Your Personal Paleo Code: The 3-Step Plan to Lose Weight, Reverse Disease, and Stay Fit and Healthy for Life

by Chris Kresser

An effective and practical program based on the Paleo lifestyle, customized to fit your needs!

As the Paleo movement sweeps the nation, the health benefits of following the lifestyle of our hunter-gatherer forebears are undeniable. But what happens when we hit a wall and weight loss stalls, energy flags, or we're tired of restricted eating? We're not cavemen anymore, so why should we follow a strict caveman diet?

In YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE, Chris Kresser uses the Paleo diet as a baseline from which you can tailor the ideal three-step program-Reset, Rebuild, Revive-to fit your lifestyle, body type, genetic blueprint, and individual needs. Kresser helps further personalize your prescription for specific health conditions, from heart disease and high blood pressure to thyroid disorders and digestive problems. Along with a 7-day meal plan and delectable, nutritious recipes, YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE offers natural solutions and an avalanche of groundbreaking advice on how to restore a healthy gut and immune system; how to eliminate toxins; which fats to eat liberally; how to choose the healthiest proteins; and much more. Best of all, you only have to follow the program 80% of the time; there's room to indulge in moderation while still experiencing dramatic results. Based on cutting-edge scientific research, YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE is designed to be flexible and user-friendly, with helpful charts, quizzes, and effective action steps to help you lose weight, reverse disease, and stay fit and healthy for life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food, Nutrition, Diets, Cookbooks, Science

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2017 Reread


In The Paleo Cure, Chris Kresser uses the Paleo diet as a template from which you can tailor a simple yet powerful three-step program-Reset, Rebuild, Revive-to fit your lifestyle, body type, and genetic blueprint. You'll learn how to eliminate the toxic foods that cause illness and weight gain, how to sleep better, exercise like our ancestors, cultivate pleasure, and vastly improve overall health.

Kresser helps further personalize your prescription by addressing specific health conditions, from heart disease to digestive problems. Best of all, you only have to follow the program 80 percent of the time; there's room to indulge, in moderation, and still experience dramatic results

I've followed Chris for a long time. You don't have to have any medical background for it to make sense.

I liked that he has added the extra inserts for different health problems and how to incorporate the Paleo
Very informative and easy to read


I read everything by Chris Kresser. This was a reread for me. It has invaluable information. I wouldn't suggest it for a person who just received a diagnosis of Celiac though. Later for sure. Read Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo. Her book has diagrams and really easy to understand. Back to Chris Kresser, I would love to be able to see Chris Kresser in his office as a patient.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been on the Paleo bandwagon for a year now, so there's not much here that's brand new. I picked up Kresser's book already familiar with his website and work. I wanted to read it because I hoped it would help me wade through the overload of nutrition I formation out there--which is exactly what he is trying to do. His main premise is that we should each do the work to find out what foods work best for us, because everyone's ideal diet is different.

When I made my initial radical overhaul to my diet a year ago, I started with three weeks of an elimination diet, pretty much strict Paleo. It was a huge change, difficult, and ultimately successful. I will never go back. But I wanted to reintroduce foods to see what affected me and how---except things got a bit messy there and I didn't consistently stick with the plan on reintroducing things. I currently feel a bit muddled on the gray-area foods like dairy and how much carb to eat, and I hoped Kresser could help me out.

If you aren't familiar with Chris Kresser's writing, know that he is detailed and scientific. And yes, a bit dry, compared to other offerings. This is NOT the book I would give someone starting Paleo for the first time, unless you are sure they will appreciate lots of information. (Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo is a little easier to swallow for an introduction.). I did learn some things. And it has been helpful for what I expected of it. I am doing another 'reset' phase and will follow his suggestions for reintroduction and figuring out my ideal balance of macronutrients. Kresser does a great job of emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits all diet, and he gives you tools to help you figure out what works for you. I could have done for even more hand-holding, actually.

I didn't really enjoy his opening bit explaining the philosophy behind Paleo. I felt it was quite limited, especially after reading Paleo Manifesto by John Durant, which is excellent. Durant's book is inspiring and exciting, while Kresser's gets down and dirty with practical details, which is sometimes what you need. I find the two books complementary, actually. When Kresser delves into lifestyle changes you might want to consider making, he does a good job, but it's nowhere near Mark Sisson's Primal Connection. I would have been happy for Kresser to leave that part off.

