The No-Grain Diet: Conquer Carbohydrate Addiction and Stay Slim for Life

by Joseph Mercola, Alison Rose Levy

A leading osteopath and natural wellness physician unveils a three-step program for losing weight-and keeping it off.

In this revolutionary guide by the director of the Optimal Wellness Center in Illinois who has a wildly successful natural health care Web site, www.mercola.com, readers will discover how to shed those unwanted pounds-healthfully and nutritiously.

According to the latest research, the current USDA food pyramid is misleading and It is primarily carbohydrates, not fats, that contribute to increased weight gain and lead to a variety of illnesses and disorders. With Dr. Mercola's grain-free diet, readers will discover the key to permanent weight loss and healthy living, beginning

* The 3-Day Diet-Eating every two hours to rid the body of grains, sweets, and starches
* The 50-Day Diet Plan-Eating four to six meals a day to normalize cholesterol levels
* The Lifelong Maintenance Plan-Following specific food guidelines that allow certain grains to be slowly brought back into the diet
* The Emotional Freedom Technique-a craving-busting tool for eliminating carbohydrate cravings and addictions once and for all.

Forget the pain and frustration of high-protein, low-fat diets that don't work and aren't even good for you. You'll watch the pounds come off as The No-Grain Diet takes you to the next level of health, fitness, and well-being.

Genres: Health, Diets, Nonfiction, Self Help, Food

311 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2003

About the author

Dr. Joseph Mercola is a natural health expert based in Illinois. He believes that people are capable of taking control of their health – they can harness their body’s ability to stay optimally healthy. He shares his recommendations through his website, Mercola.com. It is one of the leading natural health websites today, with over one million subscribers worldwide.

Dr. Mercola has authored three New York Times best sellers, "The Great Bird Flu Hoax", "The No Grain Diet", and his latest book, “Effortless Healing”, which he has written as an easy-to-read guide that can help you avoid the many pitfalls of the conventional approach to health through nine simple steps or healing principles.

Reviews

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read this before and enjoy using his PFT especially for headaches but his diet is very unhelpful for me as I have so many food allergies and then I get disgusted and quit reading it. The last third of the book is recipes! It seems most diet books are like this now and I can never use them as they always have 3 or 4 things to which I am allergic. I have 30 food allergies which are getting worse especially in the area of vegetables and fruits. This problem is probably due to salicylates in the vegetables/fruits.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people are metabolically able to handle grains better than others - I am not in that category, so I found this book helpful. It is NOT a low-carb diet where you focus on meat - it focuses on vegetables, rather than grains for carbs.

[Leanna Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been gluten free for a couple of years and have also eliminated many other grains from my life as well due to food allergy. I have been in the pre-contemplation phase of change, considering the possibility of going completely grain-free. It sounds drastic doesn't it? There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that going wheat, corn, and soy free was absolutely the right choice for me and my health. But what about oats? What about quinoa? That gets even tougher in some ways. Further complicating my decision-making is the problem with the definition of a grain. Not everyone agrees.

The author of The No-Grain Diet: Conquer Carbohydrate Addiction and Stay Slim for Life, Dr. Mercola, is no stranger to me. Since we are both avid tappers (Emotional Freedom Technique) his name pops up in the literature that I read all of the time. When I happened to spot this book at the local health food store I was surprised to see that he is advocating a no-grain diet as well. Perhaps we have even more in common than I thought.

The book is information and combines just the right amount of science and research with practical how-to advice. The recipes aren't overly complicated and the ones that I've tried so far are delicious. I'm looking forward to trying even more in the near future. The fact that he includes EFT tapping instruction and advocates its use for managing carbohydrate cravings also adds to this being "the complete package."

I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with dietary issues, wanting to improve their overall health, or just looking for healthy recipes to spice up the family menu.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm very disappointed in the format of this book. Most of the content in this book was good information about why we should go grain free and I agree with Dr. Mercola, but I think Mercola could of done a way better job in planning out the book and making it easier on the reader. Also, he is inconsistent in his diet plan. In the advance plan he states no legumes, but in the menu plan for advance you can eat hummus and pinto beans. Not to mention his diet plan is labor intensive if you have a job or a family to take care of.

[Crystal Helcel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant at the beginning bc of the EFT stuff, which I'm not in to, but it turned out to be really good. It gave me reasons why I have issues with grains- finally!! I've been saying for years that whole grain/healthy grains don't matter, they act same as processed junk and sugar. So many people blew me off, well here I found answers. Yeeesssss!!

[Valetta Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fitness trainer and CHef, I got this book for the clients I have to be able to check out most of the information I give them is already published and ready for implementation. I really enjoy the content and the easy way in which the reader can get started and keep going.

[joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to rate non-fiction. Harder than it is for me to rate fiction. I mostly try not to think about the number of stars and what they represent too much. To me, or to the author, to anyone else counting them. At least with fiction I can rate based on my emotional experience. But um, anyway, diet books are basically my least favorite thing in the world. So I could never give this book any more than three stars, which I consider to be neutral, even though I thought it contained some interesting information on a topic becoming increasingly more significant to me, some yummy-seeming (none yet tasted) recipes, and some out of left field information on EFT ("tapping").

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time I read this book, I had a very high grain diet and going to no-grain seemed impossible. This actually took about 2 years to do.

Though I have gone back to eating grains, it is significantly reduced from 5 years ago, and the grains are now much better, whole grains and things that are less processed, high in fiber & nutrients.

Still, I do have to guard against eating too much in grains and do best with very little a day. Perhaps rereading it now, I may score it higher, as I'm in a different stage in my eating than when I originally read this book when it came out.

[Sher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overcome carb cravings by getting rid of grains and sugar in your diet. Like Atkins Diet, but Mercola advises grass fed beef ( and other things different from Atkins), and he also has a section on using a self-done acupressure system that will help one overcome cravings from the emotional part of the equation. Mercola believes diets fails because we cut back on sugar and grains, but we don't eliminate them from the diet 100%. Back of book has recipes. Also a discussion for how to eliminate constipation by lowering grains especially gluten.

[Rachel]

This dude's really balls out hardcore, but has a lot of interesting things to say.

[Maly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a health nut. I like to read about different ways of eating. Dr. Mercola has presented a sound advice for us to consider.

[Esther]

Being celiac, I'm guessing it will be easier to do a no-grain diet and then a low grain/sugars diet once I've reached my optimum health profile. Wish me luck!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid medical advice for those who don't do well with gluten or grains in general.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, lots of good ideas but a bit overwhelming too! I am not sure I totally buy into all he recommends.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

more vegetables than atkins, but still a ridiculous amount of super-expensive meat