Rating: 
Summary: The Latest Research, Good Explanations, and Easy to Use
Review: Review Summary: You would have a hard time finding someone in a better position to write this book. Dr. Willett is chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and he heads some of the most important long-term studies of how nutrition affects health. In this up-to-date book, you will learn what the latest research shows about how eating, alcohol use, exercise and not smoking can help you avoid some diseases and birth defects. The book also explains how to read the latest health headlines and interpret the studies they are based on in the future. The lessons are summarized into a Healthy Eating Pyramid that you will find easy to understand, apply, and remember. The book contains a lot of helpful information about how to shop for more nutritious and healthful foods, and easy-to-follow recipes. I was particularly impressed with the summaries of the data on how weight and eating relate to various diseases. The book's only obvious flaw is that it does not attempt to refine the overall research into subsegment groups like those with different blood types, different genetic tendencies, age levels, and so forth. Review: Like Sugar Busters! this book takes a serious look at overcoming the tendency for having too many fast-absorbed carbohydrates (whether as baked potatoes or as a soft drink) overload your blood with sugars and depress your metabolism. Unlike the "avoid fat at any cost" diets, this one says to avoid bad fats (especially trans fat and saturated fats) and to use helpful fats (like unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature). You are also encouraged to seek out nuts as a source of vegetable protein. There is also a good discussion of the healthiest ways to acquire your protein. The beef v. chicken v. fish discussion is especially helpful. He is skeptical about the need for much in the way of dairy products (I was shocked to realize how much glycemic loading, creating sugar in your blood, is caused by skim milk), but favors vitamin supplements as inexpensive insurance. He shows that calcium supplements may not do as much as you think to avoid fractures. Exercise and not smoking are encouraged. Raw foods and ones that are slow to digest (whole wheat, for example) are encouraged among the fruit and vegatables, in particular. The pyramid is contrasted to the one that the USDA adopted in 1992, which seems to be almost totally wrong. Apparently, it was developed based on a very limited research base. Since then, much has been learned. I enjoyed reading about all of the long-term studies being done now to understand the connections among eating, lifestyle, and health. The next 10 years should radically revise the lessons summarized here, as Dr. Willett is quick to point out. The conclusions in this book, for example, are based on individual studies of eating, drinking, exercise and health rather than the long-term studies that he supervises and follows. So even those studies may show new things. In one part of the book, he discusses the pros and cons of some of the popular diets. Some simply have not been tested for health effects, and he is candid in sharing what is not known as well as what is. This book will be especially valuable to those who like to get their information from highly credible sources, especially from within the medical community. I think I'll give a copy to my physician, who has been advising me to reduce fats in the wrong way! Although I don't consider myself very helpful in shopping for or preparing food, I learned a lot from the book about how our family can acquire better building blocks for a healthier diet. After you finish reading this book, think about where else in your life you may be following outdated information. How can you check? A good example is probably related to what you think it costs parents for children to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D. In many schools, all the costs are subsidized, and the students even get a living wage. How does that change your plans for encouraging your children's education?
Rating: 
Summary: Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy
Review: This book is a refreshing change regarding health and nutrition. His pyramid is the first to focus on the fact that weight control and exercise are as important to your overall health as the foods you eat. It once again shows that the fat free era that has made everyone obese is incorrect and that there are healthy oils we all need. He mentioned the fact we are not all the same, we are like snowflakes, each person being different and you need to find what works best for you, using the guidelines put forth in the book. Anyone wanting to know the latest correct information should read this book. It is full of common sense and honest scientific facts.
Rating:
Summary: An eating plan that is livable!
Review: A very sensible approach to eating healthy without feeling deprived. I've tried low fat diets in the past but I constantly felt hungry on them. I've done the high protein diets but they caused me to feel tired, weak and sick. Neither were diets I could live the rest of my life on but this is an eating plan that is balanced and sensible. It allows healthy fats and healthy carbs. And it makes sense! I'm very anxious to start living by it! Finally, an eating plan that is livable!
Rating:
Summary: I believe this is a reliable source of information
Review: As the author says in his book - it is very difficult to determine the long-term effects of diet on health and disease prevention. As a result we are constantly bombarded with conjecture and misinformation on the subject of nutrition. Because he is not subject to political pressures (as the USDA is) and because his conclusions are based on the results of many scientific studies over many years (rather than the latest hype), I have confidence that the information in the book is objective, up to date, and perhaps the best available today. As we learn more, some of his recommendations will undoubtedly be modified but in the meantime I intend to follow his nutrition guidelines.
