Natural Health & Weight Loss reviews

By Mr. Andrew H. Porter (Cardiff UK)
This is an excellent book which seems to be contrary to all the information being pumped at us by commercial bodies and by commercially sponsored bodies. You begin to realise in life, not with cynicism but with maturity, that you have to read beyond the commercial message - companies want to sell products - manufactured foods, companies want to sell drugs - the question is do you want to consume them?
If you want a healthy active life freed from the diseases of 'western' living this book has most - if not all of the answers! If you are sold on many of today's messages try to read with an open mind - the book strongly suggests that commercial interests /journalistic headlines obscure the real messages from current research.

By Melissa Garrett (Louisville, KY)
In a world where every "nutritionist" seems out to make a quick buck ("Lose 20 lbs in 20 days!!"), Barry Groves REALLY knows his stuff, biologically and practically speaking. It's clear that this man has spent most of his life studying nutrition and biology. He can produce study after study after study and explain its what they mean. The guy even goes back to studying prehistoric man and archaeological finds re: nutrition. This book is nothing if not THOROUGH. I've made nutrition a hobby (studying it, as well as practical application of course!!) and read many books and textbooks on biology and nutrition, and this book is one few that I would actually recommend to anyone. You won't just learn about how to lose weight, but about how your body really works, and how to be healthy for life. I'm not interested in Atkins or Southbeach or some other commercialized "diet".... and this really isn't like that at all. You'll learn a lot, and the truth shall set you free.

By CMCM (Nevada City, CA USA)
I was highly impressed with this book, and no doubt it is compelling reading. Above all, it is very accessible to the average reader who wants to dig deep into the "whys" and "wherefores" of low carb eating, all while absorbing an amazing array of detail. Mr. Groves appears to be under ratings attack on the net, and like Atkins and other revolutionary thinkers in the arena of low carb/high fat eating, the medical community still shuns these concepts. But medical credentials don't mean everything, and I'd say Barry Groves with his 40 years of study and personal experimentation and observation knows more on this subject than a hundred doctors collectively know. (Read: most doctors know virtually nothing about nutrition). While reading this book you can't help but be convinced by his very sound arguments for this way of eating. It all makes sense when you look at the data and examples he presents. I myself haven't yet implemented his precise recommendations, but I can say that my previous experience doing Atkins for about 6 weeks was amazing: I felt better than I'd ever felt (no grains, no dairy, no sugar) and I dropped weight effortlessly. There is something to this, no doubt about it. The only thing that still frightens me is the idea of possibly raising cholesterol etc. to higher levels. I guess I have a bit of trouble banishing my final degree of skepticism which I hold for all books on weight loss....Mr. Groves' ideas really do fly against the current thinking of most of the medical community, most of whom are sadly "in the dark" about nutritional issues beyond a very rudimentary level. Why should I believe anything they say? Look at the food pyramid! In any case, this really is one of the most fascinating books I have yet read in this subject area and I will be reading it more than once to absorb everything. Particularly if you are already committed to the idea of low carb eating as a way of life, this book greatly adds to your knowledge on the subject and will definitely strengthen your resolve to continue with this sort of diet for a lifetime of maintaining a healthy weight.

By Mary E. Smith
Having lived the low-carb lifestyle for five years myself, I found this book to be enlightening, informative, researched, and brilliant. This book contained no disappointments. Barry Groves is a fantastic author, presents the low-carb lifestyle with ease and simplicity. I recommend this be added to the library of anyone who is interested in, or lives the low-carb lifestyle.

By C. Follmer (USA)
First of all, this is a must-read for anyone who is interested in healthy living the lowcarb way.
I have many friends who are following this plan and just love it. Not only is it easy to follow, it provides a good healthy weight loss that is easy to sustain.
This book is very clear in explaining the benefits of lowcarb eating and explains the healthy aspects of this plan for people who have chronic diseases, i,e., diabetes.
He is very insightful in providing a way to get our children eating in a healthy way from the start and not waiting until they are in jr. high and obese. Eating patterns are learned early.
I can't recommend this book enough..It's great!!

