The Great American Detox Diet: 8 Weeks to Weight Loss and Well-Being [Hardcover] Review

I found "Supersize Me" to be one of the great documentaries (of sorts) in quite a while, not the least of which was the healthy dose of irony in that the girlfriend of star Morgan Spurlock, Alex Jamieson, was a vegan chef witnessing this diet he went on.

Well, the movie's a huge success, Morgan and to a lesser extent Alex are mild celebrities, and they both took the time to write books.Admittedly, this wreaks of commercialism, but remarkably both turned out good pieces, Spurlock's a companion to "Supersize Me", and Jamieson's revolving around the "Detox Diet" that she put Spurlock on after his month of McDonald's.

The book essentially is broken into three parts-- the first part is sort of introductory/background material-- Jamieson describes her journey from confessed junk food nut to vegan/health maven.It makes for an interesting read, but I felt the level of repetition (and endless reinfocement about processed sugar, etc.) that get to be kind of a drag.

The second part is the "detox diet"-- a week by week transition plan for abandoning the many processed and chemical additives that are throughout our food.

The third part is a series of healthy vegan recipes, some of which look quite interesting, and while I've used none of them, I've stolen a couple ideas for my own cooking.

My thoughts on this-- before I go further, I'm not a vegan, nor am I likely to become one anytime soon, but I derived a lot of value in this book, in particular from its advice in reading food labels and what's missing from them, and its advice in checking ALL food labels-- for example, we all know High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a corn-based sugar syrup (and at least some of us know that the body doesn't seem to register it as consumed calories and so hunger isn't effected which is why many folks can down ten cans of soda and still eat a full meal-- but if you didn't know that, Jamieson points it out to you).But what I don't think I knew is how prevelent it is-- on advice from the book, I read labels of seemingly innocent product-- bread.In my local grocery store I read about two dozen bread variety labels, and most of them (including a number advertized as "whole grain" and "multigrain" and "healthy") contained HFCS.In fact, I STOPPED looking when I found one that didn't have HFCS.And that scares me.

She also spends a lot of time talking about the flour enriching process, oil processing, water chemical additives, and so on-- I found all of this quite valuable in its own way as well, and armed with this knowledge, I made some subtle changes in my purchasing habits.

Mind you, Jamieson also recommends against plastic, I don't suspect I'd ever purge my life of plastic, and against caffeine, another thing I don't particularly want to go without (while I can and have gone weeks without my morning coffee, I enjoy the taste and decaf never tastes right to me).But its certainly all worthwhile to read, the more knowledge you have, the better.

One thing to point out-- adhering to the changes wholesale she advocates would get rather expensive-- there's a reason HFCS is all over the place, its cheap.This is true of all sorts of things from enriched flours to hydronated oils.While I'm certainly not hurting for cash, I think it'd be a bit too much of an impact on me financially to move in this direction.One other thing is that Jamieson recommends a wholesale purge of your diet of negative substances while overlooking that a number of people love this kind of stuff.I'm not advocating any behavior, but I know personally that when I restructured my diet about a year and a half ago, I still had to make room for the occasional deep fried takeout order to keep myself sane.

The recipes like I said look very interesting-- I haven't tried anything (yet), but I may, and like any good recipe book, there's a lot of worth-stealing suggestions in here.

Its a good book, packed with information, and well worth the read.Recommended.

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Vegan in 30 Days: Get Healthy. Save the World. [Paperback] Review

After deciding to go vegetarian for the last 2 weeks, I wanted to pick up some helpful reading material to assist me in making healthful food choices.The book is 30 chapters (about 2 pages each) - one for every day.
I would like to say that I didn't take the time to write this review in order to slam the author.I just think that you should understand what you are getting with your purchase and may choose to go another route.I usually don't ever take this much time to review a book (esp. one that is only $10) - I was wanting lots of technical information and it wasn't found in this book.I will say, that other than 2-3 references of PETA and animal cruelty, this book is written without a strong political undertone which I appreciate.

