Ultrametabolism receives top diet book review. Here's the background information: For nine years Dr. Mark Hyman worked for one of the world's top health resorts, the Canyon Ranch and helped thousands of people lose weight. He is a frustrated researcher because he feels that nutrigenomics--the science of how food talks to your genes-- is the key to a weight loss revolution and yet so few people know about it. Hyman warns that your body's weight control system was designed to gain weight to protect you when food is scarce but in modern times when food is always available--this survival mechanism can be a detriment.

Top Diet Book Review for Ultrametabolism:

This Diet Book Is One Of The Best

Grade: B+  8/10  Well written, engaging, full of great information.

UltraMetabolism

by Dr. Mark Hyman ©2006 368 pages

Review written by: Dr. Kendra Pearsall

According to Hyman there are seven main myths in the weight loss industry:

1. The Starvation Myth: Eat less and exercise more and you'll lose weight

2. The Calorie Myth: All calories are created equal

3. The Fat Myth: Eating fat makes you fat

4. The Carb Myth: Eating low carb or no carb will make you thin

5. The Sumo Wrestler Myth: Skipping meals helps you lose weight

6. The French Paradox Myth: The French are thin because they drink wine and eat butter. (The real story is the French eat real food, less food, eat more slowly and they walk more).

7. The Protestor Myth: Government food policies and food industry regulations protect our health

On the other hand, Hyman asserts there are 7 Keys to Successful Weight Loss:

1. Control your appetite by proper eating.

2. Understand and overcome how stress makes you fat.

3. Control inflammation.

4. Prevent cellular free radical damage.

5. Learn how to increase your metabolism.

6. Correct any thyroid deficiencies.

7. Detoxify your liver.

Dr. Phil says you should avoid saturated fats like butter and coconut oil because they lead to heart disease and insulin resistance. This is not true. Excessive carbohydrates lead to insulin resistance. Coconut oil actually helps people lose weight and is one of the few safe oils that can be used in cooking because other oils are destroyed in the cooking process.

The Ultrametabolism Prescription has three phases:

1. Preparation Phase: Let Go of Bad Habits (One Week)

2. Phase 1: Detoxify Your System (Three Weeks)

3. Phase II: Rebalance Your Metabolism and Maintain a Lifelong Healthy Metabolism (Four Weeks to Life)

Praise for UltraMetabolism

1. Helpful quizzes

There were quizzes to help you self-diagnose if you needed help with a particular key to weight loss (such as a thyroid deficiency).

2. Very comprehensive review of multiple factors causing weight gain

I loved this aspect of the book. Most people do not consider factors such as inflammation or free radical damage as contributors to weight gain but these factors need to be ruled out for effective treatment.

3. Excellent nutritional advice

Hyman definitely knows his nutrition and recommends whole organic foods.

Criticism of UltraMetabolism

1. Two of the nutrition recommendations are suspect

Recommends soy products such as soy milk, soybeans, edamame and tofu. Many nutrition experts such as Dr. Joseph Mercola, Sally Fallon, Weston Price Foundation caution against eating processed soy (fermented soy is fine) because of the links to hormone disruption and because now nearly all soy is genetically modified.

Also suggests agave nectar for a sweetener which is mainly fructose. Fructose is considered to be more harmful than table sugar.

2. Allergy reintroduction needs more details.

Hyman asks the reader to go on a hypoallergenic diet for Phase I and then for Phase II you are allowed to reintroduce the allergenic foods. The procedure for an allergy elimination diet involves eating copious amounts of one type of allergenic food every other day and keeping a diet diary of symptoms. Otherwise, doing an allergy elimination diet is wasted.

3. Nutrigenomics is not a revolution in weight loss.

Hyman explains that nutrigenomics is how food affects your genes. To me this is a is an academic and pretentious term used to impress people but what we really need to focus on is how a person's entire lifestyle affects a person's health and weight. This approach is called "Treat The Cause" and is a tenet of Naturopathic Medicine for hundreds of years.

4. May be difficult to understand and follow for most Americans

Hyman includes a fair amount of science and medicine in the book. His recommendations are a radical departure from the standard American diet. Americans who are used to eating a fast food restaurants and junk food may die of a heart attack from the shock of having to switch to health foods like broccoli and organic chicken. Although this is what the people need to do, how many can do it? A better plan for these people would be to take baby steps in this direction. Hyman's book does not dedicate much space to how to implement the diet as it focuses mostly on the myths and the keys.

