The Perfect Formula Diet: How To Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods

This book is largely a rehash of several other books (those others, unlike this one, well written) extolling a whole foods, vegan diet. I don't quibble with what is said by Stanger; I do, however, find fault with several aspects of her book--among which are these:* Too many times, the author pats herself on the back by claiming to have based her book on "thousands of scientific studies." Where are citations for those studies? Well, in order to "save a lot of trees" (p. 253) Stanger omits them from the book itself, directing the interested reader to the book's website. (See later point.)* In another gesture of patting herself on the back, the author (p. ix) states that she wants "to share the breakthrough formula I discovered ...." She discovered? That is hardly credible self-congratulation if one is aware of the work of authors listed on p. 237 and in the next point.* Unlike in the fine books by T. Colin Campbell, Neal Barnard, M.D., and John McDougall, M.D., then, here in TPFD the reader will read page after page of list after list of benefits. This does not make for very interesting reading.* What about those "thousands of scientific studies" cited on the website? The reader who goes looking for them will discover: (1) Sources for only chapters 1-12, with more promised in the future. (Two months after my first visit to the site, I found that the promise is as yet unfulfilled. Source listings still run only through ch 12.) (2) The sources given are general rather than specific. (In other words, if you want to track down the basis for any of the specific claims made in those ubiquitous lists in Stanger's book, you're out of luck.) (3) That, apparently, articles from general publications (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, The Encarta Encyclopedia) are considered by the author to be "scientific studies." (Again, one need only look to, say, McDougall's writing to see--even in books for lay people--how actual scientific studies are used to support assertions.) (4) Many URLs that go nowhere.* While purporting to be "scientific," the author peppers her prose with a "rah-rah" approach, epitomized in a tiresomely frequent "awesome."* And if her vocabulary is at times limited, so too is her sense of humanity (or merely sense of taste). On p. 130 she suggests this activity to prove to oneself the value of "Perfect Foods": "[Y]ou might want to volunteer at a hospital, hospice, or nursing home to see what happens after a lifetime of eating manufactured and animal foods."Stanger's book emphasizes the perfection of the foodstuffs she recommends and the perfect health resulting from the "Perfect Formula Diet." But no diet--even one that eschews all animal products & byproducts--is perfect. And since, from the moment we're born, we are all headed toward inevitable (if variously distant) death, no one's health is ever perfect. If you want to explore the health benefits of veganism, there are several fine books already available. This, despite the word "Perfect" (and the now almost requisite picture of dark chocolate on the cover!), is not one of them.

I LOVE this book! I love it not just because it has all the facts we need to choose the healthiest diet for humans -- a whole-foods, plant-based diet -- but because of the context. What makes this book unique is Dr. Stanger's holistic approach. She looks at how our nutrients get into our food in the first place. She describes how plants are the source of all our nutrients, and animals get them second-hand. Plants are producers -- animals are consumers. She explores both nature and scientific literature in coming up with her Perfect Formula Diet.In this book, Dr. Stanger provides an easy-to-understand explanation of our bodies, what happens in our liver and kidneys when we eat too much protein, especially animal protein, and why whole plant-foods (unprocessed plants with their nutrients intact) provide all the nutrients we need, (with the exception of Vitamin B12, which is made by microorganisms.)Her explanation of why we DON'T need to eat animal protein, and why we don't need much protein from any source, is particularly helpful. Who knew that our bodies are actually recycling their proteins all the time, and all we need to do is replace tiny amounts that are lost?I especially love her underlying thesis: we are made with marvelous bodies that are designed to work well -- to be slim and healthy and strong-- well into old age. When we eat the diet we are perfectly designed to eat, our perfectly designed bodies heal themselves naturally, and we lose weight effortlessly, and maintain it for life.Thank you, Dr. Stanger, for putting the results of your extensive scientific exploration into such an inspiring and easy-to-understand context. I've read MANY, MANY books on plant-based nutrition, and have gleaned useful information from all of them. Your book, however, stands out because of the holistic context.I highly recommend everyone read this book. You'll not only come away from it understanding which foods to eat to support your perfect health and perfect weight, but also with a much greater understanding of how your body works, and how it fits into the bigger scheme of life on this Earth.

I highly commend Dr. Stanger for her eminently readable, pragmatic, and compelling effort to optimize both personal health and global protection. My health has been generally good since becoming vegetarian 22 years ago. However, having a sedentary/high stress work life, continuing to over-indulge my sweet tooth, becoming older, and not getting enough exercise all contributed to a 30 to 35 pound weight gain over the last five years. The Perfect Formula Diet has been instrumental in reversing this negative trend. I lost 10# in my first three weeks of scrupulously following Dr. Stanger's recommendations. I call it "eating only real food." I enjoy what I eat and am more satisfied after eating; I don't get ravenously hungry between meals; I take pleasure in cooking for myself and others; and I feel good about the food choices that I make.Because I was already vegetarian, it was easy for me to make the transition to being vegan. The section of Dr. Stanger's book that has been most helpful to me is Chapter 8: The Perfect Start. I attribute my success thus far to observing these critical elements: 1) making a sincere commitment to eat only whole plant foods, 2) ensuring I have such foods readily available, and 3) charting the beneficial results of this way of eating. I thank Dr. Stanger for her clear and convincing emphasis on these and other guidelines in the book as well as ample evidence of the importance of a plant-based diet. I am indebted to Dr. Stanger for helping me improve my life and inspiring others to do the same!

Excellent book on the benefits of a vegan diet and how to prevent many of the diseases that are growing in our country.

Yum and an education from my FB friend.

Good

Great book!

Great book.