Chapter 1 is the most useful - assignment - answering the question "Why do you want to go vegan"
Chapter 2 - "know the basics" Taylor recommends you go online yourself and research what vegan really is about (ok already done that before purchasing the book)
Chapter 3 - "Fruit and Veggie Cleanse" - sensible enough
Chapter 4 - "Eliminate Red Meat" - ok, think this is why we bought the book - did it need a chapter?
Chapter 5 - "Find Substitutes" - reasonable basic chapter
Chapter 6 - "Get a Beautiful Fruit Bowl and Keep it Filled" Self Explanatory
Chapter 7 - "Start Each Day with a Green Smoothie"My biggest complaint in this chapter are two things.First she asks that you go buy a $500 blender if at all possible.Yes, that is a great suggestion.But what she wants you to make with it is a handful of tropical fruit, ice and some handfuls of spinach.It would be really helpful at this point to discuss how many vitamins/fiber/minerals that you are supplementing your diet with at this point.
Chapter 8 - "Eliminate Poultry" boils down to try your favorite sauce over mushrooms or veggies instead
Chapter 9 - "Make a large salad"
Chapter 10 - "Read Diet for America" by John Robbins.She says to read it because as a vegan we will be expected to know the major arguments for veganism.Hum?Really?I really don't care why others are doing it... Read Quantum Wellness or "Becoming Vegan" instead.
Chapter 11- another fruit cleanse
Chapter 12 - eliminate cheese
Chapter 13 - take a tour of your health food store
Chapter 14 - gather vegan recipes (hint - there are really none in this book unless you need to know how to make a fruit salad)
Chapter 15 - try a new recipe (1 paragraph)/would have been nice to insert a new recipe here?
Chapter 16 - Eliminate fish and seafood.She reminds us to not forget the cans of "lurking" tuna fish in the cupboard.Really? copy chapter 8 and substitute the word fish for poultry.
Chapter 17 - commit to the kitchen (meaning pre slice/bag your veggies)
Chapter 18 - buy a veggie chopper
Chapter 19 - Treat yourself.She recommends buying a new t-shirt to announce your "veganism".Strange for me.
Chapter 20 - Eliminate eggs
Chapter 21 - Meet other vegans - assignment is to meet one new vegan today via the internet or health food shop.Sorry, not for me.
Chapter 22 - Stay motivated.Source of books and websites.This chapter provides some actual information.You can find this yourself.But nicely put on two pages.
Chapter 23 - Take B12 and Flaxseed.Too bad not every chapter is written with this type of clinical information.Almost looks like another author wrote this chapter.
Chapter 24 - eliminate dairy
Chapter 25 - Learn to eat at a restaurant - hint: involves calling ahead and quizzing waiter.
Chapter 26 - Attending and hosting a dinner party
Chapter 27 - Learn how to say "no thank you, I'm vegan" Strange chapter...
Chapter 28 - Eliminate Remaining Animal Ingredients. She list common non-vegan ingredients.Suggests you learn more buy reading another recommended book or researching the internet (common theme)
Chapter 29 - Clean out your kitchen (I'm imagining it is done by now?)Really, who would live with a family and actually be able to clean out their kitchen.If it is my choice, I don't expect everyone in my family to be subject to the same choice.I'm strong enough to not have to clean out my kitchen.
Chapter 30 - State your case.Basically learn to communicate why you are vegan.

Back cover - go to [...] to learn more about Sarah.I haven't gone here - but guessing all this basic info can be found for free at her website.

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Product Description:
If you want to....
lose weight
prevent or reverse disease
have tons of energy
end unethical animal husbandry
drastically reduce your carbon footprint on the earth...
then a vegan diet is right for you.
Vegan in 30 Days will make sure that you reach your goal of becoming vegan in a healthful, fun, and successful way. Filled with incredible insight and dozens of practical tips, this book is a complete resource for making the transition to a vegan diet.
Included are over a dozen starter recipes of flavorful, easy-to-make dishes. Weekly assignments keep you actively involved in the process and lists of resources help keep you motivated. Guidelines for social engagements, i.e. hosting or attending a dinner party or eating out in restaurants, show how to make others aware of your diet without offending them and their dietary preferences.
Emphasis is placed on wholesome, unprocessed foods. This is not a book for junk food vegans. Also included are simple cleanses to help remove toxins from your body and reduce cravings. This transition can be complete in 30 days or each phase can take 30 days ~whatever is the most comfortable for you. The end result is that you'll feel healthier and feel good about your impact on the planet. All the while discovering and enjoying a satisfying and delicious variety of food.


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