The Engine 2 Diet

The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds by Rip Esselstyn

On the library stacks: Adult Non-fiction

After suffering from heartburn nearly every day since January, I finally figured out it was dairy--specifically lactose. After chatting about it with my mom, we both decided to read this book. The author's first recommendation is to rid your diet of dairy, so it seemed like a book I could relate to.

Rip is a hard-core athlete who decided to make some changes in his diet. After having so much success himself, he decided to run a little study with the guys in his firehouse to see if they could achieve similar results. Those results, combined with a second study, proved that Rip's diet can help people lose weight and drop their cholesterol levels significantly.

The basic tenets of the diet are these: No dairy. No oil. No meat. No fish. No eggs. Rip calls it a plant-based diet and I think that sums it up well. He encourages whole grains, nuts, soy products and other milk substitutes, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Will I become a vegetarian after reading this? Nope. But I will eat less meat. Already I have chosen the vegetarian options the last few times I ate out. I will also read labels more. (That was probably my favorite section. I learned 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon. Sheesh!) And I will be more vigilant about whole grains and fruits and veggies.

I do have to mention that I found this book horribly written and I wish his evidence was a little more substantial and scientific. I don't have high cholesterol and I don't need to lose weight. But I do think Rip's approach is a common-sense and healthy approach to eating.

To learn more and see some of Rip's recipes, visit The Engine 2 diet website.

Also reviewed by: A Bookworm's World ~ Books Ahoy! ~ Wendi's Book Corner ~ Your link here?

Book 92 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge 
Book 24 of 25 for the Support Your Local Library Challenge
Source: Library