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Summary: A must read for better health!
Review: "Going Against the Grain" is an entertaining & educational read.
By removing gluten from my diet I have lost 20 pounds. I am 49 years old, and now weigh less than when I graduated from college. My energy level has picked up, and my low moods are less frequent. Melissa has an excellent resource section in the back of the book that I have found quite helpful. For better nutrition, you need to read this book!
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Summary: This Book Has Changed My Life
Review: I decided to stop eating "bread stuff" as a new year resolution (2004) because I had a number of friends that were losing weight on the Atkin's Diet. I did not want to go on a "diet" but I wanted to do something. In making this decision I needed to read more about my eating which led me to Dr Mercola's site and his book. I used the EFT (emofree.com)meridian tapping techniques to help with any of the cravings that I may have had come up while doing this.Reading the reviews on his book led me to this book "Going Against The Grain". So here I am and writing my first review. I received this book 2 weeks after I stopped eating bread/stuff. This book is precise and informative. It may be a bit dry...no big hype or products being sold, but well worth the read. I did have to process out, at times, the idea that I have been eating something all my life that wasn't meant for my body. ( My personal viewpoint) Within 5 days of not eating wheat (bread,pasta,cakes,muffins cookies etc)my craving for sugar lessened by 90%. I was amazed at how easy this was for me. My energy level went up and I just knew that something had changed. This book explained to me precisely what was happening in my body when I ate these grain foods. That alone gave me much self-empowerment and validation for my action to stop comsuming grains and increasing my vegetable intake. I also saw the pattern in my life from the way I ate that took away from my over-all health. I am not a dieting type person. I like eating pasta...my heritage is Italian. I have since lost weight easily and quickly as she mentions happened to clients in her book. I even get excited about eating veges !!! And I have lost great interest in these other foods. Never thought I could do this, but I have and I am truly grateful for having read this book. It should be on the shelf with the cookbooks in every home. On an aside. I am 2 1/2 months in my new lifestlye. I have eaten some sugar in the form of icecream, and chocolate. I am able to bypass the wheat foods easily and without longing. I have eaten one hamburg on a bun, and a small slice of cake. I have no more interest in potatoes and rice. And if someone told me 6 months ago that this would be me within a year I would have said NO WAY. I'd never have the discipline. Thank you Melissa Smith
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Summary: This book opened my eyes to my poor diet and extra weight
Review: I finished this book last night. Yes, I admit it. I bought into the Food Pyramid's propaganda. I even taught it to my students at the school where I teach. I told them: You have to eat 6-11 servings of grain/cereal/pasta each day! Now I feel sick about it. After I read the first few chapters of Smith's book, I realized I have been addiced to carbohydrates most of my life, which accounts for my (losing) battle of 15-20 lbs of excess weight all my life. She explains how the addiction and cravings (for sweets and carbs) happen and why (blood sugar spikes), and why this is so dangerous to your long-term health. We've all read the headlines of how the US has more obesity, diabetes, and heart disease than ever before. She explains why...we eat WAY TOO MANY refined grains in this country, which go hand-in-hand with sugar you don't need. I'd always read food labels before, but didn't know what high-fructose corn syrup was (for example) and now I know why it's so bad for you...and it's in nearly EVERYTHING we eat! The night I finished the book, I cleaned out my pantry. I filled several bags with pasta, cake mixes, sugar, convenience foods, packaged foods, cereal, corn meal, canola oil, the list goes on. It's all stuff I love. And it's all stuff that's slowly killing me, and now I understand how my body works and what it needs. The author's solution? Eat less grains (even better, eliminate them altogether) and eat more non-starchy vegetables and small amounts of protein at EVERY meal. That's the basic guideline (there are others too) but that's the biggie. Smith's book gives menu plans and recipes too. By the way, people with gluten or wheat intolerance, this book should be your Bible.
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Summary: A total perversion of research on diet-related diseases
Review: Instead of asking Ms. Smith, perhaps readers would be better suited to turn to the recommendations of the National Cancer Institute, National Cancer Society, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the World Health Organization, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and countless university-based studies. A diet consisting only of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is the best defense against diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. The fiber in whole grain food escorts carcinogens and other toxins out of the body, while vitamins and minerals otherwise ensure proper functioning. In time, this latest version of the low-carbohydrate fad will look as ridiculous and baseless as every other fad diet. This book is just another example of commercial exploitation of people looking to be healthy without making any meaningful changes to their diets and lifestyles.
