This is a very interesting book, and I am extremely glad it has been written. The strange sounding title refers to the name of an eating plan that derives 80% of total calories from carbs as found in fruit, and 10% each from fat and protein, and does so within a raw vegan framework. Graham's opinion is that this is the optimum and natural diet for human beings and therein lies the premise of this book, and he spends the next 300+ pages convincing the reader why this is so.To accomplish this, Graham uses mostly common sense arguments and scientific analyses. The former are more effective here, and he peppers the text liberally with them. The combination is a very convincing mix, and I felt ready to dive into a pit of bananas before I had read too far. By the time Graham describes how eating a high-fat diet stresses the adrenals I was both fascinated and reflecting in horror on my past dietary sins.
There are 348 pages here; 170 of them are essay in chapters, and the balance goes to sample menus, nutrient breakdowns, portion equivalents, testimonials, faqs, and so on. These miscellaneous parts do not come across as filler, even the perhaps overly lengthy testimonial section. Graham's writing style is clear and though he engages in repetition at times (for instance when talking about fat and blood sugar) the flow is mainly undisturbed. The end feeling I had was that it was very intelligently laid out and well done. I also appreciate that he doesn't try to sell you anything. (see "The PH Miracle" for an example of that!)
I really don't have much to criticize here, I did wonder what stripe of doctor "Dr." Graham is, and some of the menu plans (dinners) seemed a bit complex to coexist with a "mono is best" philosophy. He cites some vague and trivial sources ("a 1999 journal article says..." and "according to a brochure from the Colorado Vegetarian Society..."), and I was left wondering why Dr. Graham recommends eating any "overt" fat at all (given that sweet fruits and greens naturally contain 5% fat). He never gave a reason. Also, he says to eat juicy fruit for breakfast, sweeter fruit for lunch, and I remember something about acid fruits at dinner. Again, he never gave a reason for this. Very minor things in the broader context. I would overlook a great deal more to get to the profoundly worthwhile message of this book.
I guess the most compelling thing about this book is that by the end, the diet proposed within seems like a no big deal, normal, almost. It's like a secret hiding in plain sight. That's amazing considering how truly rare it is to eat in such a way. Go out into the world and you will see it is borderline revolutionary. I have applied these principles and experienced nothing but positive results for myself- If it were not so I would never write such a review. I must say thanks to Dr. Graham for putting this out there for everyone to benefit from.
Note: I don't know what the deal is with the 4-6 weeks Amazon takes to ship it, I bought mine from [...] because of that.
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Product Description:
After more than 5 years of intensive work the definitive guide to the 80/10/10 Diet is here! Get your hands on the latest book by Dr. Douglas Graham, The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing Your Health, Your Weight, and Your Life One Luscious Bite at a Time. If you have struggled with staying raw, would like to lose weight, or change your life for the better, look no further than this groundbreaking book.
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