The Maker's Diet

Rating:
Summary: Finally! A book helps me stay out fo the doctor's office....
Review: I pre-ordered this book knowing it would have the information I needed to help follow through on a holistic approach to wellness. My confidence came after reading "Patient Heal Thyself" months earlier at a time when this illness was at it's worse. Following the protocol outlined in the book worked. The doctor (a top Specialist at that!) was so pleased with the results he told me to keep up the good work and there was no need to return for a check up. Had I found this information sooner I could have spared myself all that testing and the large doctor bills. If only I had known then what I know now. Famous last words! right?

When I became ill with this autoimmune disease more than 10 years ago, I searched for solid information, but just couldn't find it in one book. I was truly too sick to read book after book. When I had to take chemo therapy during those years, I realized that I couldn't afford to give up the search for information that would outline in detail a holistic plan to wellness, because my health battles were not over.

Now, the hunt is over! "The Maker's Diet", will go down as one of my all time favorites and something I recommend for everyone to have as a reference book (at least), regardless of their faith. This is invaluable information that has exceded my expectations! The recipes and products source index in the back of the book gives that added bonus which makes this very easy to follow through. I finally feel I can take a competent, proactive approach in my health care and get a chance to cut down on the doctor visits for a change. :-)

Rating:
Summary: Please God, no more diarrea !
Review: The diet and the health program that the author is presenting contains valid and practical advice and instructions derived from the Bible, what God intended us to eat. The book emphasizes that the digestive system is the nucleus of our health and that if we focus on improving it, we will be better positioned to prevent diseases, improve our stamina, optimize our mental performance, and improve the dietary habits of our children.
I also like the spiritual and emotional elements that the author has included as part of the diet and wellness program. The author's web site contains some excellent information on the book www.makersdiet.com

Rating:
Summary: a change of lifestyle and well worth it
Review: The book provides a 40-day health program with daily instructions on what to eat, what not to eat, prayer, excercise, and the whole formula that is part of The Maker's Diet. I started this three weeks ago and I feel great that is why I am recommending this to other people.

Rating:
Summary: throw away those diet books and get this one
Review: From diets, to hygiene, to praying, to spending time in the sun (to produce vitamin D), it's up to the reader to take in and apply the information and practical 40-day plan to lose weight, gain energy, and maintain a strong digestive and immune system. There is much to learn from this book and I am already feeling the postive effects from following the author's recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a "Not Just a Diet" Book
Review: This book, which is does not promise a 15 pound or 15 inch loss in 15 days, is intended to address whole being health, body and soul. I especially liked Dr. Rubin's approach to time for spriritual and physical cleansing. Time for daily quiet reflection in our fast paced society (whether Christian or non)is important to overall mental and spiritual health as much as daily exercise. I have been using his Perfect Food and Super Seed and have been modifying my diet (free range poultry/omega 3 eggs etc.) and will gradually follow his diet and daily more strictly. I have already noticed a change in my energy level. Finally a book that addresses our whole being's medical, spiritual and mental health. Good work, Dr. Rubin. Long overdue.

Rating:
Summary: Very Inspiring and Informative
Review: This is a book for anyone who is looking to improve their overall health. It is not another diet book that claims dramatic weight loss, this book goes much deeper into the facts and provides information, recipes, and tips of how to safely lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I look forward to incorporating these principles into my life and the lives of others.

Rating:
Summary: This book is amazing
Review: In response to the other reviews which were negative, I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this book who is serious about living a healthy life both spiritually and physically. Although I have not started the diet yet I have taken garden of life products for some time with rather amazing results (especially since I am a typical american eater). I look forward to incorparating these principles into my life and the lives of others.

Rating:
Summary: problems with documentation and credit
Review: In Rubin's book, Rubin claims a doctor in California helped him heal by teaching him how to eat a biblical diet while his father scoured the world for healing supplements finally bringing Rubin HSOs. While these two events where apparently life-changing for Rubin, he gives no credit in his book to the doctor from whom his entire diet principles originated. Rubin also fails to credit his own father and the company that makes the HSOs that originally healed Rubin. It is highly unprofessional to build one's career and reputation on the work of others and not appropriately giving them due credit and gratitude.

Much of this book is an advertisement for Rubin's products that appear to be repeats of products already out on the market and the one-size fits all approach of Rubin's recommendations. I wonder if Ruben's HSOs are relabels of the same product he used?

