 24 hours. The author recommends good protein sources, a good variety of vegetables and healthy starch choices.

I am happy to see that another author is talking about the muscle mass issue, because this could help many dieters over the initial hurdles of initial weight gain when you start to exercise. The author also explains why a drastic reduction in calories triggers the body's famine-survival mechanism. This of course slows down your metabolism.

There are also ideas about "excuse busters" and self-talk is definitely your friend or enemy. My most recent self-talk to increase my exercise includes telling myself how good I'm going to feel after I exercise and eat my fruits and vegetables. Being proactive and buying clothes that are too small also seems to be good motivation. I also threw out any clothes that are too big for me, so I simply will have nothing to wear if I don't exercise.

Another idea is not buying anything that you know you should not be eating and buying lots of things you know you should be eating. Then, when you are home and hungry, you make better choices. Doing Yoga also seems to help because it generally puts you in a much calmer state of mind and you feel more in control of your choices.

If you are heading towards 40, then you may also want to read The Metabolic Plan to learn about amazing supplements and how you can stop the aging process, increase muscle mass and feel younger each year.

~The Rebecca Review

I wanted to rate this book 3 1/2 stars.

While it is true that virtually nothing in this book could be considered "new" as in groundbreaking, it is the way he presents the information systematically that makes all the difference between his book and all the other diet books out there. His plan is sound, and it does take into consideration that perhaps some of us would rather eat spinach than bell peppers, if we do have to eat our vegetables.

However, what keeps this from being 5 stars:

1. No end-of-chapter summaries, which would have been extremely helpful.

2. The index is not that great. You cannot, for example, look up specific notebook exercises, and would be well-advised to make up your own location list for them. It would be nice if this oversight were remedied in the next edition.

3. I was surprised he would steer someone towards buying several different types of low-cal/low-fat ice cream, rather than suggest something healthier like a frozen fruit bar or a sorbet. Often you just want something cold, not necessarily rich in fat. And he mentions in one appendix how great this one product is, despite having some coconut oil in it (an ice cream product), yet fails to mention that by making some of these treats (and indeed other foods) yourself, you can cut out a lot of the fat/sugar, yet still have a great-tasting food.

4. In line with #3 above, I was somewhat disappointed that even though he often pointed out that so-called "fat-free" foods have just as many calories (or more) as their fatty cousins, he also tended to recommend "calorie-bargain" substitutes that could also be objectionable due to their ingredients. A lot of low-cal foods are chemical-laden, and to use another example, even if you are an ovo-lacto vegetarian, you are still not going to want gelatin in your food. So, reading the labels for nutrition information is not enough--you will also want to check the ingredient list as well, especially if you go the substitution route, as opposed to real portion control.

5. His suggestions for restaurant eating made it not worth the effort to eat out. Here's a better solution: order whatever you want, along with a take-home container. Immediately package up 1/2 or 2/3 of your meal for yourself the next day, or give the container to your friend or another family member to take home.

6. The book could have been written in a more organized fashion. Good tidbits of information are buried in the middle of long paragraphs, which makes it hard to refer back to the book for specifics.

Bottom line, buy this book. Dr. Barbara Rolls (of Volumetrics fame) wrote an introduction, and in addition to her book I would also recommend reading Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Guide to Weight Loss books. He too falls into the "Frankenfood" substitution trap from time to time, but his books with their photos dovetail nicely with the Calorie Bargain/Calorie Rip-Off concept in this one.