Dr. Citron's Evolutionary Diet: Help Prevent Cancer and Heart Disease -And Lose Weight Naturally-By Following the Diet of Your Cro-Magnon Ancestors

Rating:
Summary: Hunter Gathers Ate No Grains, Cro-Magnons not our ancestors
Review: My review title tells it. You're a great cook, but next time, PLEASE do your homework before writing a book. Grains were not part of our diet until 10K years ago. The next person who writes something about how our ancestors ate whole grains for the 2.6 million period of human history should have their laptop taken away from them! Stick to cooking!

Rating:
Summary: Same Old Stuff
Review: The promise of the book is that it is a novel approace to diet based on the diet of our Cro-Magnon ancestors. Unfortunately, the author ignores much of the evidence from the paleontological record and picks and chooses whatever supports the standard low-fat noncense (the author is in a panic about saturated fats). While I will give him credit for incorporating wild game and other "flesh foods" into his program, he also includes foods that Cro-Magnon people rarely, if ever, consumed (such as dairy products and grains). He also includes sugar in many of his recipes. For a really compelling understanding of food as it relates to evolutionary theory, I suggest reading Peter D'Amamo's book "Eat Right For Your Type". Also, the Paleolithic Diet Page on the web has great articles and information.

Rating:
Summary: A philosophy that makes sense. Great recipes.
Review: This book makes sense. The premise is that our bodies evolved to eat food that could be hunted and gathered. That means fruit, vegetables, nuts, some whole grains, and some meat. (If we could catch it, we could eat it.) The no-nonsense message is that a diet that includes a range of whole foods (we didn't evolve to eat Cheetos and Whoppers!) can taste great and keep you healthy.

The recipes are really tasty. Some are exotic. Some take only ten minutes. There's enough variety, spice, and substance to keep me satisfied.

I read The Zone and realized that it was fundamentally a low-calorie diet -- of course you'll lose weight, but I can't believe it's healthy. If you really follow it you don't eat enough! I tried McDougall's plan and found his recipes bland and tired after a while. I liked Ornish's recipes but found myself craving tuna salad sandwiches and eating way too much dairy. Citron's book is balanced and less restrictive than Ornish or McDougall, and it makes complete sense from a scientific standpoint. Thumbs up!