The Vitamin D Cure [Paperback] Review

Both my spouse and I are physicians.When we read this book, we were shocked to realize how little we had known about Vitamin D.Following Dr. Dowd's suggestions, we began taking Vitamin D from one of the sources listed in the book.

Within two weeks, we could each see significant improvement in the following:

1.)gums/teeth -- we had both had some gum recession over the years, with associated tooth sensitivity.We had asked dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons why gum recession occurs.They all said, "It just happens."That never made sense to us, and it is now apparent that they simply did not know about the Vitamin D connection.Our gums now look healthier, and the tooth sensitivity is gone.
2.)tendon/ligament/fascia pain in the ankles and feet -- gone or greatly improved.
3.)skin -- smoother, fresher look with decreased prominence of pores.This isn't talked about in the book and so it was unexpected but most welcome.My personal belief is that it may be related to improved immune function with Vitamin D.

Within four weeks, we had increased muscle strength and decreased muscle fatigue on exercising.

An interesting aspect of this is that we live in Florida, where you might think it would be difficult to be Vitamin D deficient.However, we work inside all week, and when we go out on weekends we use sunscreen or sun-protective clothing.

This book is thoroughly researched and referenced.It is full of specific advice on testing for deficiency, supplements, dietary changes, sun exposure, and more.It discusses the various health problems that Vitamin D can make a difference in, including arthritis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, seasonal depression, diabetes, colon cancer, and many more.

It is important to note that magnesium is essential along with Vitamin D.Though this is discussed in the book, I strongly recommend also reading "The Magnesium Factor" by Mildred Seelig, M.D. It is also excellent and extremely helpful.We have added more magnesium-rich foods to our diet based on Dr. Seelig's advice, and also decided to take one of the magnesium supplements she mentions.

In summary, I think most people could benefit from reading this book and "The Magnesium Factor".

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Product Description:
Groundbreaking new research has traced the source of a wide array of to a single common factor-vitamin D deficiency. Leading rheumatologist and researcher Dr. James Dowd reveals the causes of vitamin D deficiency and offers a simple, easy-to-follow five-step program that can eliminate or alleviate a host of seemingly incurable conditions, such as arthritis, in as little as six weeks. Better yet, by staying on the program, you can enjoy robust health and improved fitness for the rest of your life.

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The Starch Blocker Diet [Bargain Price] (Hardcover) Review