By A. Wood "Merryweather" (Baden-W?rttemberg)
Having read "The Great Cholesterol Con" by Malcolm Kendrick in early 2007 and learnt that I no longer needed to worry about cholesterol, I began to eat "normally" again - which included chocolates, cookies, everything. After then putting on 3kg in about 3 months, I realized this could not continue, but was loth to go back on to a low-fat diet. I needed guidance and inspiration! And found it in early May this year, after having read some of the articles on Barry Groves' website, in the form of this book.
One nice thing is that it gives you straight off some info about how to get started on the diet - which I did, as I was familiar with a lot of the science behind it from other sources - and have never looked back (admittedly, this was only a month ago, but still...)! So, I started having bacon and eggs for breakfast (I never became a vegetarian because I couldn't imagine life without bacon, so this is easy for me) and was AMAZED!!! I still find it amazing how long I can keep on going if I have two eggs scrambled with a dollop of double cream and grated Gouda (delish) for breakfast. If I eat this at say 8am, I am only just starting to feel a little peckish at 1pm - and I usually eat with my kids at about 2pm. And now, there's no snacking between breakfast and lunch - I'm simply not hungry! On a coffee and 2 slices of toast breakfast, I would be ravenous at 11am precisely, eat carbohydrates (a banana or bread or chocolate and cup after cup of coffee) and be starving again at lunchtime. I thought this was just my metabolism, but obviously not: I was simply putting the wrong fuel into my system! The only sugar fix I give myself in the morning now is a cup of coffee with 3g of sugar and milk - and that satisfies perfectly any cravings in that quarter.
I now have a lunch of, say, an omelette or fish or a piece of meat, with a salad or veggies, and again, that keeps me going till well into the evening. I then have something basic - cold meats or some cheese and just one slice of bread with raw veggies with my kids at about 7-8pm.
I used to have an early-afternoon low as well, which rendered me a complete brainless zombie between 1-3pm, and had always put this down to something which my body just "did". But now that I've changed the way I eat, I don't suffer from these afternoon lows in quite such an extreme manner. Generally, I'm able to just keep going through the entire day and don't have the extreme fluctuations in my energy levels that I used to have.
I read all the book - in fact, I'm now reading it a second time - in two days and got started immediately. The 60g of carbs a day diet is relatively easy to follow, although I have done some calculating here and there (with the nutritional info on a pack of choc-chip cookies, for example), weighing an individual cookie and then calculating how many carbs it had (12 in one cookie!!!). I have lost three kilos in one month, despite the fact that I haven't managed to stick to 60g of carbs a day religiously for the whole time. I now feel that I've got the hang of it and feel great. I had some queasiness at one point, but that passed. I also got extra info from Low-Carber Forums which put my mind at rest on that point. There are also lots of websites where you can get info about the carb content of foods, and I've found those helpful, too.
From what I've read about the Atkins diet, this is a "soft" version of it. You won't get the really dramatic fast weight loss of the first few weeks of Atkins, but you won't get "induction flu" either!!! There aren't loads of restrictions - you CAN eat carbohydrates in any form you wish - for example, you could eat five choc-chip cookies in one day and no other carbs - just so long as you stick to your 60grammes! So it means the decisions lie with you - if you DO crave something, you can have a small quantity - it's not off-limits or anything, but the best thing about this way of eating is that you don't feel hungry between meals and you don't get cravings! So the problem doesn't really arise!
Finally, the book is very well written, entertaining, informative (with proper academic references) and inspiring! My kids are also being converted to cooked breakfasts or omelettes for lunch and have commented that they feel fitter for it, too!
I can only recommend this book! It really will change your life!

By Mr. D. Leverett "DL" (UK)
This is a great book for not only those looking to lose weight, but anyone who wants to know what really constitutes a healthy diet (and no that does not mean low fat rabbit food!).
Groves goes through several areas of research on things like Cholesterol theory, the bodies preferred source of energy, evolution and diet. Each one is thoroughly explained and all references are listed at the end of the book.
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If you are looking to lose weight, get healthier or both buy this book. The real key to the authors suggested way of eating is that it is so enjoyable - you will be eating real food that is both satisfying and delicious. It sounds too good to be true but it all works around the idea of eating what we were designed to eat.
I have personally read loads of books on nutrition, diet and the like and I can't recommend this book highly enough - buy it you won't regret it.