I am also concerned that he interprets biblical diet principles to advocate eating large quantities of meat. I don't know of any middle-eastern Jewish or Muslim culture that promotes or eats high quantities of meat. A biblical diet is pretty much a middle-eastern cuisine which is rich in vegetables and carbohydrates and shy on fats and meat. This is an important distinction to make, especially when interpreting "God".

That said, I can't disagree with eating organic or 'clean' foods. I have to support anyone who promotes organic diets, farming, and sound environmental practises.

Rating:
Summary: Common Sense Approach Goes Back to the Garden
Review: I cannot understand why anyone would scoff at Jordan Rubin's common sense advise to eat real food that tastes good instead of pre-packaged junk engineered to meet demand, maintain shelf life and make suppliers wealthy. Come on, there are no conspiracy theories at work here simply because Rubin bases his eating plan on something that he also happens to believe in. If you don't like his religious conviction, read around it, but don't miss out on some interesting facts about the food that is currently available to us in our local supermarkets and recommended by today's diet gurus.

For the most part, anyone interested in staying healthy already knows what Jordan is going to say; he has simply compiled it in a book format and has added a wonderful resource appendix for those of us who do not have fresh dairy and hormone-free beef available to us. His insistance on ingesting what he calls HSO is nothing new, many people drink super green drinks on a daily basis; the clenzology and aromatherapy ideas have been around since the dawn of time; he certainly didn't invent them and convenient kits for home use have been around for quite awhile---you certainly need not buy his. Don't let the commercial Garden of Life blurb in the back of the book deter you---there are also blurbs about many other interesting resources that you just might want to look into---that's why they are in the back of the book as appendices. (This book suffers from a lack of an index; I found it super difficult to refind things that I had already read without one.)

The program uses a 40 day approach--think 40 days of Lent---40 days of fasting in the desert----and breaks down this period into 3 segments, 2 week in each. The first 2 weeks helps to stabalize your insulin resistance and to balance out omega3/omega 6 ratios that help out your immune system. A sample meal on this phase is: a tuna salad with raw carrots and celery. The next 2 two week periods simply add different food groups into the mix. Where phase one was primarily protein and greens, some dairy, nuts, legumes and oils, the second phase includes fruit and more of a selection in the categories in the first phase. (Sample meal: Chicken with oregano and mushrooms, corn on the cob and steamed broccoli with carrots and butter.) The third phase is the mainentance phase where good grains are finally included as well as additions to the categories in the other two segments. (sample meal: Lamb chops, potato with butter, steamed vegetables (broccoli, carrots and peas))

Rubin includes some testimonials as well as his own story of his successul battle with Crohn's disease. I found his most interesting chapter to be entitled "The Desperate Search For Health", where he speaks of many of the common diet and medical fads with which we are currently bombarded.

Bottom line: If you don't like Rubin's religion, read the book for the information he has painstakingly provided. There is nothing odd or absurd about it --- in fact, his most controversal "don't" is avoiding shellfish; he likes goat milk because it is easier to digest; he explains why he likes fermented products, he doesn't like the American obsession with hygiene products, or the push to eat more soy, he even includes an interesting list on "how to get sick". Rubin is so natural he takes the idea of the French potager --- (backyard garden providing herbs and seasonal vegetables) and has expanded it to include the penultimate garden of Eden, literally. Just how bad can that be?

Rating:
Summary: The most ridiculous book I have ever read, hands down.
Review: I read the majority of this book shaking my head in disbelief at Jordon's arrogance. I have read his other book, and in fact work in a health food store that sells the Garden of Life products. It disturbs me that Jordon honestly believes he's God's new Messenger on earth, come to save us from our sinful diets. This is the most blatent exploitation of Christianity I have ever seen. He talks about in his first book how he wandered for 40 days and 40 nights before a cure was granted to him for his wasting illness. I feel it important to mention very few people actually die of Chrone's disease.
There is nothing new or special about the diet. You can find similar diet books in any health food store. The only difference is Jordon's insistance this is God's Diet, and his products. He twists and turns various aspects of the Bible slaps on his story of his illness and then sells it for $19.95.
Let's look at the "kit" that will be for sale shortly. There's a special soap, special oil to clean the ears, a video of Jordon doing his grocery shopping, and a special cream that sucks the bacteria out of your body. All for the low, low price of $199.99! What absolute nonsence! There is nothing special in this kit that warrents this price.
The products Garden of Life sells are laughable: goat protein powders, soil bacteria, and a greens fomula with bizarre ingredients like 'phyto-plankton'. I ask my boss once a week if we can box it all up and send it back to the company, as I cannot in good conscience sell this product to the customers. Every dollar people spend on this book and the products is a waste of money.