...The book describes a progrom that explains how you can eat carbohydrates like rice, pasta, bread and potatoes and lose weight. You lose the weight by taking a starchblocker. This calorie neutralizing substance called Phase 2 binds with the enzymes that digest starch. So when you take it with your meals most starch passes through your system without releasing calories. Phase 2 is made from white kidney beans and is very safe with no side effects aside from minor bloating or gas for some people.
The authors outline a 3 step program. You redistribute your calories so you eat more starchy foods so you will neutralize some of those calories. You learn to take emotional control of your eating and you burn body fat by exercising.
The authors state that by taking the correct dose of the product Phase 2. you will negate about 50%-75% of the starch calories in a carbohydrate meal. If you eat carbohydrate rich meals and take the supplement several times per day you will negate those calories thus be eating less calories and lose weight... In one study, patients lost an average of 3.9% of total body weight or an average of 6.45 pounds over 30 days compared to those on a placebo who lost 3 quarters of a pound. Another study shows a weight loss of .5 to 1 pound per week using the starch blockers...The biggest qualm I had with the book is it is not consistent with other informations as to when to take the starch blockers. The book says right before a meal. At the website of the starch blocker the authors sell it says take 30 minutes before (yes the authors sell starch blockers). So exactly when to take it is unclear. And very important for someone to know to have success with the plan.
After checking with representatives from several different brands and getting a number of different answers I learned that in the study the supplement was taken 30 minutes before.
The authors also make a few errors in the text. They refer to40% protein 30% fat 30% carbohydratebeing a typical low carb diet..when the actual ratios are 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat.On p. 69 they refer to gymnema sylvestre as a sugar blocker that is not readily available. Gymnema Sylvestre is marketed not as a sugar blocker but as a way to make it so your taste buds don't taste the sweet so you don't enjoy it. It's still available at health food stores. They suggest you supplement with chromium but do not specify chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate. They also tell you not to take more that 6 capsules a day of starch blockers. Yet in examples given they neutralize the calories from 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. Starch blockers have to be taken near the meal to work. So this would have you taking more than 6 starch blockers per day. The authors also suggest you switch your calories to more starchy ones so you can then block them. But this does not teach healthy eating habits. Perhaps it is better to try to control your intake of the energy dense starcy carbs like potatoes and bread and use the blockers as an additional helpmate.
The authors email addresses are given at the back of the book and I emailed both of them. But unfortunately, neither returned my emails to answer my questions. Finally I emailed customer service where the Dr. Rosenblatt the author sells his product (starchstoppers are sold under a variety of brand names) and a super representative named Susan answered my questions.
Skepticism aside there are a lot of good points in the book.The authors discuss how for many folks starch blockers are very helpful in combating the intolerance to carbohydrates. Many folks bloat up when they eat carbs in reasonable amounts and the authors explain how the blockers can help with this.
The book details how to determine your calorie level based on your size and activity. It lists a lot of foods and their starch content so you can plan your own meals. It also rates foods based on how effective they would be on the starch blocker plan. "If a food contains a high amount of starch it is given a better grade" I did not find this list that useful. For example eggs are given a B but they dont have starch so I think the list is based more on what is healthy for you than the starch content of the item.
The book also includes a number of recipes from a French Chef including, hot crab sandwhich, chocolate hazelnut shortcake, chicken paprika, and a number of other tasty meals.
I often bloat when I eat small amounts of carbs and my stomach looks it. So I decided to try the starch blocker program. After just a few days on the program I felt less bloated (my imagination perhaps?) but have not lost any weight. However, it does take time. This is not a magic pill, its a helper. Thus it will be a while before I can clearly attest to the book or starchstoppers effectiveness. When I know for sure I will update this review. Meantime I have my fingers crossed and my starchblocker on hand!
UPDATE - I personally did not notice any difference after taking the starch blockers except less money in my purse. I feel the best course of action to lose weight is exercise and eating real food in small quantities. There is no magic pill.

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Product Description:

Are high-carbohydrate, starchy foods -- breads, pasta, potatoes -- your dietary downfall? Here's a program that's almost sinfully satisfying but low in calories, a new medical strategy based on thirty years of clinical testing that helps people lose weight without giving up their favorite foods.


The anti-carb revolution that's sweeping America has finally found a sane solution. A recently discovered natural substance derived from legumes instantly eliminates most of the calories in starchy foods, giving you a huge caloric reduction and an effective fat-burning metabolism. No more denial diets! Using the groundbreaking information in this book, you can lose weight without hunger for the first time in your life.


The calorie-neutralizing substance known as Phase 2 binds with the enzyme that digests starch, so when you take it just before meals, most starch, similar to fiber, passes through your system without releasing calories. There are no side effects, but a huge benefit: up to 1/3 of your total daily calories are instantly eliminated! The Starch Blocker Diet provides a simple, three-step program for achieving safe, lasting weight loss:


Step 1: Redistributing Calories
You'll actually eat more starchy foods -- to maximize the power of this new way to lose weight!


Step 2: Taking Emotional Control
This program helps you regain power over food by stopping cravings and improving mood chemistry.


Step 3: Burning Body Fat with Supercharged Exercise
When starch calories are neutralized, you burn body fat faster, so exercise has a heightened fat-loss effect.


This no-hunger, nondenial strategy lets you eat a richly satisfying diet while still losing weight. You'll find formulas for individualizing the program to fit your own caloric and lifestyle requirements, a unique starch calorie chart, detailed scientific data, sample menus, and more than 100 delicious, high-starch recipes, many by James Beard Award-winning chef Philippe Boulot.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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The Six-Pack Diet Plan: The Secrets to Getting Lean Abs and a Rock-Hard Body Permanently [Paperback] Review

There is good information in this book, but one must sift through the chaff.The essentials could have been condensed down to less than 30 pages.Instead, there is a lot of "fluff," and after the umpteenth use of "it is believed", I started to lose faith in the information in this book."It is believed" is right up there with "they said" and "I heard"--it is believed by who?Was there a study done?

