What do you think?
Rate this book
Protein Power: The High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health--in Just Weeks!
Join the thousands who have experienced dramatic weight loss, lowered cholesterol, and improvement or reversal of the damages of heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, and other major diseases by following this medically proven program.
Protein Power will teach you how to use food as a tool for
• Dramatic and permanent weight loss
• Resetting your metabolism and boosting your energy levels
• Lowering your “bad” cholesterol levels while elevating the “good”
• Protecting yourself from “The Deadly Diseases of Civilization” (including high blood pressure and heart disease)
And best of all, Protein Power encourages you to
• Eat the foods you love, including meats (even steaks, bacon, and burgers), cheeses, and eggs
• Rethink the current wisdom on fat intake (science has shown that fat does not make you fat!)
• Stop shocking your body with breads, pastas, and other fat-inducing carbohydrates
So prepare yourself for the most dramatic life-enhancing diet program available!
Protein Power will teach you how to use food as a tool for
• Dramatic and permanent weight loss
• Resetting your metabolism and boosting your energy levels
• Lowering your “bad” cholesterol levels while elevating the “good”
• Protecting yourself from “The Deadly Diseases of Civilization” (including high blood pressure and heart disease)
And best of all, Protein Power encourages you to
• Eat the foods you love, including meats (even steaks, bacon, and burgers), cheeses, and eggs
• Rethink the current wisdom on fat intake (science has shown that fat does not make you fat!)
• Stop shocking your body with breads, pastas, and other fat-inducing carbohydrates
So prepare yourself for the most dramatic life-enhancing diet program available!
429 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
326 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
March 31, 2008
After consuming this meaty but quick read, I implemented the prescribed style of eating. It has worked for me since 2000. The book's clarity and compellingly complete treatment of the metabolism gave me a fresh (and apparently accurate) perspective. This was my first, and probably last "diet" book. I can't believe this stuff is not taught in high school.
November 11, 2012
This book is a must read for a diabetic. I've been a type 1 diabetic for 42 years, and I learned more about insulin from this book, than from any other book I've ever read. I'm a nutrition geek, and I liked how this book explained all the nitty gritty details of the biochemistry that happen when you eat different foods. It's written in a way that conveys the science, but also adds in humor, to make reading about science more enjoyable. I give this book 5 stars.
July 4, 2014
Pretty standard low-carb book. Lower stars because at the very end of the book the author actually gets to the crux of the matter--argiculturally driven grain based diets--but the menus and food recommendations all encourage the usage of these products in smaller amounts. There is no meaningful discussion about food quality anywhere in the book. And nothing discouraging readers from eating heavily processed foods--so long as those foods are relatively low-carb.
The message is inconsistent and leaves the reader believing the "everything in moderation" myth.
The message is inconsistent and leaves the reader believing the "everything in moderation" myth.
April 8, 2025
Protein Power by Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D., is a popular book that advocates for a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet to improve health, lose weight, and manage various metabolic conditions. Here are the five key takeaways:
1. Protein is Central to Health and Weight Loss: The book emphasizes that a diet rich in protein helps maintain muscle mass, boosts metabolism, and promotes satiety, making it easier to lose weight compared to high-carb diets. Protein is positioned as the cornerstone of a balanced, effective nutritional strategy.
2. Carbohydrate Restriction Improves Metabolic Health: The Eades argue that reducing carbohydrate intake, particularly refined carbs and sugars, helps regulate insulin levels, reduce fat storage, and prevent or manage conditions like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. This low-carb approach is a key pillar of the "Protein Power" plan.
3. Fat is Not the Enemy: Contrary to the low-fat diet trends of its time (published in 1996), the book defends dietary fat as a necessary and healthy energy source when carbs are limited. It aligns with the idea that fats, especially from natural sources, support overall well-being when paired with protein.
4. Individualized Nutrition Matters: The authors provide tools to calculate personal protein needs based on body size and activity level, as well as a phased approach to carb intake (intervention, transition, and maintenance phases). This customization aims to optimize results for each person’s unique physiology.