I don't think this book would ever replace an actual visit to Kresser's office, but not being able to get there, this book gives you a lot to go with on your own. But I still wished for more.

[Cindy Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have read better books to get started with Paleo the second section of this book was very helpful. In this section Chris writes about rebuilding your life after you do the strict reset. Topics like, adding foods back into your diet, sleep, managing stress, making sure you get outside and how and when to exercise. These were things that I haven't seen discussed in such detail and he has some very good ideas for managing stress and getting enough sleep.

One thing I found incredibly annoying was the constant referencing of his website (sometimes as much as once a page). I don't want to stop reading to go look up a bonus chapter or a chart or something else. It's nice to have more info on the site, but you do have to register to use it and I haven't done that. I still think it's a good book, but it would have been nice to have the info in the book.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of "Your Personal Paleo Code" by Chris Kresser, through the Goodreads Giveaway Contest. He has another follower! Chris Kresser is a practioner of integrative and functional medicine and creator of ChrisKresser.com. I loved this book and I learned so much. I couldn't put this book down and had to finish it to the end. I also had a chance to register on his website and post some questions in the Forum.

For someone who is overweight, losing weight recently, due to gallstone attacks, I am struggling with whether having your gallbladder out, will not cause other problems. For the Chinese, they say that the Liver and the Gallbladder are like the Ying and the Yang, when one is not working well, there is an in balance. So I came to read this novel at the right point for me. I also like that Chris is very approachable and allows the reader to be accountable for their actions. He just provides us with all the necessary resource material and his knowledge in this field...and we must walk the mile.

I found myself scribbling notes as I read the book, so I could grasp as much pertinent information as possible. The novel is well written, with much research and support for our needs. I like that he addresses most illnesses, and advises you how to tailor your diet for maximum potential. He also advises you based on your illness or intolerance, foods that should be included /avoided. Recipes are also included at the end of the novel.

I think anyone can take advantage of the valuable knowledge that he has invested in this novel, and utilize it for their own personal optimum health.

Thank you Chris for allowing me to read your novel, and register on your website.

[Heather Grothaus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. The information felt incomplete, as the author directed the reader to his website for "bonus chapters" and additional information on every topic touched upon. I'm online all the time--the last thing I'm looking for when I choose a book to wind down with for the evening is to be directed elsewhere for the very information I expected to find in said book.

The prescribed 30-day reset is very restrictive, which is expected and reasonable (although I couldn't understand the reasoning behind removing even uncured, pastured bacon--but not pork chops?--from your diet during the reset). Where it fell apart for me was the adding back in of certain categories of food--even some gluten-grains--and testing your reaction to them. It's a slippery slope. If you successfully remove gluten from your diet, feel better, improve your health/weight, and break the craving for it, why on earth would you attempt reintroduction? The same with caffeine, dairy, etc. It came off as a bit wishy-washy rather than authoritative, which was very surprising considering the author's experience and lauded reputation in the paleo community.

If you are new to paleo and looking for a book that lays out the basics, this is an okay choice. However, there are other books that present the fundamentals of paleo in a more complete and in-depth manner, and you would do well to read those before experimenting with the ideas contained in Your Personal Paleo Code.

[Peter McCluskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this when I went paleo 7 years ago. It's more balanced than the sources I used. Alas, it was published shortly after I finished a big spurt of learning on the subject.

It still has a modest number of ideas that seem new to me, and many ideas that I'd have liked to have known when the book was first published, but which I found through less organized sources.

The diet

Kresser advocates starting with a very strict 30-day reset diet, which allows no chocolate, no sweeteners, no butter (ghee is allowed), no alcohol, and of course no grains or legumes. He outlines how to then relax the restrictions to end up with something a bit more convenient than the stereotypical paleo diet.

Kresser strikes a good balance between the conspicuous pro-fat gurus, and the more cautious paleo advocates who are neutral on fat, and who are widely overlooked because they're insufficiently controversial. Kresser recommends a low carb diet for some, with a simple and crude test for whether it's likely to be valuable for you. He's apparently focused mainly on readers who don't use blood tests. I suspect that an HgA1c level above 5.6 would be a more sophisticated rule to use.

