McDougall Plan

Rating:
Summary: GO VEGAN!
Review: An essential resource focusing on the diet and its relation to health. Although the McDougalls have made a living off of their "program," the book is free of related propaganda and focuses on well-documented and cited facts. This book has undoubtedly extended and improved many lives. In addition, The McDougall Program is a must-read for those who wonder why friends or loved ones have chosen a diet free of animal products. The book also includes recipes and advice regarding the transition to a vegan diet. The text is very accessible. You certainly do not need to be vegan, liberal, New Age, concerned about animal rights or the about the environment to gain from the information in The McDougall Program!

Rating:
Summary: A lifelong plan for health
Review: Dr. McDougall's plan isn't for the short term...it requires changing your life (for the better), and in our fast-paced world many people are looking for the quick fix, no matter the long-term consequences. If you want a fad diet that promises you can eat all the fatty meat and junk food you want, and still drop 15 pounds in a month, by all means don't buy this book. Don't expect to keep your health, either. Dr. McDougall takes a common-sense approach that involves eating whole foods and avoiding animal products. I've been on the plan for a year and have never looked or felt better...I've lost weight, I feel wonderful, my skin is beautiful and I'm constantly told that I look younger. I will stay on this plan for life. Don't be fooled by money-grubbing quacks hawking the latest fad...Dr. McDougall is the real deal.

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life
Review: Following the McDougall plan now for 2.5 years I have never felt or looked healthier. Not to mention loosing over 100 lbs. If you are serious about improving your health, loosing weight, or just want some sound advice about going VEGAN then this book is a MUST! Dr. McDougall makes total sense and is easy to follow. Finnaly someone who understands the real road to long term health and weight loss does NOT start with eating eggs and bacon every day!

Rating:
Summary: Everyone should try to follow it
Review: If they did, I bet there would be no more heart disease! This diet isn't easy at first. Yet the disgusting threat of slimy clogged arteries is enough to keep one going. This book is like a modern version of "Back to Eden" by Jethro Kloss.

Rating:
Summary: Oustanding
Review: This book saved my son's life. He had relapsing polychondritis, a rare autoimmune disease in the lupus family. I learned about Dr. McDougall through a search on the internet for relapsing polychondritis which brought me to a vegetarian website. We had never considered diet as a possible cause or influence in my son's condition, but we bought the book and started the low-fat, whole food diet. It makes total sense that our body is adapted to thrive on this kind of food, and every day on the news comes another study showing fruits and vegetables as the cure for so many problems, while meat and dairy causes so many. This was over a year ago and my son's condition went into remission three months after taking out milk and meat from his diet. He also lost weight and so my husband and I, who had been eating somewhat McDougall, decided to go all the way and try it, which resulted in his losing 30 pounds and my dropping 50. Dr. McDougall saved my son's life and probably my husband's and mine too. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative and Helpful
Review: When I read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dr. McDougall is the one who inspired me to become a vegan. The book has a lot of information and is very interesting. It contains wonderful recipes as well. I feel much better about myself since making the choice to follow "The McDougall Plan".

Rating:
Summary: A valuable book, with one caveat
Review: Written in the early 1980s, this book was one of the first to establish the nutritional superiority of a diet free of animal products. Dr. McDougall documents his assertions with extensive references to scientific studies and medical journals.

However, the diet as set forth in the book is not accessible to many people, due to its extremely low fat content. Dr. McDougall maintains that one "won't feel hungry" on his "health-supporting diet"; in fact, its lack of fat makes one ravenous. I myself tried for years to make it work, without success.

An instructive anecdote: the day I bought this book I was so inspired by it, I cooked myself up a batch of its Vegetable Stew, ate heartily, and--an hour later consumed half a gallon of ice cream. If you want to avoid such binges and make a vegan diet work for you, you need to adjust it to your needs. (McDougall Porridge-- oatmeal without salt and milk, with only a few raisins or currants added, equals mutiny.)

So, while I recommend this book for its scientific and nutritional information, I also suggest buying some other vegan cookbooks that contain better recipes. I also share my own adjustments to the McDougall program:

I disregard the book's cautions about high-fat plant foods, and eat them in moderation and as needed for satiety. I eat more protein-rich plant foods than are recommended by the book. I add some extra-virgin olive oil to the recipes. I add a little salt.
The diet should serve the person, not vice-versa. Good luck.