5. Lifestyle Integration Enhances Benefits: Beyond diet, the book stresses the importance of combining the high-protein, low-carb eating plan with exercise and other healthy habits to maximize fat loss, energy levels, and long-term health outcomes.
These takeaways reflect the book’s core philosophy, which was influential in popularizing low-carb diets in the 1990s and remains relevant to discussions about ketogenic and similar dietary approaches today.
1. Protein is Central to Health and Weight Loss: The book emphasizes that a diet rich in protein helps maintain muscle mass, boosts metabolism, and promotes satiety, making it easier to lose weight compared to high-carb diets. Protein is positioned as the cornerstone of a balanced, effective nutritional strategy.
2. Carbohydrate Restriction Improves Metabolic Health: The Eades argue that reducing carbohydrate intake, particularly refined carbs and sugars, helps regulate insulin levels, reduce fat storage, and prevent or manage conditions like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. This low-carb approach is a key pillar of the "Protein Power" plan.
3. Fat is Not the Enemy: Contrary to the low-fat diet trends of its time (published in 1996), the book defends dietary fat as a necessary and healthy energy source when carbs are limited. It aligns with the idea that fats, especially from natural sources, support overall well-being when paired with protein.
4. Individualized Nutrition Matters: The authors provide tools to calculate personal protein needs based on body size and activity level, as well as a phased approach to carb intake (intervention, transition, and maintenance phases). This customization aims to optimize results for each person’s unique physiology.
5. Lifestyle Integration Enhances Benefits: Beyond diet, the book stresses the importance of combining the high-protein, low-carb eating plan with exercise and other healthy habits to maximize fat loss, energy levels, and long-term health outcomes.
These takeaways reflect the book’s core philosophy, which was influential in popularizing low-carb diets in the 1990s and remains relevant to discussions about ketogenic and similar dietary approaches today.
Want to read
August 12, 2012Recommended by Robb Wolf in _The Paleo Solution_ (p. 102) for history of government-backed high-carb, low-fat industry.
September 10, 2016
Very useful content about effects of carbs on insulin levels. A scientific approach that breaks it down into an interesting read for any one looking to improve their health.
April 16, 2025
It was quite a surprise to read this.
I had no idea that the ideas behind "the metabolic syndrome" and "insulin resistance" were already known as early as 1996.
This book foreshadows; Bikman, Fung, Lustig, Taubes, and Teicholz, in pointing to the primary cause of obesity and diabetes.
It also foreshadows the "Palaeo Hypothesis" for designing a diet.
Although some of the detail is sketchy compared with books now (2025) being written its a great illustration of just how long it can take to reverse out-of-date science and turn round that tanker of false information that is the root cause of most of our chronic diseases.
As and archaeologist I really welcomed the chapter at the end "Overcoming the Curse of the Mummies" in which despite a healthfood platter, the people of Ancient Egypt were much less healthy than their hunter/gatherer foreabears; with bad teeth, bones, and other chronic diseases due in part to lack of meat and an overreliance of CARBOHYDRATES..
I understand the the Eades are still active and praised as Early pioneers in conferences such as "Low Carb Down Under" which I urge you all to investigate on YouTube.
There is still much work to be done, but all the science is out there.
I had no idea that the ideas behind "the metabolic syndrome" and "insulin resistance" were already known as early as 1996.
This book foreshadows; Bikman, Fung, Lustig, Taubes, and Teicholz, in pointing to the primary cause of obesity and diabetes.
It also foreshadows the "Palaeo Hypothesis" for designing a diet.
Although some of the detail is sketchy compared with books now (2025) being written its a great illustration of just how long it can take to reverse out-of-date science and turn round that tanker of false information that is the root cause of most of our chronic diseases.
As and archaeologist I really welcomed the chapter at the end "Overcoming the Curse of the Mummies" in which despite a healthfood platter, the people of Ancient Egypt were much less healthy than their hunter/gatherer foreabears; with bad teeth, bones, and other chronic diseases due in part to lack of meat and an overreliance of CARBOHYDRATES..
I understand the the Eades are still active and praised as Early pioneers in conferences such as "Low Carb Down Under" which I urge you all to investigate on YouTube.
There is still much work to be done, but all the science is out there.