There's plenty of nuance in Kresser's specific advice (e.g. raw broccoli is good for most people, but causes thyroid problems in some), but when talking about motivations for avoiding categories of food, he abandons most nuance and rigor, and sounds more like a salesman (although less so than some promoters of paleo-like diets, such as Gundry or Dave Asprey).

He also has less strict advice to follow something resembling the UNpacked Diet (i.e. avoid most packaged foods). Kresser doesn't explicitly mention the UNpacked Diet, since it was invented after The Paleo Cure was first published, but Kresser says things that sound awfully similar (part of a section title: "if it comes in a bag or a box, don't eat it!"). The UNpacked Diet is intended as a joke, and I don't expect anyone to implement it, but it seems significantly more sensible than the standard American diet (SAD).

Measuring nutritional quality

Kresser emphasizes nutrient dense foods. He complains that standard measures of nutrient density are biased toward some non-paleo foods (i.e. grains), and points to an alternate measure create by Mat Lalonde (which, alas, seems to be explained only in that long video).

Organ meats are at the top, grains and oils are at the bottom. Where are insects? They should be a close second to organ meats on any paleo-friendly version of this list (and I prefer their taste over liver), but they're missing from this book.

I approve of attempts to improve on measures of food nutrient value, and Lalonde's measure has some advantages over the alternatives.

Lalonde tries to build his measure objectively, by only considering nutrients that are classified as essential. That causes him to treat fiber as neutral - it's not "essential" because its absence won't reliably kill people, but I'm guessing that fiber deficiencies cause more deaths in the U.S. than any other single nutrient deficiency.

Sodium is an essential nutrient, but Lalonde excludes it because he doesn't like the implications of encouraging sodium consumption. He doesn't address subtler versions of that kind of problem, such as men getting too much iron.

I'm torn between deciding that Lalonde's measure is better than the available alternatives, versus wanting to invent a better measure myself.

Breadth

Kresser has a better explanation of fructose than I've seen before: it's mainly the fructose to glucose ratio that matters. The ratio that's found in most fruit is fairly safe, but getting more fructose than that can be hard for our bodies to handle.

The Paleo Cure is not just a diet, it's a paleo lifestyle. Some examples of his lifestyle advice:

* Walk/run barefoot, or with minimalist footwear such as Vibram FiveFingers
* Sit on a balance disk
* Give up pointless arguments
* Take a partner yoga class
* Get a dog

That portion of the book seems less memorable than the diet portions, mostly because the diet requires more thought and attention to get right.

Reference quality

The book has some references. They're not in the book, but are available on a part of his website that's restricted to readers of the book. That would be a good approach if it enabled him to find room for more scientific references than he was willing to fit into a book. Alas, it only provides references for a small fraction of the book's claim, and often the reference is to one of Kresser's blog posts. His blog posts typically contain a few links to technical articles that are somewhat relevant, and generally provide some inconclusive support for the book's claim.

Kresser also provides 12 supplemental chapters online. Those have references that look close to what I'd expect in a peer-reviewed journal. That's a weird difference from the main book.

I made some quick attempts at fact-checking some claims that I guessed were not well supported by evidence:

Sitting increases the risk of death

I was under the impression that the evidence for this was rather weak, so I checked a bit, and it looks like the experts are more confident than they were 6 years ago that the causality likely works as implied.

Coincidentally, as I was writing this review, I read a theory in the book Move Your DNA which slightly improves my model of why we ought to expect sitting to be harmful.

The evidence on sitting still seems a bit shaky, but it looks a bit stronger than it looked a few years ago. I'll estimate a 80% chance that this claim is correct.

Freeze them for at least two weeks to kill any potential pathogens in the raw meat.

I was surprised to find that this claim seems to be about half-right. A paper from PubMed says:

The few outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with frozen foods indicate that some, but not all human pathogens are killed by commercial freezing processes.

This comment shows some graphs saying that bacteria continue dying after many weeks in a freezer. Apparently they get refrozen many times, and each time kills a modest fraction?