Rating:
Summary: Still the most sound nutrition/diet guide around
Review: Although this book has been around for a few years now, its information is still more practical, useful and relevant than any of the diet fad books that have come and gone in the interim.
This is not a book that promises to help anyone lose weight or tone their abs. Instead, it's a no-nonsense guide to the food we eat, one that examines caloric intake, fats, etc., without laying on the platitudes found in many such guides. I think it's interesting that Willett discusses the importance of avoiding trans fats, an essential point that the rest of the nutrition world seems finally to have caught up with.
To me, the discussion of the traditional "food pyramid" and its faults is one of the best things I've ever read in a nutrition guide. We're brought up pretty blindly about these recommendations, and I'm sure it's an eye-opener for many people to see how we may have been misled in some areas.
If you're looking for sound and reasonable advice about your diet, this is easily the best book around. You might not drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks, but it can have a definite positive impact on long-term health.
Rating:
Summary: Great no-nonsense guide to nutrition and health
Review: This is a great book that looks at the relationship between what you eat and your health and backs it up with scientific data from long term studies. A very quick read!
Rating:
Summary: Must Read for Everyone!
Review: I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the effects of nutrition on health. Unlike many health or nutrition books, this one offers the actual science behind its recommendations. It is not a fad diet, not a quick fix, but a way to eat for life while reducing risk of disease. I have personally bought five copies of this book to share with friends and family.
Rating:
Summary: An important book, one of the best I've read on the subject
Review: This is a GREAT book with solid science. Of course, no book offers ALL the facts. A lot of this science is obviously a work in progress.
However, between this book and Dr. Barry Sears "Week in the Zone" and "Enter the Zone" books I read a few years back, it's a great start. Willett calls for moderation all around. But, he rightly (and scientifically) calls into question much of the conventional wisdom. It's a great analysis and recommendations.
Personally, I think his lean-protein portion of the pyramid is just a little on the light side. And, I think his "whole grain" information is good, but with the exception of oats and barley (often eaten in less processed form), I find that it's actually quite difficult to find truly whole grain foods...particularly of the wheat variety which seems to dominate our culture's eating.
Note, I've been loosely following Dr. Sears' "Zone" approach for a couple years, with excellent results. Unlike many diets, I don't view Sears' approach as a fad because it doesn't involve drastic changes or so-called "inductions" --read: "crash" -- into the psychology of healthy eating and living. With a few minor exceptions, I find that it falls generally in line with Willett's recommendations. I eat a little more lean protein (including soy) than Willett calls for, a little less whole grains, and maybe a little more low GI veggies and fruits. Same emphasis on nuts, olive oil, omega-3's, and supplements.)
I welcomed Willett's findings on alcohol and coffee. I usually prefer a beer over a glass of red wine and here is evidence that it doesn't much matter what alcohol you drink in moderation..you'll get the benefit. And, I've tried hard to reduce caffeine in my day, though I am passionate about good, strong coffee. I drink several cups a day so I went to half-caf. This appears to be enough of a cut. I cannot imagine life without coffee.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling facts and analysis driven by concrete research
Review: I can only hope more people read this book than the masses driving toward the fad diets like South Beach, Atkins, etc. This book does something I haven't seen from a health/diet book. It actually takes the data that is avaliable and boils it down to recommendations that are actionable. It's a good read that most likely will change your eating habits. It did mine and I lost a few pounds in the process.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Recommend it Highly Enough
Review: I will keep this short and sweet as other reviews have covered the book in great detail. For those of you confused about what is good for you and what is not, this easy to read book will provide you with answers based on high quality, long-term research. Ignore the no-carb faddists weighing in with their opinions. They will be espousing the Ice Cream Diet next year and warning about protein causing cancer.
Willett is even-handed and objective. He differentiates when something is overwhelmingly supported by hard scientific evidence and when something represents only the best guess based on evidence to date. Results are heavily based on several very large (100,000+ participants) studies carried out over many decades. You will be shocked by some of the things you will learn. You will feel relieved knowing how to make the best choices.
As mentioned elsewhere, this is not a diet book. But it will give you the tools to eat the healthiest diet. By adjusting the foods you eat you can easily reduce calories and achieve the goals you are looking for.
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