5. Lacks emotional and spiritual approaches to weight loss.

Unfortunately you can have the best nutrition and exercise plan in the world but unless you resolve the emotional and spiritual wounds that lead to self-sabotaging behaviors you won't succeed.

Conclusion:

Will it help you lose weight? Yes, if you have the discipline and the drive to make the changes Hyman recommends. This is one of the best weight loss books I have read so far and I would recommend it to everyone.

Amazon.com Reviews:

This book is power packed with info, September 23, 2006

Reviewer: Joshua King "Seeker of TRUTH"(Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This book covers almost everything you will ever need to know about healthy eating.The diet is simply to stop eating foods that are man made that stop your metabolism from working properly, white flour, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils and start eating all natural foods that fill you up for far less calories and cause your body's metabolism to start burning calories efficiently, start eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds,olive oil(for cooking), and lean meats and drink plenty of water and green tea.
I have read over 50 diet books and this one covers the most information, the author discusses the importance of Omega-3 fats in our diet. He talks about the dangers of inflammation, he recommends multivitamins, calcium, and fish oil supplements. He discusses how the nutrients in food interact with our genes to make us fat, and how to literally change or metabolism.
I had to read the Super Foods Rx,The Zone, The Omega Zone, the Sonoma diet, the anti-inflammation zone, and The Real Age Diet to get the information in this one book, save yourself the time and money and read this one, then start eating all natural. It Works!

Focus on health and the rest will come naturally, August 22, 2006

Reviewer: Jane A-M(LongBoat Key, Fl) - See all my reviews

Mark Hyman deals with many myths associated with dieting and weight loss. He explains many not so obvious causes of gaining weight. He also reminds the reader of important rules to follow in order to keep not only thin but also healthy. All in all this is a good book for someone committed to losing weight and keeping it off. What I particularly liked about this book is its focus being shifted towards living healthy lifestyle. The author emphasizes the importance of cleansing the liver and detoxifying your whole body. This sounds to me like a revamp of the same good ideas so well presented in the book Can We Live 150 in which the author focuses exclusively on health and self-help (body cleansing, proper breathing, and using all the "natural doctors who are always with you"). Interestingly losing weight seems to be the natural outcome of one's healthy lifestyle. This has at least been so in my case.

Nothing New, June 18, 2006

Reviewer: Mr. Optimistic(SC, USA) - See all my reviews

When I purchased this book, I was hoping to learn something new about how our genetic structure determines weight loss or gain, something not yet presented to the public, as was marketed. Unfortunately, Dr. Hyman says not one thing in this book that hasn't already been said before. It's the same thing that Bob Green first brought to our attention and has been saying for years -- we're genetically built by Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest purposes to store fat in the event of an impending famine whereby our ancestors may have perished. I remember when Bob first made this statement how much sense it made. It has since maintained my interest and when I discovered that there would be a book dealing with this phenomenon exclusively, I knew it was something I'd want to read. But again, I thereby discovered that this book offers not one single additional progression on this remarkable theory. And what's perhaps more offensive is that Dr. Hyman himself attempts to take credit for this theory.

What then does the diet itself consist of? If you own a copy of Arthur Agatston's "South Beach Diet," then turn to the "Phase II" section, therein you'll find the ultra metabolism diet -- whole grains, lean-cut meats and fruit. Yet for the significant similarity of what the two books address and seek to conquer (right down to insulin resistance), Dr. Hyman himself takes several shots at South Beach (as well as Atkins and the Zone.) Any seasoned diet veteran or any individual interested in new theories of health maintenance will see straight through this book. Still, I give it two stars because it does present a healthy diet that will, like most, work if you follow it correctly. Yet again, the author's boisterous proclamation that he's made some shocking discovery that no other doctor in the world has yet to tap is far off base.

And on a final note, yes Dr. Hyman's book does address the many beneficial uses of supplements, but for my part, if you're looking for info on supplements and the like, a better, more efficient bet would be Roizen & Oz's "You: The Owners Manuel."

About the Author:

Dr. Kendra Pearsall is a naturopathic medical doctor (a physician who specializes in natural medicine) and a weight loss specialist. Her mission in life is to teach people simple truths for healthy weight loss using natural, holistic lifestyle changes. You can learn more about this approach in her free weekly newsletter: The Enlita Natural Weight Loss Newsletter.  Become a member of the Enlita natural weight loss program and lose weight fast!