December 30, 2022
This was a great book which explains many details of our biochemistry related to metabolic disorder and the primary influence which is insulinemia (insulin excess causing lack of insulin regulation signal throughout the body). It also had details of the competitive mechanisms of insulin and glucagon and explained how the insulin/glucagon ratio was import. It also discusses the causes of bad Eicosanoids related to eating the wrong types of seed oils and the lack of proteins needed for proper regulation in forming the good forms.
My only complaint was, they author wrote the book to explain their diet in full and that had him digress (IMO) into diet plans and recipes and advice to people attempting this plan on their own. IMO there are many sources for low-carb meal plans But I completely understand the author purpose.
To my end, the book serves as one of many sources of knowledge related to the ketogenic diet.
My only complaint was, they author wrote the book to explain their diet in full and that had him digress (IMO) into diet plans and recipes and advice to people attempting this plan on their own. IMO there are many sources for low-carb meal plans But I completely understand the author purpose.
To my end, the book serves as one of many sources of knowledge related to the ketogenic diet.
April 9, 2018
Change your diet, change your life
Easy to understand information that is detailed and highly pertinent to the current obesity epidemic. Our carbohydrate-fueled diet and addiction to sugar has caused a myriad of health problems which can be healed by following a low carb diet that includes healthy fats and reasonable amounts of protein. Highly recommended if you want to understand the way your body works down to a cellular level.
Easy to understand information that is detailed and highly pertinent to the current obesity epidemic. Our carbohydrate-fueled diet and addiction to sugar has caused a myriad of health problems which can be healed by following a low carb diet that includes healthy fats and reasonable amounts of protein. Highly recommended if you want to understand the way your body works down to a cellular level.
May 7, 2019
It's a good book overall, although in the 20 years since it was first published we know significantly more. It has a good chapter on cholesterol. An interesting part on health in ancient Egypt. There are some newer books around, with more up to date information. This one for me was a good supplement to all other books about nutrition that I have read so far. I would even give it 5 stars, if it wasn't so old and hence less relevant.
May 23, 2021
There have been a lot of books which are very useful if you want a high protein diet and also to know whey protein and its uses. If you want to know more about whey protein supplements then you should surely visit https://bestproteineverywhere.com.
February 11, 2017
Great information for the researcher
This book is a great source of nutritional data for anyone who is trying to understand how the body works. However, as a diet book, you may be disappointed by the lack of step-by-step processes. Also, since the book was written in the 90's some of the information may seem dated.
This book is a great source of nutritional data for anyone who is trying to understand how the body works. However, as a diet book, you may be disappointed by the lack of step-by-step processes. Also, since the book was written in the 90's some of the information may seem dated.
January 14, 2020
Dr. Eades got it right before most other authors!
There are many great parts, but particularly impressive is the “Egyptian Connection” of high carb intake (lots of bread/wheat) to poor health. This was well before sugar (only honey back then) and modern food technology existed, which has made health problems even worse.
There are many great parts, but particularly impressive is the “Egyptian Connection” of high carb intake (lots of bread/wheat) to poor health. This was well before sugar (only honey back then) and modern food technology existed, which has made health problems even worse.
June 20, 2017
A bit dated.
November 30, 2017
Very interesting.
If you are thinking about switching your diet to low carb you will want to read this book. It’s is to read and has a detailed history of nutrition.
If you are thinking about switching your diet to low carb you will want to read this book. It’s is to read and has a detailed history of nutrition.
April 13, 2018
Read this and lost 140 lbs between 2000 and 2001. Timeless. It works.
August 1, 2019
Great plan! Wish we knew about this sooner!
April 11, 2024
Informative and inspirational as I really start to prioritize 1g per pound of bodyweight in protein
Read
September 1, 2024Read this book when it first came out in the 90s and it really helped me understand my metabolism so much better.
March 10, 2012
This book focuses on maintaining good health but tells you how to achieve weight loss as an additional side effect.
Phase 1 of the diet recommends that you eat less than 30 grams (net) of carbohydrate a day (plus lots of healthy fats and a 90 - 120 g or 3 - 4 oz serve of protein with at least 2 meals daily, depending on your weight/size).
