Living the Low Carb Life (Scholastic): From Atkins to the Zone Choosing the Diet That's Right for You

Wow, I spent all weekend reading this book. It is extensive in the history and science behind low carb eating. It goes into great detail that sometimes left me a little overwhelmed but I still appreciated having it there to try and absorb. It might take a few readings to really get all the science. I think it is just a great book to have that also covers all the low carb plans out there today and some older ones too. I suppose I wish there was a spreadsheet of some sort comparing them all but other then that there are pretty extensive reviews on all the plans. You can then go on to pursue those plans individually that you interested in. Just a really great comprehensive low carb book! I will refer to it over and over.

Here's my chapter-by-chapter review of this book. A little long, but should give you a good idea of what the book contains. --- Chapter 1: The History and Origins of Low-Carb Diets This was a fun chapter. Jonny Bowden talks about the history of low-carbohydrate diets, from William Banting and Dr. William Harvey all the way to Dr. Barry Sears (The Zone). We find low-carb diets did not start with Dr. Robert Atkins in 1972, but actually with Mr. Banting's publication of Letter on Corpulence in 1864. So low-carb has been around much longer than the low fat dogma that has only been popular the last 30 years. The concept of the calorie wasn't even discovered until between 1890 and 1900 by a man with the name of Wilbur Atwater. Mr. Bowden goes through all this and more, touching on each of the major players in diet from 1864 onward. Many of the people named I had never heard of before. There's so much more to this low-carb lifestyle than one man in New York in the 70s! Very good chapter and I highly recommend it. Chapter 2: Why Low-Carb Diets Work Jonny Bowden gets somewhat technical in this chapter, and I admit parts were over my head. It talks about how our bodily system work, with a focus on insulin since it is a key reason low fat/high carb diets don't work. It talks about blood sugar, cholesterol (both HDL and LDL), and triglycerides. It explains why a diet high in carbohydrates has an adverse impact on all of these. He spends extra time on insulin, insulin resistance, and diabetes. He talks about insulin as the "fat-storage hormone" and most importantly, what goes on in the body to cause this. The chapter can be summed up best in one sentence: "Controlling insulin is the number one priority of all low-carb diets" (page 64). As I said, parts are quite technical, but most of the chapter was understandable. It left me thinking, "Why would I ever want to put so many carbs in my body when they do such horrible things? This is the chapter to read if you want to know the scientific reasons a low carb diet works and what goes on in your body when you are on a traditional low fat diet. Chapter 3: The Diets In chapter 3, Jonny Bowden takes pains to list the positives and negatives of all the diet plans he profiles. With those that get a low rating, such as Lindora, he mentions what is good about the program. And with the highest rated, such as Atkins, he mentions the faults he sees. So far from being overly biased, he does his best to highlight the whole story behind all the diets - good and bad. Here's all the diets and how they rated, from top rated down to lowest rated. When more than one program has the same rating they are in alphabetical order. If you want to know Mr. Bowden's reasoning behind these ratings, you'll have to get the book! :) Below each diet I will put my comments. The Atkins Diet - 5 stars I am, of course, biased toward this program because it is my plan. :) Atkins is high-fat, low-carb, consisting of four phases, each o

Let's start by saying that Jonny Bowden's sensible advice really worked for me. I'm grateful for his explanation of the science behind low carb diets. I even took his advice and read one of the 14 diets he reviews and rates in this informative book. The proof, however, is in the results I achieved using his practical suggestions. Using many of Jonny's tips, I lost 20 lbs and 3 pant sizes in 12 weeks, lowered my blood pressure to normal levels, and dramatically improved my blood lipids all without medication. The references and helpful links Jonny Bowden provides in this book are worth every penny. I refer to this book regularly for advice on supplements and for authoritative resources in many health areas. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking general health and longevity improvement.

If you can only read one book about low carbohydrate dieting, read this one. Jonny Bowden's Living the Low Carb Life offers a wealth of information about why low carb works, with overviews and ratings of all the popular varients and debunking of the myths. He's got the knowledge to help you make the right choice for your life and body. He writes well, too; this book is remarkably entertaining. I've written a lot about low carb diets myself, and I found myself reading Jonny's book thinking, "Damn, I wish *I'd* written this!" A must-read.

This text provides a very lucid and interesting history of low-carb dieting, as well as an insightful analysis of some particular diets. It is best used as an additional text to the more direct dietary advice given in books such as Syndrome X (Challem, et al), The Zone, Atkins New Diet Revolution, The Schwarzbein principle, The No-Grain Diet, Dr. Bernstein's Diet Revolution, etc. For 75% of the population, the USDA/ADA recommended diet is simply unhealthy, to varying degrees. For about 25% of the population, the USDA/ADA diet will be deadly. The solution will be some form of "low-carb" dieting, which takes various forms, as Bowden's text elaborates. It should be noted that the mainstream medical community, influenced by the AMA, which is in turn influenced by USDA, which is influenced by grain and sugar consortium lobbyists, still asserts the problematic nature of low-carb dieting--DO NOT BE FOOLED BY COMMERCIALISM. Think about it? What were humans designed to eat? Twinkies and chocolate and donuts and cereal and bread? Or meat, Fish, vegetables, nuts, and fruit (when available--i.e. limited quantities)?. LIVING THE LOW-CARB LIFE is a good starting point in low-carb research. It should be read in conjunction with the other texts listed.