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Summary: I'm looking for answers and this book helped me
Review: It does take courage to write a book telling people to stop eating foods that they have eaten, and yes, trusted, all their lives. I have IBS (30 years) and most recently food sensitivities (6 years) which have made my life sheer misery. I have gone many places (outside of traditional medicine of course) to look for answers, and this book is my latest stop. I was very interested to hear about the way wheat affects some people and compare it to my own experience, having given it up 2 years ago. I wanted to know why several good (and unexpected) things happened and here I found answers/hypotheses. Melissa really needed to have a good editor look at this book before she published it as the writing style is uneven and sometimes amateurish-sounding, never a good thing in a "scientific" publication. I do appreciate her effort, her willingness to share her experience, and, as I said before, her nerve--- it's not easy to come out against something as popular as wheat.
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Summary: What a Tremendous Book
Review: It seems like every other news tidbit these days is about health and wellness, but they're all saying the wrong things. This book cuts to the heart of the matter-overconsumption of grains results in innumerable health complications. I've followed Melissa Diane Smith's recommended diet and, not only lost weight (30 lbs) but also eliminated my migraines, lowered my cholesterol, and solved my continual digestive problems. I couldn't be happier to have read such an incredibly informative book. My hat is off to the author for delivering a tough message that most of us wouldn't get the opportunity to hear otherwise.
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Summary: A valuable educational tool!
Review: Melissa Diane Smith's book "Going Against the Grain" has served as a valuable tool in educating my wife and me about the role of grains and carbohydrates in our diet. I am a carboholic and have worn out three bread machines making a 2-lb loaf every 3 days or so for several years. The book has helped me realize that the excessive amount of bread I was eating was putting stress on my system. I have since cut back on grains and carbohydrates, particularly in the form of bread and juices, and experience a more even level of energy as a result. My wife has long urged me to change my eating patterns but it wasn't until "Going Against the Grain" appeared that we both understood the dynamics involved which helped me to finally take action. We are both grateful that this book was written and feel it has enhanced the quality of our lives.
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Summary: On the road to health, thanks to this book
Review: This book can make a real difference in the health of a lot of people. It has vastly improved my health. I began looking into nutrition after years of digestive problems and several months after getting diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disease. When I finally started to move away from my high-grain vegetarian diet (reluctantly at first, and under the direction of a nutritionist), my symptoms dramatically improved. Once I read this book, I understood why. Like many people, I am genetically sensitive to gluten, and whole grains and legumes were the worst things for me to eat. Tests have confirmed my sensitivity, and Smith's book explains - clearly and patiently - how grain set many other problems in motion. The book makes the switch to a gluten-free life much easier because the explanation is so compelling. The book also contains practical and delicious recipes and a wonderful resources section in the back.
I am feeling healthier than ever, thanks in large part to this book and also to phone consultations I subsequently had with the author. She is easy to reach and works with people across the country. This book should be required for all health care professionals and people with children, in addition to anyone wanting to improve his/her own health.
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Summary: Going Against the Grain saved my family!!
Review: This book has been very important to my whole family! We have all improved our individual health by adhering to the principles presented in Going Against the Grain. My husband had a bad HDL to LDL ratio and high cholesterol. He lowered his cholesterol and improved his HDL to LDL ratio in ONE month by reducing the amount of grains in his diet. My children were both diagnosed with celiac disease and by staying on a gluten-free diet they get fewer tummy aches, rashes and allergies and we have seen an improvement in their mood and memory. I was on a gluten-free diet with my children and, after not seeing enough of an improvement in my overall health, eliminated ALL grains and sugar from my diet and saw a lessening of chronic fatigue and the disappearance of migraine headaches and intestinal problems like gas, bloating and diarrhea. I am so glad Melissa Diane Smith has written this book so individuals and families like mine can evaluate their own situations and improve their overall health. In this book, she gives us the tools (facts, recipes, shopping tips) to work with so we can become healthier. And yes, this book does present ideas that are against the grain of what dietitians are being taught, and against the grain of what our children are being taught (food pyramid) in school, but we all don't fit into one perfect model. If my family is any indication, most of us should go against the grain for our own health and stop poisining ourselves with so many grains. I wish I had the information in this book 10 years ago! I would have avoided years of misery! I know this book is going to help an amazing number of people regain their health!!
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Summary: A Book to Live By
Review: This is a great book. It is well written and very easy for anyone to understand. I gave my copy to my daughter and just ordered another for myself. It is a diet you can live with and feel much better. As a side benefit I have lost weight without even trying. I really feel Melissa Diane Smith is on the right track and knows what she is talking about. For anyone who wants to know more about avoiding grains this is the book to read. Some of the other "Grainless Diet Books" are way too complicated and not realistic in their goals or their eating rules. Buy it, try it, you'll love it.
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