By Dr. Herbert Nehrlich "L'Autour" (Bribie Island, Australia)
There are three macronutrients in our diet: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Only two are essential and carbohydrate isn't one of them.
It was mostly the sincerity of Dr. Groves' previous two books that prompted me to order his latest one, sight unseen and not a review in sight.
I was not disappointed.
For those unacquainted with the truth in matters of human nutrition, the contents of Natural Health And Weight Loss will raise some eyebrows. Yes, Groves is right, if there are any culprits to be found in our nutrients, macro- or micro-, it is the carbohydrates. Notably the refined ones but also an excess of complex starches. The roots of this book can be found in his 1999 publication Eat Fat And Get Thin but even starchy origins can bring about a veritable treasure, in this case a very practical book. The chapters are arranged in logical fashion and the pages contain a wealth of information and only few bits of clutter.
The subject matter of this is low carbohydrate dieting. Many books have been written on this, starting with Banting's original classic Letter Of Corpulence, to Atkins and other imitations. Like the author, I was inspired by British physician Richard Mackarness whose book Eat Fat And Grow Slim was published some 50 years ago. Written for the average blokes and sheilas (whom Mackarness called Mr. and Mrs. Fatten-Easily), it remains a classic. Dr. Groves attempted to go a step further, I believe. He educates the reader on the complex subject matter and demands a measure of concentration from those who are not well schooled in life science subjects. Yet, lazy couch potatoes and recliner pumpkins may skip the science and use the book as a manual.
Practicing meticulous attention to detail, Dr. Groves leaves no stone unturned in presenting evidence for what he espouses as the diet that will keep humans healthy. Rightly he emphasizes the crucial importance of the little known fact that it is FATS that are our most valuable foods and that the correct diet is not high protein but high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate . To the uninitiated, this book undoubtedly flies in the face of current wisdom. The self-appointed guardians of our health (who themselves have had precious little training in nutrition)keep presenting us with the same old faulty diet pyramids in the mistaken belief that adherence will contribute to the good health of society.
Well, as they say, the proof is in the pudding (which is not on Dr. Groves' list of preferred foods) and the verdict is in: The low carb way of eating works!
Once the reader gets into the 15th chapter (s)he will be aware that there is nothing strange about eating high fat, low carb fare. After all, humans evolved on it. A list of diseases is given that appear to have their origin in the consumption of excess carbohydrates and the subject of insulin and glucose excess and the resultant malfunctions are well covered. Groves goes into the limited usefulness of the Glycaemic Index and he provides information for diabetics.
On the basis of the astonishing amount of good information contained in 350 odd pages alone, this book deserves to be read by the Fatten-Easy crowd as well as those just curious.

By Mr. J. M. Nagle "Jeff"
I have been studying nutrition for something like ten years and have been eating a low carb high fat/protein diet for the last five years. The key to anyone getting their heads around cutting carbs is learning how the body works and how evolution over millions of years has designed it to work and what fuels it needs to work at it's best. Once this is understood then low carbing is not an issue. I am now 41 and am fitter and leaner than I ever have been.
Carbs are not good for the human body. How much proof do you need. Preserve your life by cutting carbs and eating a high fat/protein diet.

By AngellocksUK (Greater Manchester, England)
As a definitive guide to why low-fat, low-calorie dieting is harmful to your health - and low cholesterol levels are dangerous - this book flies in the face of the modern received 'wisdom' about 'healthy eating'. Yet it all makes sense - and Barry Groves picks to pieces the research that our Western health ideals have been based on.
I was amazed at how solid the theory is behind this book, and how the arguments for a natural low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that our ancestors would have eaten, with not a refined grain product in sight (and certainly not bright pink fizzy pop, God forbid) - are perfectly feasible and well put forward.
Groves is not promoting thinness, but finding a natural weight through a natural diet - one which, he says, you'll find impossible to be either overweight or underweight on. To our brainwashed 'low fat' thinking, it is quite difficult to get your head around the suggestion of your meals consisting 70% fat, but once you put it into practice, you can find out for yourself how it works.
The diet industry and the processed food manufacturers are really hurting our health - it's time to take some control back and eat properly. I thoroughly recommend reading this - at least just to be informed of some of the myths out there, even if you decide you want to continue eating the way you do.