From a supplemental chapter, on treating people without pre-existing heart disease who are at risk for heart disease:

Yet in spite of this marked reduction in LDL cholesterol in the statin group, there was no difference in lifespan between the two groups.

Kresser is summarizing Statins and All-Cause Mortality in High-Risk Primary Prevention A Meta-analysis of 11 Randomized Controlled Trials Involving 65 229 Participants" (free download here).

The paper's stated conclusion backs up Kresser's claim:

Conclusion: This literature-based meta-analysis did not find evidence for the benefit of statin therapy on all-cause mortality in a high-risk primary prevention set-up.

But that's not at all how I'd summarize the paper's evidence:

with 1447 deaths occurring among 32606 participants assigned to placebo arm and 1346 deaths among 32623 participants assigned to statin-treated arm, reflecting about 100 fewer deaths in the statin-treated group. In a random-effects model meta-analysis of these 11 trials, the risk ratio for all-cause mortality associated with the use of statins was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.83-1.01). The corresponding risk ratio using a fixed-effect model was 0.93 (0.86-1.00).

I summarize that as saying that my best guess should be that statins reduce mortality by something like 7 to 9%, and that the sample size (65229 patients!) was not quite big enough to reach a definitive conclusion. It clearly supports Kresser's main claim, that statins are not at all wonder drugs, but 100+ fewer deaths does not seem like "no difference".

The main problem seems to be the paper's use of the term "evidence" to mean something like "admissible in court", whereas I want to use the data for a more Bayesian influence on whether I should take the drug.

I was easily able to find newer meta-analyses which did show statistically significant mortality reductions.

I still can't tell whether a statin would be good for me. The main uncertainties involve side effects, and how much I can reduce my risk via other means. Kresser provides a number of ideas about better means, and the near-zero rates of heart disease in many traditional cultures suggest that better means exist.

Fans of nominative determinism will be happy to note that Kresser cites, as evidence that some authorities promote statins as wonder drugs, a proposal by Dr. John Reckless to put statins in the water supply.

The contemporary hunter–gatherers were superior in every measure of health and physical fitness.

That is almost an accurate summary of The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization, and it's important to focus attention on the many ways in which traditional cultures are healthier. But let's not go overboard. Inflammation, as measured by hs-CRP is much higher in the Tsimané than in the U.S., reflecting more infectious disease in the Tsimané.

Other complaints
Kresser frequently mentions correlations without explaining why the causality behind the correlation supports his advice. Maybe it isn't possible to do much better than look at correlations on those topics, but I wish he'd show more skepticism about them.

Kresser's defense of red meat looks pretty weak, because his main discussion of the topic looks only at correlations within the U.S., some of which suggest that red meat is ok. A careful reader might notice hints of the much more dramatic pro-red meat evidence we get by looking at traditional Maasai society: a good deal of red meat, and near zero heart disease. But to notice that, the reader would need to combine two pieces of information about the Maasai that show up hundreds of pages apart. Shouldn't a book with paleo in the title emphasize this kind of evidence more than differences between several types of questionable industrial diets?

Kresser carelessly alternates between advocating free range eggs in some places, and pasture-raised eggs in other places. "Free range" in this context is misleading, and the "pasture-raised" label is typically the only version that are raised on a healthy diet.

How paleo affected me
I've been following a fairly paleo lifestyle for nearly 8 years, with maybe an 80% overlap between what I practice and what Kresser advises. The effects that I've experienced haven't seemed much like a cure for anything. But I didn't have much in the way of problems that I hoped it would solve. My main motivation was to prevent Western disease.

I have noticed that my digestive tract feels better on a paleo diet, and it's easier to control my weight. My grass pollen allergy bothers me less, but that could be mainly caused by me learning how to avoid high-pollen areas.

My LDL and homocysteine skyrocketed after my first version of a paleo diet (Bulletproof). Kresser admits that a few people have this problem, and should minimize saturated fat, while still recommending that most people treat saturated fat as healthy.

My HDL and my neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio improved on a paleo diet, and I had a slight improvement in blood glucose. I don't have many other pre-paleo tests, so I can only guess at whether other important biomarkers improved.

