The Swift Diet: 4 Weeks to Mend the Belly, Lose the Weight, and Get Rid of the Bloat

by Kathie Madonna Swift, Joseph Hooper, Mark Hyman (Foreword)

The microbiome is about to be the hottest thing in health. New research, for example, shows that lean people have different gut bacteria than heavier people.

The Swift Diet will be the first to show women how they can tap into that research to lose weight permanently by eating to change their gut bacteria. But the promise doesn’t stop there—the Diet also helps heal the bloating, gas, constipation, and digestive distress that so often go with carrying extra weight. These four weeks of meal plans, recipes, and lifestyle changes will: � Help you to lose weight permanently � Banish the gas/bloat � Regulate digestion � Clear your skin � Help you to concentrate better � Increase your energy � Eliminate stomach pain
  With its groundbreaking message and simple eating plan, The Swift Diet will be the one that finally heals your belly and gets the weight off— permanently.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Food

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2014

Reviews

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

The Swift Diet is a comprehensive examination of what we know about healthy eating today, especially as it relates to women. Discussing everything from fats to carbs, microbiomes, digestion issues, wheat and other food intolerances, and more, author Swift puts all the science into perspective but also doesn't dumb it down. A bit more holistic than other diets in that it also incorporates yoga and exercise, the focus really is on toxins and detoxifying rather than portion control or denial. But also equally important is flexibility - which in this book comes from understanding what foods will do for you (or against you) when consumed. There is a four week plan that focuses on various foods, eliminating certain types to see which ones might be causing the weight gain/inflammation/chronic problems. The focus is on feeling better and with more energy, less ailments.

The book breaks down as follows: Science, wisdom, and story; Mind your digestion; Eliminate the problem foods; Nourish the body and the belly; Dietary supplements; Sustaining practices; The 4-week sift plan, Recipes, FAQs, Notes, Resources, Index. The resources and notes sections are particularly good, with Swift footnoting her sources and also providing a long list of places to get the best foods possible.

The recipes are fairly typical - what you will see in many books with this type of detoxifying regimen. The formatting on them, however, is rather rudimentary and they are not separated page by page. But the recipes are simple, steps are broken down by numbers and paragraphs, serving and prep time are given, and there are copious tips for variations and substitutions throughout. Examples include lemon dill shrimp with sesame bok choy, slow cooker beef stew, chocolate avocado playtime pudding, and eggs un-benedict. None of the recipes have odd or hard to find ingredients.

Where this book excels is in a thorough discussion about everything from supplements to gut bacteria. Although I have read a lot on many of the subjects, there were still many nuggets here to appreciate. Most of the book is an examination of current health so there is quite a bit to go through; the meat of the book is knowledge and information, not the diet or recipes.

The main exclusions to the diet are, of course, sugars and processed foods. There is a long examination of reactive foods such as legumes or high fructose fruits, but those are suggested to be used in moderation, not excluded. Even grains are included as long as they are whole and gluten free (though testing for other allergens in the grain except gluten is suggested).

Where the book fails for me is twofold. First, Swift recommends a wide battery of tests to detect intolerance or other medical conditions. While this is a great idea in theory (and covers the author legally), it's not realistic that anyone can afford to walk in and get everything from blood sugar to vitamin D levels (15+ tests!). When recommendations are made on something that is so very expensive as medical care, I would have liked the author to explore options or tips on how this can be done financially for the average person. Second, her name is applied to nearly everything in the book - from the diet plan to the recipes (e.g., "Swift smoothie"). After awhile, it felt like some bizarre egregious subliminal conditioning attempt to get her name in your mind forever (or Dr. Hymen envy).

Those considerations aside, there really is a lot of great information in there well presented. Although not graphical at all (there are a few line drawings of certain scientific things), it at least has a friendly tone. And certainly, with no pictures with the recipes, this is no where near as good a cookbook as with the Doctor's Diet Cookbook.

So yes, absolutely worth reading and with a very flexible, well thought out, thorough, but effective diet and health plan (yoga, sleep, etc.). There's still a lot to learn about our health.

Reviewed from a digital copy provided by the publisher.

[Annie Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathie Swift is a wise and skillful teacher and writer, and there is no one better to guide the healing of your belly than she.

[Launi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think she's on the right track but in the end it was a bit of a let down and left me with many unanswered questions. Her ultimate conclusion to gut problems is going on a gluten free diet which I may eventually try... But after reading this book I'm not anywhere close to wanting to run out and try her diet program. It just didn't give me enough information to feel comfortable going on this diet without more substantial evidence that this will solve all my gut problems. Yes it may help, and in this book she talks about some of the people it has indeed, helped. But the book is just not quite enough to get me to take that plunge. Lol. I'll think about it...

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for those who want to take a close look at the foods they are eating and how they affect their well being. Good information presented in an easy to understand manner. Lots of recipes I want to try!

[Heather]

It seems so complicated to figure out what you can eat. when you have a family to feed, it is hard to come up with your own meals like this. will take some into consideration, but overall, need an easier to follow plan.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary read with well written, concise analysis of emerging science on how our intestinal health impacts our overall well being.