American Heart Association No-Fad Diet : A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss review:5 stars (Great book) - This book is great. It gave me great ideas to help not only my husband and me eat and work out better, but for my whole family. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has tried and failed with the "fad" diets. It really helps you learn to make bettter food choices. 1 stars (No-Fad Diet, "Heart Healthy"?) - An excerpt from my online review at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/01/131001.php

The back cover assures a reader that "The weight-loss strategies in this book are based on reliable scientific research and are backed by respected medical professionals. The American Heart Association has the information you can trust."

The implication is clear - the AHA is trustworthy, their professionals are the ones who are "respected" and they're able to wade through the mounds of research data and cull out only that which is "reliable." Got it?

...

The sample menus were an eye-opener!

This is not a trick question - Are trans-fats "heart healthy?"

Of course they're not - in fact, the National Academy of Sciences-Institute of Medicine [NAS-IOM] concluded in July 2002 that "trans fat promotes heart disease" and "the only safe intake of trans fat is `zero.'" They stated that this was an ingredient that has no safe level for human consumption.

Trans-fats are found in foods listing "partially hydrogenated" oils and/or "shortening" and/or "margarine" and/or "fractionated" oil in the ingredients list - a result of chemically altering the oil through a process of adding hydrogen with a nickle catalyst to render it solid at room temperature.

So why then is the AHA including foods that have trans-fats in their sample menus and having the audacity to call them "heart healthy?"

Sorry to say, but the menus recommended by the AHA in this book have trans-fats and therefore I cannot recommend this book to anyone who wants to eat healthy!
5 stars (A Solid Foundation for Wieght Loss) - Finally! Straight-forward advice backed by solid science, from a trusted source. We hear the words variety and moderation all the time, but what exactly does that mean. In this book, you will learn this and other keys to successful weight-loss with practical advice, and also plenty of recipes and tips to get you started.

I had high cholesterol at an early age (and I'm a women---I didn't think it happened to women!), so I've learned a great deal from the other American Heart Association publications.

This may not be the glamorous "quick-fix--magic pill" diet (remember, this is no-fad!), and yes, the bulk of this book is recipes, but I feel it is money well spent, it has the most up-to-date, sound information and the recipes are modern and will inspire you (I especially like the Chicken and Toasted Walnut Salad, Salmon Florentine, and Peach and Berry Crumble).

I especially liked the section on how to reverse negative thinking. So, for those who think that this no-fad approach won't work for everyone--I challenge you to team with a friend (remember dieting alone can be discouraging), so you can support each other in your efforts.

I've learned so much from the American Heart Association (I even volunteer at my local American Heart Association events--and have built up a wonderful support group this way).

In the front cover of this book, I noticed there is an incredible team of doctors, scientists, editors, recipe developers, and registered dieticians, that have worked on this book. To me, it underlines the fact, that this is from "Your" American Heart Association. A very caring team of support indeed!
American Heart Association No-Fad Diet : A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss Features:
Health & Fitness / Diets

American Heart Association No-Fad Diet - A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss is the Hardcover version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 16.47USD.