Product Description

A slight variation on the standard low carb theme, The Coconut Diet's biggest strength is the recipes. Author Cherie Calbom (The Ultimate Smoothie Book) includes a wide range of easy, deeply flavorful sauces, soups and condiments that will keep the interest of the pickiest palate while still following the fairly strict limitations of the accompanying diet. While the ostensible goal is weight loss, many of the chapters concern themselves with the varied symptoms of poor health--low energy, general aches and pains and digestive troubles particularly. Suggestions for feeling better center around cleansing juice fasts, supplements, and colonics, along with a recommendation of adding virgin coconut oil (a saturated fat created with medium-chain triglycerides) to each meal, for a total of two to three tablespoons every day. A healthy fat with a bad reputation, it does have the benefit of helping you feel full during a limited-calorie diet--and if you find that it lives up to the somewhat miraculous claims outlined in the book, so much the better. Aimed more at folks trying to achieve a point of basic health rather than already active people working towards optimum fitness, many of the chapters shun allopathic health care, claiming that many standard tests aren't up to scratch and that proper diagnosis can be achieved by attending to your symptoms. For readers who are open to looking at a range of possible solutions to their health issues, the naturopathic ideas offered here may well provide assistance--but whether a single tropical oil can measure up to all the claims is something lab scientists and natural nutritionists will argue about for some time to come. Jill Lightner

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108890 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-06
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.com Review
A slight variation on the standard low carb theme, The Coconut Diet's biggest strength is the recipes. Author Cherie Calbom (The Ultimate Smoothie Book) includes a wide range of easy, deeply flavorful sauces, soups and condiments that will keep the interest of the pickiest palate while still following the fairly strict limitations of the accompanying diet.

While the ostensible goal is weight loss, many of the chapters concern themselves with the varied symptoms of poor health--low energy, general aches and pains and digestive troubles particularly. Suggestions for feeling better center around cleansing juice fasts, supplements, and colonics, along with a recommendation of adding virgin coconut oil (a saturated fat created with medium-chain triglycerides) to each meal, for a total of two to three tablespoons every day. A healthy fat with a bad reputation, it does have the benefit of helping you feel full during a limited-calorie diet--and if you find that it lives up to the somewhat miraculous claims outlined in the book, so much the better.

Aimed more at folks trying to achieve a point of basic health rather than already active people working towards optimum fitness, many of the chapters shun allopathic health care, claiming that many standard tests aren't up to scratch and that proper diagnosis can be achieved by attending to your symptoms. For readers who are open to looking at a range of possible solutions to their health issues, the naturopathic ideas offered here may well provide assistance--but whether a single tropical oil can measure up to all the claims is something lab scientists and natural nutritionists will argue about for some time to come. Jill Lightner

Customer Reviews

Dietary path to health and wholeness
Cherie Calbom has written the book I have been waiting for. Because of my concern about nutritionally sound weight loss and wholistic health, I wanted to have a book that encompassed each of these areas.
As a biologist who has pursued health and nutrition for most of my life, I've tried many of the popular diet programs throughout the years. Many of them work for a while, yet do not provide long-term health benefits or are damaging to the body over time.
I was introduced to the benefits of coconut oil before I read this book, and they are indeed wide-ranging---coconut oil added to the diet increases health and wellness. However, most of the people I have coached need a clear path to run on. This book provides that pathway by giving clear instructions that can work for anyone, regardless of where they started or what they know. The book has a programmed pathway to effective weight loss, as well as instructions on how to restore the body to the health we were all created to enjoy. Many people I know have reported excellent results after only a short time, not only with weight loss, but also with increased energy and a sense of well-being. For those with atherosclerosis, liver congestion, high cholesterol, or other serious problems, Cherie's Phase II Liver Cleanse can help the body restore health when properly followed.
The book is fun to read, has great recipes, plus guidance for overcoming obstacles to weight loss, including emotional issues. I was especially impressed with the sections on blood sugar imbalances, thyroid problems, and candida, which have been a challenge for me personally as well as many of the people I coach. I highly recommend it.

Coconuts Rehabilitated!
Cherie Calbom, in collaboration with her behavioral medicine specialist husband, John Calbom, has once again produced a scholarly and eminently useful book on nutrition and diet. Obesity is now epidemic in America and new ways of thinking and acting are required. As a physician and public health scientist, I have several patients who not been able to lose weight on any kind of diet and who are now shedding pounds using the Coconut Diet. One woman has lost 50 pounds over the past six months! Good science, tasty food, and accessible writing make this a necessary cookbook for every kitchen in our obese society. I highly recommend it!
Kenneth L. Bakken, D.O., Dr.P.H.
President
HealthVision International, Inc.

A Truly Delicious Diet
I came to Cherie Colbom's book by way of a sort of synchronicity: my husband and I had been in the Philippines a year ago and had fallen in love with coconuts and had found the Tropical Traditions site, and I had read and was following the precepts of Jordan Rubin's "The Maker's Diet". I also have Sally Fallon/Mary G Enig's "Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats". The "Coconut Diet" is a nice third piece in this triad. Like Jordan Rubin, Cherie brings a gentle Christian perspective to her lifestyle approach to better health. I also have a couple of her "Juice Lady" books, so this is an excellent, update and complement to them. I have given away all my vegetarian cookbooks and we have sworn off soy products as a result of this book and other literature (see Dr. Mercola's site online for more information on soy). Great recipes and an easy-to-follow three week regimen that includes directions on cleanses, etc. A comprehensive look at the new paradigm shift in the alternative health world.