Phase 2 of the diet allows up to 55 g of carbohydrates daily.
The Maintenance Phase allows 60 - 150 carbs a day, depending on what works best for you and your body.
This advice tallies very well with the information given in books such as The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats, The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) as well as Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. Each of these books recommends cutting down to around 60 grams of carbs or so daily in order to lose weight, and then upping your carb intake when you're at the maintenance level.
As someone who has been spent significant time on the Atkins induction phase where carbs were limited to 20 grams daily, I feel this is too low for some of us to feel our best and so I would personally recommend skipping Phase 1 of the diet, and going straight to Phase 2 where you are allowed more grams of net carbs daily.
It is far less stressful on the body to lose weight and restrict carbs more slowly and there are so many benefits in eating huge amounts of (lower carb) vegetables daily plus a little fruit; including that they are enjoyable to eat!
For those of us battling serious illness and that have adrenal issues there may also be problems with going VERY low carb, as some articles I have read have explained. As far as healthy people maybe doing better avoiding the first Phase, this is just a completely unsubstantiated personal opinion! It is probably best to just do what feels right to you.
While I agree very much with the overall message of this book and find this type of diet makes me feel the best and helps me maintain my healthiest weight, I would have to say that I would probably choose any of the books I have listed above in preference to this one, if I had to pick just one of them.
(This book recommended some very unhealthy and junky foods, which really put me off. It also lacked some of the extra practical and scientific information contained in some of these other books. My reading also seems to suggest that a higher fat diet with moderate protein and controlled carbs is the best choice, rather than a similar diet which advises eating protein moreso than fat as this one does.)
If you are needing to lose weight as well as deal with any type of illness then the best pick of them is probably Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Sally Fallon.
If you're fairly healthy and all you want is to lose weight and learn more about why high carb and low fat diets don't work then I'd recommend The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger.
Don't believe the hype about low fat and low calorie diets being the best way to lose weight and be healthy. It turns out that 'calories in, calories out' is dead wrong! You can also lose weight without increasing your activity level at all. It also turns out that very low fat diets are dangerously unhealthy. For more on this the scrupulously referenced and brilliantly argued book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) is essential reading.
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Phase 1 of the diet recommends that you eat less than 30 grams (net) of carbohydrate a day (plus lots of healthy fats and a 90 - 120 g or 3 - 4 oz serve of protein with at least 2 meals daily, depending on your weight/size).
Phase 2 of the diet allows up to 55 g of carbohydrates daily.
The Maintenance Phase allows 60 - 150 carbs a day, depending on what works best for you and your body.
This advice tallies very well with the information given in books such as The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats, The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) as well as Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. Each of these books recommends cutting down to around 60 grams of carbs or so daily in order to lose weight, and then upping your carb intake when you're at the maintenance level.
As someone who has been spent significant time on the Atkins induction phase where carbs were limited to 20 grams daily, I feel this is too low for some of us to feel our best and so I would personally recommend skipping Phase 1 of the diet, and going straight to Phase 2 where you are allowed more grams of net carbs daily.
It is far less stressful on the body to lose weight and restrict carbs more slowly and there are so many benefits in eating huge amounts of (lower carb) vegetables daily plus a little fruit; including that they are enjoyable to eat!
For those of us battling serious illness and that have adrenal issues there may also be problems with going VERY low carb, as some articles I have read have explained. As far as healthy people maybe doing better avoiding the first Phase, this is just a completely unsubstantiated personal opinion! It is probably best to just do what feels right to you.
While I agree very much with the overall message of this book and find this type of diet makes me feel the best and helps me maintain my healthiest weight, I would have to say that I would probably choose any of the books I have listed above in preference to this one, if I had to pick just one of them.
(This book recommended some very unhealthy and junky foods, which really put me off. It also lacked some of the extra practical and scientific information contained in some of these other books. My reading also seems to suggest that a higher fat diet with moderate protein and controlled carbs is the best choice, rather than a similar diet which advises eating protein moreso than fat as this one does.)
If you are needing to lose weight as well as deal with any type of illness then the best pick of them is probably Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Sally Fallon.