Conclusion
The book's most important claims look quite reasonable. My criticisms of the book have been about moderate exaggerations and peripheral issues.

Enough time has passed since the book was written that we have better evidence on some of the topics that he discusses, and statins are the only subject on which the evidence against one of his claims has increased a bit. The evidence that sitting is harmful seems a bit stronger now. Mostly the evidence seems unchanged.

It's a shame that paleo's reputation has been molded more by gurus who are less careful and too focused on hot-button controversies.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Kresser is an integrative medical practitioner and healthy skeptic who is a well-known figure in the Paleo scene. Just like those in the current Paleo Diet movement, Chris advocates having a diet and lifestyle similar to our hunter gatherer ancestors. But instead of a strict and fixed Paleo diet, Chris prescribes a "Paleo template" and suggests each of us to customize what works for us as there is no one size fits all.

This book condenses all the information he has been giving in his blogs, podcasts and articles into one place. There is so much information that I know I will go back and refer to it from time to time. I particularly like the details he gives on the diet section with scientific information to support his points and in many situations overturn what we consider as conventional wisdom. He is a good writer and it makes you feel like he is sitting right next to you talking to you in a casual manner. Chris also uses his own story of how he overcame his own illness by his own learning and experiment which itself was an inspiring story. The book also draws on the results of some of his patients.

I have been listening to his podcasts and reading his blog posts for the past year and still find the book covers a lot of information I haven't learned. Furthermore, there is bonus material on his website which includes information of special conditions and recipes. The book focuses a lot on information about diet but it also talks about other lifestyle habits such as sleep, moving, sunlight and stress management that are equally important to everyone's health. For me, I value the information about the diet much more as they are always very complicated and hard to know what is right.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to live a life with optimal health.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does a great job of guarding against fad diets, and encouraging people to do what works for their body. I was glad to see that his version of paleo wasn't super strict, but instead explained to readers nutrients and the way the body works. He adds special sections to many chapters for those who have special health concerns: gluten intolerance, diabetes, obesity, etc.

Additionally, I was glad to see that he does ongoing research on collected nutrition studies and isn't selling anything. He actually recommended other services (both free and pay-for services) in his book. He often recommends that readers "see his website", but this is mostly to fill out PDF quizzes that help you determine where you might fall in a nutrition/energy range, or get printable shopping lists.

He also advocates 'real food': organic, whole foods cooked yourself, which was a bit frustrating for me, since my biggest problem is finding time to cook and shop at whole foods stores during open hours.

Overall a good read. For some, it may be frustrating that he gives guidelines rather than strict rules, but this is what anyone telling you the truth about food will do.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Material is easy to understand, and key items are repeated often. Probably an easy way to get on the Paleo bandwagon, it that's what you're interested in. I found some mis-information, hence the lower rating. I would definitely research some of his claims further before I became a serious follower.

[Spuddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version and have a print version to refer to and follow along with as needed, for the quizzes, tests, lists and charts, etc. I have admired this author's approach to diet and health from watching his podcasts and reading his blog, and this book brought it all together in one place.

[Ladd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it. Recommendations are too expensive for anyone making less than the median national income. Preparations are also onerous from a time perspective. I spoke with one of his assistants on the phone and he admitted that expense is an obstacle for most Americans.

[Darrin Holst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how he uses paleo as a baseline for 30 days and then walks you through things to tweak or add back as you regain your health. Very well done.

[Morgan Pickwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kresser does a great job of educating you on why the Paleo diet is so helpful without talking over your head.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm marking this book as 4 stars, but only really for a certain kind of reader. If you don't know much about Paleo/Primal diets but are quite interested in them and want a book that will give you a good amount of basic information, and will be something you can keep coming back to as a resource for that basic information, this is a great book. I suppose I'd classify it as a more informative version of all those popular health, diet, and nutrition books. And for what it is, it's done well.

