This book was published in 2000 but most of the advice is still very relevant 12 years later. Dr. Weil takes a sensible approach to diet and exercise and explains how to navigate your local grocery store and how to eat when you go to restaurants. He provides recipes and ideas for meals that will give you pleasure and health.
In a world where many doctors are still uneducated about nutrition it is always refreshing to read one of Dr. Weil's books. This book shows that he has extensively researched healthy eating. He starts by explaining macronutrients and micronutrients. He does get a bit scientific at some points but if you enjoyed biology class you will fully understand all the concepts.
I also appreciated his section on the glycemic index as I'm finally starting to take that seriously. I now find myself telling people to eat sweet potatoes instead of baked potatoes. I was shocked to learn that parsnips are worse than pretty much any vegetable you can think of. This book also explains that honey is not much better than sugar and that whole wheat bread is not really any better than white bread. You will seriously think about not eating very much bread after reading this book. But Dr. Weil is not against all carbohydrates as you will also see from some of his recipes.
This book has a great section on various diets people promote. Dr. Weil gives the good and bad qualities of each diet and then explains which diet is best. He seems more in favor of the Mediterranean diet for the most part. I also liked his chapter on the worst possible diet you could ever eat. It really educated me on what I should avoid.
There were many parts of the book that explained things I'd wondered about. Like in one section the raw foods diet is explained. I didn't realize that alfalfa sprouts had toxins in them. Dr. Weil explains how cooking destroys the toxins, making vegetables safe to eat. He also explains why grass-fed beef is a much better choice. The only thing I really questioned was his advice about coconut oil. Since now we know it is very healthy and good for the brain. So if you've been reading up on the current nutritional advice of the moment then you'll know you should be adding coconut oil and coconut milk to your diet. Tonight I made a lovely curry with coconut milk that was delicious.
I must say that reading a Dr. Weil book is always intellectually satisfying and very comforting. You get the sense that Dr. Weil really cares about his readers and wants them to enjoy themselves as well. You can't go wrong with this excellent book on nutrition. It explains the basics and even teaches you how to read labels so you make the best choices at the grocery store.
~The Rebecca Review
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Top reviews from other countries
stonetta
Apparently not updated in 2017, just republished
Reviewed in Italy on April 21, 2024Carla Freeman
Very interesting and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2014Bert 5
Good book with lots of new info for me
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2015Amazon Customer
A good back to basic book about nutrition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2013
