Ok, let me start by saying that I'm a vegan of twenty years and a raw foodist of two. This said, let me point out why and where I found fault with this book. Let's start with Detox in general. When you detox your body you are purifying and purging your body of toxins and buildup. You do this by removing the damaging products that are clogging your system. This means products like brown rice, nuts of all kinds, legumes, etc. To my surprise, these are the products she is recommending. How truly wrong she is and obviously not as experienced or knowledgeable about detox. Let me qualify this statement by saying I have done many detoxes, colon flushes, kidney cleanse, liver cleanse, parasite cleanse, etc. and I know enough about detoxing to challenge this.

Secondly, items like beans, rice, nuts are very tough on the digestive system. They all have a tendency to stick to the walls of the colon and eventually build up a layer of mucus. All grains do this. So encouraging people to eat this way simply clogs up their systems more. Yes, to the average person looking to detox this may be a great place to start. Someone like Morgan Spurlock, who poisoned himself on McDonald's food for thirty days would benefit from this. That said, Alex's book is not without some merit. The book is written in an easy to read style and is very simple for someone to use and apply. I just feel she's a bit off on her dietary recommendations. Therefore, I can't, with clear conscience, give this book a high rating but I wont give it the worst either.

I have read alot of nutrional books and this one is my favorite. This book is such an easy read. The concepts are so simple but profound. I like the way the chapters are arranged. I really connected with the concepts of the book. I recommend this book very highly.

The book was very informative and easy to read. I took a star off b/c of some errors in the book such as listing yogurt being a nondairy source of calcium and lean beef as a plant source of protein.

I chose this book after watching "Supersize Me" by Morgan Spurlock and reading "Diet for a New America" and "The Food Revolution," both by John Robbins. Both of John Robbins books convinced me that I should eat better to help save the planet and improve my quality of life. But neither of those books gave me a step by step approach to changing my habits to accommodate a new lifestyle. Alex Jamieson's book gives you the tools to do it! It's a quick read with some interesting annecdotes. The second half of the book has great recipies for beginning your transition to vegetarianism. She also lists other resources for information and websites to purchase organic and natural products. Even if you are not interested in becoming a vegetarian, this book has some interesting information on all of the unnatural and unhealthy stuff the American population puts in it's bodies. If you're really concerned about what you should and shouldn't put in your body, then this book is for you.

There isn't much new in this book. A good chunk of it goes into why the typical American diet is unhealthy - sugar, salt, animal fat, caffeine etc. - but at a fairly superficial level. If this is your first time thinking about nutrition and your health then it might be helpful, otherwise I don't think it would be worth the purchase. The "information" section is followed by recipes which do look pretty tasty and not too difficult to prepare. This is what the 2 (and a half) stars are going towards. At the end of the book there is a very short chapter on "Why Different Cultures Eat Different Things" followed by a list of various ethnic groups and the associated diets which include (in addition to plant foods) seal, rabbit, pork, cow's blood, lamb, eggs, beef, duck. She says that "it only makes sense that if we eat a diet that reflects the traditional diet of our inherited ethnic group, we'll likely feel better". I realized early on that her veganism had nothing to do with reducing animal cruelty but it still seems very odd and out of place to end the book this way.