If you want more than that, I'd skip this book entirely and just go to Chris Kresser's website, which is a treasure trove of detailed, evidence-based information about health and wellness from the perspective of an integrative medicine practitioner. And most of that is free. I'm glad I have the book as a resource, but I'm not sure if it's something I'm going to be going back to again and again, like I will with his website. The recipes in the book are also not things that I can see myself making (although, to be fair, it may also be because of where I live and the availability of some of the ingredients). The writing is also not great - but then again, it's very clear and understandable. I'm happy I have the book, but it wasn't all I was hoping for and more. If nothing else, it motivated me to do the reset diet he writes about (which I still have not quite accomplished!).

[Kristi Navarre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good guide to eating and living paleo. There was a lot of information in here, and I especially appreciated the bits on why beans aren't part of a paleo diet, or cheeses or milks. I liked the more relaxed approach of "you may be able to reintroduce those things down the road, but in the beginning cut them out" and the concept that everybody is different and their diets shouldn't be exactly the same, and the 80-20 rule. There were times when it seemed like the information was less fact based and more of an assumption on the author's part. Anybody that tells me to quit coffee though - Sorry, that's a big nope. The addiction is strong in this one.

[Sarah Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book, not to become paleo (I think it seems extreme), but to understand it. I also listen to Chris Kresser's podcast. The book does a good job of explaining the latest research on diet ( in great detail). I found the chapter on fats particularly interesting and helpful. If you have any chronic health issue - auto immune disease, digestion problems, etc. this would be a good place to start learning about a healing/healthy diet and lifestyle.

[Neil McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely detailed meal plan, over all lifestyle plan, sleep, stress, relationship .

Seems very well thought out and researched.

Recommends white rice over brown rice, recommend eating egg yolks.

I enjoyed and respect the novel.

That said , I am following a Flexitarian diet which I try to eat fish 3 to 5 times a week and flexible on weekends.

Alot of the advice in this book is on point with my diet, without the red meat.

[Karima · Rating 3 out of 5]

A smorgasbord of information; everything from diet and exercise, to recreational pursuits and types of sunscreen to use. TOO much, with enough acronyms to choke a grass fed steer! Also, I resist lists of ailments/diseases I might have or develop. I did glean a lot of valuable information but was tempted to abandon it many times because of the sprawl.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful while trying to find a diet that alleviated some of the symptoms of anxiety I feel. And it really did. The 30 day diet had me feeling better than I have for a long time, and I really enjoyed how Kresser outlined it, and how he structured his book so that you could follow along as you did the diet.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good intro to Paleo, although very similar to "It Starts with Food" which I liked a bit better. I do like the way the author doesn't try to fit everyone into one standard eating plan. He puts an emphasis on figuring out what works for each person.

[Carmine Vilardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. I appreciated the scientific data about food components, but I enjoyed a bit less the frequent cross references to the author's web pages. I think I'll start the paleo program in a couple of weeks, after which I'll be able to say more about the content of this book.

[Venus Windmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another healthy living book that provides fundamentals of eating well. We all know we should but do you know why? This book has great information that will help educate you on how important nutrition is.

[Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just another book about a stupid diet. Written by an acupuncturist! I would only trust diet books or any "science" based books that are written by people with real Ph.ds.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sensible approach to Paleo and well written.

[Jemini Willis]

An effective and practical program based on the Paleo lifestyle, customized to fit your needs!



As the Paleo movement sweeps the nation, the health benefits of following the lifestyle of our hunter-gatherer forebears are undeniable. But what happens when we hit a wall and weight loss stalls, energy flags, or we're tired of restricted eating? We're not cavemen anymore, so why should we follow a strict caveman diet?

In YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE, Chris Kresser uses the Paleo diet as a baseline from which you can tailor the ideal three-step program-Reset, Rebuild, Revive-to fit your lifestyle, body type, genetic blueprint, and individual needs. Kresser helps further personalize your prescription for specific health conditions, from heart disease and high blood pressure to thyroid disorders and digestive problems. Along with a 7-day meal plan and delectable, nutritious recipes, YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE offers natural solutions and an avalanche of groundbreaking advice on how to restore a healthy gut and immune system; how to eliminate toxins; which fats to eat liberally; how to choose the healthiest proteins; and much more. Best of all, you only have to follow the program 80% of the time; there's room to indulge in moderation while still experiencing dramatic results. Based on cutting-edge scientific research, YOUR PERSONAL PALEO CODE is designed to be flexible and user-friendly, with helpful charts, quizzes, and effective action steps to help you lose weight, reverse disease, and stay fit and healthy for life.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a little difficult for a lay-person to probably get a total understanding of their 'personal' code, this book was detailed and not overly technical and therefore good for someone with a little knowledge of nutrition and health to read and understand well. Kresser pulls apart, not only the paleo diet but also lifestyle which many books baily focus on, looking at everything from food, to the types of foods, to sleeping, exercise, social life and stress management. He is a little more felxible in the end plan, with a strict paleo adherance to start with as his 'cleanse' and then only if you wish, to add back in either on occasion or permentely if wished some of the 'nos' like dairy back into your diet. Not overly preachy on his views and a number of his facts backed up, though some of his lifestyle suggestions may not be totally beleived or tried by his readers. Some good suggestions though, with questionares and tables to help you diecide on how strict and what course of action you may wish to choose in order to follow his diet.

[Brad Bevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago, I read a book titled Unconventional Medicine by the same author. That book really covers the value of using a functional medicine doctor, something I have been interested in since reading but just started using a few months ago. Part of the recommendation he made was to switch to a Paleo eating style for a time to see how it affected my bloodwork, and I already had this book on my shelf and read it to learn more. Loved this book and the thinking behind the Paleo Cure. It's not really a diet, but a change in the way you are consuming food. Highly recommend this book and giving it a try for at least 30 days. For what its worth, I have done a strict ketogenic diet a few times and this, so far, is much easier and more sustainable, while I'm seeing even more benefits in energy and health.

[Aneliya Petrunova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Kresser's The Paleo Cure is a book I would recommend to anyone. Yes, one more tacky title, we've seen a lot of those - the word "cure" would normally be enough to put me on my guard. But I had done my homework - this is Kresser's revamped version of his older book, Your Personal Paleo Code (I am not actually sure if it has been revised and supplemented in any way or just the title has been changed). And since I have felt more and more attracted to paleo, after eating low carb for years and looking for ways to improve my health, I had made up my mind to read Chris Kresser's book, so the title was not going to dissuade me.

The book has not been a disappointment, quite the contrary - I find it very sensible and wise (and very much in line with the Jaminets' recommendations, if you've read their book). It tells you why it's a good idea to go paleo, why the cavemen's diet and lifestyle is pretty much how humans evolved to live and why we are mismatched with the environment we now live in.

Kresser provides valuable advice on both nutrition and lifestyle aspects. He suggests an initial 30-day reset during which you eliminate a lot of modern foods, only to re-introduce some of them later on, depending on your individual tolerance and your preferences. This elimination plan is more or less your standard paleo diet, no surprises there. Kresser also supports the 80/20 rule (which is quite sensible) and even the re-introduction of some "non-paleo" foods such as white rice, quinoa or buckwheat (or even regular wheat on rare occasions), if tolerated.

But what I found really valuable (both in The Paleo Cure and in the Jaminets' Perfect Health Diet) is the lifestyle advice on how you can improve your sleep, manage your stress and optimize your fitness.

Like I said, I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of whether your goal is to lose weight, get relief for an autoimmune condition, control your diabetes or simply achieve good health.

[KM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the BEST book on food and nutrition I've ever read. This book on the Paleo diet differs from others because it is realistic. The author understands and even encourages the importance of carbs (a huge sigh of relief in the age of the Keto diet), and even acknowledges that non-Paleo foods such as rice are important in the diets of some people. Kresser also points out issues with "superfoods" such as maca root powder that many people may not know about. The best part of this book is how the author goes into the lifestyle of Paleo and how sleep, vitamins, play, and lifestyle all factor in. Great book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive guide to both Paleo eating and lifestyle. Kresser includes a lot of scientific info to back his recommendations which I liked, but maybe isn’t for everyone. He includes an approach to incorporate some non-Paleo foods like dairy for individuals that tolerate them and also specific guidelines to personalize your plan for your specific health condition. I like how his plan is more flexible than most other books and follows an 80/20 rule with room to indulge which makes it so much more doable. This is a good reference book for Paleo eaters, and one I plan on re-visiting. Recipes at the end I thought were just so-so.