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 The author is a lightning rod, but this book shouldn't be. Nov 21, 2009
I came across this book by accident while trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me and my gut. I read it, and decided to give gluten free living a try. Boy howdy, I'm glad I did. And I'm glad I had this book to help me. I don't know whether or not I have celiac disease, but I have no intention of eating gluten for a very long time as I'm experiencing so much relief from symptoms I never thought I'd be rid of.
I had no idea how many ways gluten could sneak into my food. This book really breaks down exactly how to determine what's safe to eat, what may be safe to eat, and what's definitely NOT safe to eat. Had I tried to go "gluten-free" without a guide like this, I would have failed (I thought Rice Krispies were gluten free.... 'cause they're rice, right? RIGHT? But no - they're rice + malt, and malt = gluten). And since I would have continued to experience digestive difficulties, I would have written off gluten as the trigger for my issues and been continually plagued by extreme digestive issues for who knows how many years.
I'm disappointed by the many negative reviews of this book that are critical of small details. I wish reviewers wouldn't rate a book 1 star for having a few errors or differing opinions. I wish they'd balance their opinions out - there are far, far, far more ACCURATE details in this book than INACCURATE ones. And this book is important as it brings a relatively unknown health condition to a wider audience than ever before, and a lot of people (myself included) can benefit SO MUCH from this. Should I base all my health decisions on this one book? Of course not!!! Shame on me if I didn't continue to learn from other sources. But it appears the author would concur as she includes quite a lengthy list of extremely helpful OTHER references and advises her readers to continually do their own homework on their gluten-free journey.
Say what you will about the author and her politics, but this book is a very good thing for a lot of people.
Highly Motivating and Eye Opening Oct 31, 2009
I have been aware that gluten didn't agree with me for many years. As a result I had generally cut way back on how much bread I would eat in a day, etc. My reactions seem to be more with my nervous system (brain) and more recently circulatory (blood pressure), though I did have chronic stomach aches as a child and in my youth. I've also started having miscarriage issues over the last 3 years. I also have autoimmune reactions, especially while pregnant.
Elizabeth's book is exactly what I needed to read to convince and motivate me to seriously cut out all gluten foods and shed light on my health challenges! It makes a tremendous difference. My Dr. did allergy testing on me this past year, and I was completely baffled that the only thing they said I was allergic to is the "box elder tree". What? This couldn't be right! So they did repeated the test with a lower threshold. Still negative. It's now a mystery to me why my Dr. didn't suggest testing for Celiac based on the symptoms I gave him when eating wheat.
Thank you, Elizabeth for helping me learn how to greatly improve my health and therefore my life!
Is it strange that I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN?! Oct 20, 2009
Its a liberating yet lonely place to find yourself when you're told to adopt a gluten-free lifestyle. You feel a bit of freedom & hope that you've FINALLY found your answer, but at the same time you're going about this all by yourself. Try & order gluten-free with food allergies to boot, and just watch for the odd look on your server's face. Try and explain the diet restrictions to extended family & they think you're just being a primadonna. Figuring out the necessary changes one must adopt to be healthy in this unique situation is quite the labyrinth to navigate alone, yet with this book it felt as though I held the map, and a friend to hold my hand. I'm not saying I'm perfect at this new lifestyle, but I found Elizabeth's insight refreshing & I realized that if she could make the transition with all the demands in her life then I can certainly make this work in my own life. Best thing is that after trusting her advice & giving it a go I feel better than I have in my entire life...well at least as long as I can remember! Thanks for this gem, its been my life vest in a turbulent sea of change. I recommend it to ALL, whether you're diagnosed celiac, want to try a gluten-free diet, or want to be able to relate better to someone you love who is undergoing this drastic life overhaul!
1 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Was exactly what I wanted and expected Oct 06, 2009
I was just recently diagnosed with a wheat intolerance and I wanted a quick and easy guide to what a G-Free life is like and this book provided that information. It's a simple, easy read and it got me going while I read more indepth information about living with Celiac Disease and wheat allergies. (I skipped over her drivel about her wonderful life with her amazing husband.)
I am obviously not a fan of Elizabeth Hasselbeck so I was surprised myself that I paid money for a book she wrote or cowrote or inspired or whatever. But who better to give me a dumbed down version of living G-Free than the dumbest person on TV.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Being On 'Survivor' Probably Saved Elisabeth Hasselbeck From A Life Of Pain! Sep 28, 2009
Everybody these days knows who Elisabeth Hasselbeck is as one of the co-hosts on the popular daytime television talk show The View as well as her stint on Season Two of the CBS-TV reality show Survivor in the Australian Outback. But what they may not know is how her claim to fame actually helped identify the reasons why she was so sick to her stomach and chronically fatigued all the time. Seeing doctors, nutritionists, and every other medical guru she could find, nobody could figure out what was wrong with her.
It wasn't until she was forced to live on little to no food while enduring through the grueling Survivor experience that she noticed something remarkable happen to her -- all the health ailments that usually plagued her day in and day out had vanished. As a result, Hasselbeck was able to identify that the culprit in her symptoms was dietary and more specifically found in the grains she was consuming as part of her regular menus. That's right, she had Celiac disease, an intolerance to just about anything containing gluten (barley, oats, wheat, and rye) and didn't even know it!
That's when she started learning about the gluten-free lifestyle to discover the weight loss and health benefits that come from eating that way for people like her with this condition. Like any effective lifestyle change, first you find out why it is important to make the changes, then you seek the best ways to integrate those into your life, and finally you keep doing them. That's what you get from Hasselbeck in this book as she shares the fruits of her research, lists of foods to avoid and embrace, recipes, shopping lists, eating at a restaurant, and living this way for the rest of your life. If you have Celiac disease, then this isn't an option if you want to get healthy and stay healthy!
It's not always been an easy road for Hasselbeck as she shares her moments of "self-sabotage" here and there. But you can tell the concept of going "G-Free" is certainly something that has worked for her and she's more than willing to share her knowledge with others to help them defeat their gluten bug, too! I can appreciate someone with the star quality of Elisabeth Hasselbeck bringing national attention to the dangers of consuming gluten and she makes a very compelling argument for avoiding foods with gluten in them for health, weight loss, and even to ward off autism in children. Fascinating!
My favorite part of this book is something very practical that is a brilliant way to help educate servers and cooks at restaurants to be sensitive to the needs of people with Celiac disease. While many national restaurant chains have a special gluten-free list of menu items for people to choose from upon request, Hasselbeck includes a tear-out "G-Free Dining Card" in the back of the book that explains why making sure the food served is gluten-free and it is done in a non-threatening yet educational manner that will hopefully encourage the people preparing food for you at a restaurant to be sensitive to your dietary needs. What a concept and I hope it catches on!
Kudos to Elisabeth Hasselbeck for using her celebrity to advocate on behalf of something so vitally important for the future of health in America and around the world. Whether people realize it or not, a whole lot more of us have some level of gluten-intolerance than we'd like to believe. And the sooner we start eating "G-Free" the better.
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