If you're fairly healthy and all you want is to lose weight and learn more about why high carb and low fat diets don't work then I'd recommend The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger.
Don't believe the hype about low fat and low calorie diets being the best way to lose weight and be healthy. It turns out that 'calories in, calories out' is dead wrong! You can also lose weight without increasing your activity level at all. It also turns out that very low fat diets are dangerously unhealthy. For more on this the scrupulously referenced and brilliantly argued book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) is essential reading.
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
December 26, 2015
The authors make a good case for their dietary program. They explain why of the three basic foods, carbohydrates, protein, and fats, carbohydrates are the bad guy. Bad because they require an increase in insulin for their digestion. The bad guy's associate is insulin, and they explain its role in cholesterol levels, weight gain, fat gain, and diabetes. They say no more than 25 grams of carbs per day during the early intervention stage and 50 grams of carbs a day thereafter.
I enjoyed the read, because I enjoy reading about science and human physiology. They do a good job here. However, they authors attempt to quantify the value of various carbs, using their own system of assigning weight of carbs in food. This allows this book to become easily dated and difficult to follow, for food science, and shopping are dynamic and forever changing. Plus it is impossible to include every food in America. Some of the information has been supplanted by new research. Still a good read about physiology. One more thing: Diet books often contradict one another, so keep that in mind if attempting to follow the program the authors suggest.
I enjoyed the read, because I enjoy reading about science and human physiology. They do a good job here. However, they authors attempt to quantify the value of various carbs, using their own system of assigning weight of carbs in food. This allows this book to become easily dated and difficult to follow, for food science, and shopping are dynamic and forever changing. Plus it is impossible to include every food in America. Some of the information has been supplanted by new research. Still a good read about physiology. One more thing: Diet books often contradict one another, so keep that in mind if attempting to follow the program the authors suggest.
August 19, 2013
really liked this book. I am currently on a path to lose 107 pounds and it seems that when you have that much weight to lose anything that works should be considered. I like how this is called an "adequate protein" diet, low carb, not a "high protein" diet because it doesn't bring images of mounds of bacon and high fat meat for every meal. for the most part the diet has been easy to follow for the 10 days I have been following it. the first week I lost 6 lbs. and 2% body fat. I hope to keep it up for the next 20 days and then use their transition phases of adding more carbs in weekly.
Read
July 30, 2011The humerus anecdotes help break down otherwise technical science into easily digested knowledge that will help to build a healthy foundation for your lifetime of searching for your perfect diet. This is an old book. Worth the read if your wanting to by pass the Atkins & South Beach diet books. The recommendations for supplements in the back of the book should be researched as by now their are better.
Read
February 4, 2017I haven't finished this book because I'm not sure anymore if I want to follow this diet. What I read so far was very interesting though, and it convinced me that carbs are indeed not the best thing to base your diet on. The writing style makes it easy to read and also somewhat entertaining, and I think that helps to understand the medical stuff behind it. I'd really recommend it to everyone who wants to have a healthier diet and I'm sure I'll get back to it at some point later in my life.
September 30, 2013
This book is good if you do not intend to lower your carbohydrate intake as much as I have (it calls for higher carbs and lower protein than I am eating). The BEST thing about this book is they teach you how to figure out exactly what your Lean Body Mass is (if you were to magically get rid of all your fat) and you body fat percentage (plus, exactly how to figure out your best weight range).
July 19, 2014
This is one of the best books I've read on low-carb dieting. They go into a lot of depth on the science, explaining the relationship between insulin and glucagon and how they affect so many systems in the body. Their diet plan is easy to follow and very do-able, and is so far working nicely for me.
Read
September 22, 2007Goes indepth re the scientific process for weight loss. Not for everyone, but I found it fascinating!
December 17, 2007
It works. Just be sure to follow ALL of their instructions/recommendations. It may be difficult to avoid certain foods but I've never come across an easy-breezy diet in my life.
December 3, 2008
Well-written and interesting
June 16, 2009
Scientific, historical and ancedotal evidence on why a high protein/low carbohydrate diet is healthy is well presented by the husband and wife doctors to the layperson.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews