The online PDR makes reference to the fact that while there have been many positive results, the results in the studies that look at the reduction of polyps have been modest.
Calcium and Maintaining Skeletal Mass. There is no doubt that calcium is integral to maintaining our skeletal system.
After reading all of this is there really any reason for me to go on? Well just for good measure, and since my editor told me around 2000 words is ok (1653 words as you read) I have a few other observations on this book.
Condescension drips from almost every page in this book as we are told over and over again just how wonderful the Park Avenue people are. Dr. Klauer must exist in a total vacuum to think that people “out here” would find this approach - and her tone - appealing.
Particularly annoying are her inclusion of quotes at the start of every chapter, one of which comes from the privileged lips of Diana Vreeland, at the beginning of her chapter on recipes. Dr. Klauer thought to use this quote “People who eat white bread have no dreams!” Oh how very droll!
Mrs Vreeland – who was a real champion of the people - also said this, “What do I think about the way most people dress? Most people are not something one thinks about.” This is someone most of us really should aspire to be like. Yuk.
Also, Dr. Klauer tells us (people who want to lose weight) to expect that the people around us will try to sabotage our efforts.
Here’s a passage, “People just do not like change…There is something threatening about seeing people change: Your friends fear that you will disapprove of their food choices or alcohol consumption when you are thinner: they fear you will find new friends who are more fun. Your lover fears rejection as your body becomes thinner, and is afraid that you may find a superior lover...This fear is universal and I witness it almost daily in my practice” (My emphasis). This is really a group of people that “we” should aspire to, isn’t it?
When it comes to her diet plan she recommends an incredibly restrictive 1225 calories per day, three-day kick start plan, and doesn’t add a whole heck of a lot of calories from there as you move through the phases of the program. Dr. Klauer makes absolutely NO allowances for the differences in body mass that people have and the resultant daily requirement to fuel the body. Anyone who tries to follow this plan will be bloody starving right off the bat.
Article comments
1 - Dick Hanneman
Your description of the role of salt reduction on the effectiveness of the DASH Diet is just plain wrong. Correcting mineral deficiencies in DASH -- while holding sodium (salt) constant -- made the difference; reducing salt added nothing in six of the eight subgroups: if you are an older, overweight African-American, salt restriction added some BP benefit (but not necessarily a reduced rate of heart attacks). Consider two facts: With sodium constant at near-normal levels, those with high blood pressure who followed the DASH Diet cut their systolic blood pressure (the important "top number") by 11.4 mmHg. By also cutting salt by 60% (never achieved in a free-living population), the hypertensive subgroup reduced SBP by 11.5 mmHg. So, 11.4 mmHg was the "DASH effect" and 0.1 mmHg was the "salt effect." 'Nuff said.
For more see the Salt Institute's Salt and Health website: http://www.saltinstitute.org/28.html.
Dick Hanneman
President
Salt Institute
2 - sal m
Mr Hanneman:
Perhaps you need to reread what I wrote and the DASH introduction.
Here is what the DASH intro says,
"Recently, two studies showed that blood pressure can be lowered by following a particular eating plan...and reducing the amount of sodium consumed...the combination of the eating plan and a reduced sodium intake gives the biggest benefit and may help prevent the development of high blood pressure."
If you object to the findings of DASH don't waste your time here. Whether or not your industry agrees with the findings matters not one bit to me, but if you disagree go bother the people who did the DASH study.
I used DASH because the author of this book intimates that somehow this study found that calcium had a direct role in lowering blood pressure, not because I am promoting DASH in particular or a low sodium diet.
3 - Angela Groninger
Maybe some of the information contained in Dr. Klauer book can be found online for free, but as a person who has gained and lost probably hundreds of pounds, I find her program and tips quite encouraging. Yes, some of it is condesending, but no doubt, as a women who likes to eat, I've found a loss in my normal cravings and do feel satisfied with her diet. The elimination of "white" foods and lowering empty carbs is awesome. Sure this diet caters to people who can eat less and eat well, so may not be for everyone. It works for me. I feel great and am losing weight. I've tried Weight Watchers and actually GAINED weight...go figure.
4 - Melaine Hruska
I myself am a scientist and have found some issues with the books claims. But there is a message in the book that I do not feel is unhealthy or dangerous! The book is a great motivational tool. I have used it in my weight loss goals and found myself to have more energy than ever, many of my health issues, such as skin and general allergies, subsided. Now, way is this? Because I took the message of eating smaller portions, eating food that American’s have cut completely out of our diet, deceasing things in our diets that are harmful such has high amounts of fats and breads, and drinking the daily amount of water, not soda, sports drinks or even infused fruit waters. Also, getting up and exercising! None of it I find harmful, unless you take it to the extreme! That is true for any diet and why you should consult a doctor before starting a diet/exercise plan.
As for “Starving” on this plan, from my experience I was more filled than I had ever been and for longer! My cravings for fast food and quick fix caffeine drinks diminished over time and I felt great. When ever I did try to start a “FAD” diet that’s when I starved, still not seeing result and consuming twice as many calories! But this is a personal experience! I did ease back into eating small amount of wheat enriched foods but never to the excess that I did! This book offers motivation, encouragement, and a starting point. A starting point to reevaluate what we put in our body’s as American’s and individuals.
5 - Lourdesee
I have done very well on this diet. It really isnt a diet at all. It is eating Healthy foods vs. crap. I too have been on weightwatchers and didnt do as well as Im doing. I have never ever had a sugar low and Am now down from 2500 of metformin..for diabetes to 1000 mg. That is awesome. I do exercise and eat well and never hungry. So I dont care why you dont think this is enough calories its great for me and Ive never felt better.....
6 - Lourdesee
Sorry...I forgot to mention...Take some kind of fiber with this diet...This way is eating is the only thing this diet is lacking is fiber.....
7 - Erin
Started this diet plan yesterday and am off it today. I felt full all day but had an awful headache and mood swings all day and into the evening. Sure it'd probably go away after the Jumpstart or something but I have a job and a one year old, this is not the ideal diet for me.
8 - Lourdesee
Still on this way of eating and down 65 lbs. I have tried every diet and its the only one that I have done well. My Blood sugar is great, I still walk and try and eat well always. I sometimes have to eat cookies or pizza, just not every day.
9 - Alaina
i usually skim diet books to see what they are trying to get to. i did the same with this one. first thing, part of the program is exercising for an hour a day, first thing in the morning. that's excellent advice that should be common sense. but it isn't. second thing, drinking a bunch of water throughout the day. again, should be common sense. but it isn't. eating only small portions BUT eating throughout the day. these portions consisting of whole foods that haven't been processed beyond recognition. getting more spinach in your diet, or broccoli or a cup of yogurt and cutting back on sugar. all of these things should be common sense. but they aren't. this book is a way of getting past our upbringing as a child so we don't know that food is for fuel, not comfort. and some foods really AREN'T food.
to sum it up, this book is informative and i've never felt better. it was a motivator. it's not "new" information, but maybe it is.
10 - Anton
I started this diet in May 2007 in combination with 5 gym sessions a week and by December that year I lost almost 40 kilos. I was initially a whooping 123 kg and came down to 85kg -- from a waist size of 46 to 32.
I take issue with most of the criticisms. I found this diet aspirational and made me feel good about myself and began to look at my body with admiration. For the first time in my life I gained an interest in fashion, started wearing skinny trousers and slim fit shirts and felt great as a result.
The book has valuable principles to remember, such as "if you don't know what's in it dont eat it". These are things that make you choosier about the food one consumes - cleaner and healthier things.
I found the addition of calcium in my diet made me feel great, more satisfied and my skin looked radiant.
Friends told me that I looked 10 years younger.
One of the downsides of the diet -- I think -- is that the low calorie count made me sometimes light headed. As my work is mostly intellectual, one shouldn't play with key things like glucose (the brain's food) and I wonder if this diet might have a weakness in this regard.
Regrettably I was not able to keep the weight off for long. I succeeded in staying in a very enjoyable (and skinny!) plateau for about a year, and gradually I began to pile up the pounds again - albeit slowly, and I'm now back at a rather unhappy 114 kg. I feel that I took my eye off the ball with the alcohol particularly and have lifted any restrictions on starchy foods.
I am going to go back to the method and loose weight again - hopefully to keep it off for good!