Green for Life
by Victoria Boutenko
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Book Reviews of Green for Life
Book Review: As usual, dangerous and wrong
Summary: 1 Stars
The description of this book shows how wrong-headed it is. While it is true that we share 96% of our DNA with chimps, that means we are 4% DIFFERENT. We are not chimpanzees, we do not share dietary necessities with chimpanzees, and we should not eat like chimpanzees.
We share DNA with all life on Earth. We are roughly 75% the same as a dragonfly. Does that mean we should eat mosquitoes?
And the book, as is usual with non-scientific polemics such as this, is really nothing but testimonials. Look up anecdotal evidence and why it is unreliable. None of these testimonials are verifiable, could easily be chalked up to the placebo effect, or are outright medically questionable. Only double-blind, repeatable experiments are reliable and worth betting your life on.
Don't go out and start eating random greens, either. Eating wild plants can kill you, and unless you are an expert you are taking your life into your hands by doing so.
The mainstream medical community has known about the effect of diet on health for decades and decades. Have you ever had a doctor tell you to eat more Cheetos and drink more Pepsi, or increase your fast food intake? There is nothing groundbreaking about eating green vegetables. It is also not a bad idea to add them to a fruit smoothie if you don't like them to mask the taste. Some greens, though, are actually better for you if you cook them. Green beans, for example, lose some nutrients when cooked but release other beneficial ones when cooked. Same for beans--great for you, but you ave to cook them.
Do yourself a favor, skip this book and get a nutrition book written by a physician.
Book Review: Easy fun inspiring books and early great results
Summary: 5 Stars
This easy to read short book is packed with information that is very current (published 2005). The information about the benefits of greens was backed by enough scientifically supported references to make this book far more credible than so many others on raw food. The ease of preparing green smoothies fills a nice niche in a raw food diet and I am now committing to going 100% raw. After reading this book and only a few days with the daily green smoothies, I can report that my food cravings and snacking is almost gone, even that deadly after-dinner-to-bedtime period. This morning I did something new. I prepared my once a day batch of french press coffee, which I do with some care, since I have only been drinking this one cup of coffee and did not see that I would give up this day-kickstarting habit. As the coffee was steeping, the wif made our daily green smoothie, I drank it and became completely uninterested in the coffee and have had none today(nor tea). We have talked about switching from coffee to green teas, but I see the possibility of having even this tea only occasionally, and not NEEDING that caffeine hit.
I also like many other useful tidbits in the book - varying the types of greens and all of the other ingredients. Our sommothies have a large variety of greens (also more of them than the book's recipe's call for) and many kinds of fruits. The book also mentions the need to use sprouts moderately which I feel much better about. After all, it makes sense that sprouts past a few days will develop alkaloids to discourage their being eaten. All in all, a very good, easy to read book with advice likely to improve health for many.
Book Review: Outstanding
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. It was very interesting and easy to read. I found it to be thoroughly researched and accurate. I think it's a great book for anyone wanting to be healthier.
Drinking a good tasting green smoothie makes me feel better. I feel full, satisfied and energized from it. It makes common sense to me that the more uncooked, fresh raw greens and fruit going into my body, the healthier I will be and the easier it will be to heal from accidents or diseases. All of the testimonials in the book confirm this even when it comes to serious diseases and health challenges.
Consider carefully the section on the problem of having low stomach acid and how it can negatively affect our health and digestion. I believe the majority of people have low stomach acid and don't realize it. Mine is low, but dramatically improving now. The author of this book clearly explains how the green smoothies can help a person in this area and many other aspects of health in the body including getting enough daily, bio-available minerals.
My favorite green smoothie recipe is a sweet apple (peeled), a pear, half of a celery stalk, a leaf of kale and some dandelion greens or romaine lettuce. I sweeten it even more with Stevia if I need to. I balance it at about 60% fruit and about 40% greens. Adjust your personal recipes until they taste delicious to you. That's what I do. This book is full of great recipes for ample variety and different kinds of tastes.
Book Review: Factual error?
Summary: 1 Stars
On p. 43 Buutenko states:
"let me explain the difference between complex proteins found in meat, dairy, fish, etc. and individual amino acids, found in fruits, vegetables, and especially in greens."
And on p. 47 she states:
"greens provide protein in the form of individual amino acids."
If this were true, it would be enormously important. I'm not an expert, but unfortunately I think she is mistaken here. While vegetable protein may be easier to break down and utilize than animal protein (references needed), I think it is not true that veg protein occurs as isolated amino acids.
On p. 43 she gives an (unrefferenced) table of the amino acid content of 1 lb. of raw kale and 1 lb. of raw lambs quarter (that's about 8 cups of shredded kale or shredded lambs quarter, guys). That she was able to find such a table does not mean that those aminos occur as free aminos, only that the protein content of that veg consists of those aminos. There are tables of the amino acid content of animal products. Doesn't mean they occur as free aminos, only that the protein consists of those aminos.
I understand that Boutenko isn't a nutritionist, but given that she makes serious nutritional claims, such as the above, she or her editor should find a nutritionist, or other qualified person, to check her facts before publication. Is there a nutritionist in the house?
Book Review: Good explanation and inspiring, not so many recipes...
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this book based on everyone's raves about it. I also bought it for some new recipes.
The book is a typical health food propaganda type BUT the great thing about it is Victoria (author) backs everything up with research...and being a green smoothie junkie myself, I do believe that adding them to your diet is a great, great thing to do. I appreciate the hard core research info, about chimp diets, and what greens actually do for the body but the testimonials were sorta annoying only because yeah, we get it, green smoothies are great for you. I get that the testimonials have to be there because this book is centered around a research study so it would make sense to include them.
I've been a raw food/vegan eater for years so I was just bummed that this book wasn't more recipe based. BUT then again, I should have figured after making green smoothies for many years, it isn't rocket science. Add some fruit, add some greens. done. Pretty easy to make your own recipes up so to rely on a book for them, was kinda silly.
Overall, it is a great fast read (1-2 hours) and is a great book to pass on to someone who hasn't really considered adding green smoothies to their diet. It would be inspiring for them and get them started.
Victoria is passionate about great health for the masses and I think in making this book, she is able to convey and pass that on.