If you can get a dirt cheap copy of this, sift through it and it'll be fine.

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Product Description:
"Six-pack" abdominal muscles have long been viewed as the sign of ultimate physical fitness. Although many people strive for this level of fitness, lasting success evades them. Bodybuilders, advertising models, and professional athletes make achieving a "washboard" stomach look easy. So why do so many people have trouble getting lean abs and lowering their body fat? Can you get six-pack abs and maintain this level of fitness permanently? Sure you can. When you realize that there's no "magical" solution for losing excess weight and that quick fixes and short-term diets just won't work on a long-term basis, you'll be ready for "The Six-Pack Diet Plan." The plan described in this book is a long-term weight-loss solution that specifically targets problem areas such as the abdominal region. It uses your body's natural components, such as hormones, to help you win the battle of the bulge and create a fat-loss-friendly environment in your body. "The Six-Pack Diet Plan" offers researched-based concepts to optimize each facet of the fat-loss puzzle. And like any puzzle, it takes all the pieces to make it complete: proper nutrition, quality training, optimum supplementation, and perseverance to create a fat-loss program that you can live with.

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The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy (Paperback) Review

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (2/07)

When I first looked at this book, my initial thought was "Oh no, not another book on dieting!"However, when I flipped through the pages to see if I would review it or not I was pleasantly surprised that indeed it was a "pharmacy" and not another dieting book.In fact, "The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy" may be the first and the only book about weight loss supplements that is based on proven and researched scientific facts, and on top of that, written by a medical doctor.

One of the authors, Harry Preuss, MD, is not only a professor at Georgetown Medical Center but he has dietary supplement and nutraceutical research centers that focus on obesity, heart disease and the ever growing insulin resistance.The scientific references in this book not only address the research conducted by Preuss but also by the Mayo Clinic and many European centers.

The contents of the book focus on: fat busters, insulin regulators, carbohydrate inhibitors, fat blockers, appetite suppressors as well as muscle builders.Each section thoroughly explains, in lay terms, the issue, the natural substance e.g. green tea, chromium, etc., possible illnesses if obesity isn't regulated and how to use the product.

One of the important factors I believe the authors included in "The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy" is their chapter 12 - The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy Supplement Program: Designing the Approach That's Right for You.After reading the book and understanding the natural supplements that are available, the authors' first suggestion is to partner up with a professional, and more importantly reiterate that the supplements alone will not substitute a healthy diet and exercise.Chapter 12 addresses the supplements in a condensed version and suggests considerations as well as gives case studies.Of all the case studies the authors present, it is highly unlikely that an interested reader wouldn't find themselves in one of them.

I've picked up many dieting books over the years and I must say this is the best that I have ever seen.Preuss and Gottlieb present the most concise version of many books put together.They leave out a lot of the filler that is in many books and only confuses the reader."The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy" is a must for anyone that wants to create a safe way to lose weight and then maintain it.

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Product Description:

Finally, information about weight loss supplements that isn't based on hype or hope, but on scientific fact!

Written by Harry Preuss, MD, a doctor and university-based researcher, and Bill Gottlieb, former editor-in-chief of Rodale Books, this is the first and only reliable guide to the nutritional supplements and herbs that can safely and effectively help you lose weight and keep it off. You'll learn how to:

Speed fat burning-with green tea extract
Lose fat and build muscle without dieting or exercise-with CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

Stop weight regain-with MCT (medium-chain triglycerides)

Reduce carbohydrate cravings-with 5-HTP

Balance blood sugar for easier dieting-with chromium

Block the absorption of excess starch and sugar-with white kidney bean extract and L-arabinose

Get off a plateau, where pounds don't seem to budge-with HCA (hydroxy citric acid)

Turbo-charge fat-burning exercise-with HMB (hydroxy methylbutyrate) or BCAA (branched-chain amino acids)You'll also read about the weight-loss supplements that aren't likely to work or are possibly unsafe. You'll find a customized program to help you pick the one or more supplements that are right for you. And you'll discover an easy-to-follow, no-diet food plan for controlling calories, and a simple, no-sweat approach to physical activity for long-term weight control.



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