BOOK REVIEW: Eat Plants Feel Whole by Dr. George E. Guthrie

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Did I think this blog was not eclectic enough? Eat Plants Feel Whole by Dr. George E. Guthrie is different from everything I’ve reviewed before. It isn’t quite what I expected. (I didn’t read the description carefully enough.) Nevertheless, I’m glad to have gotten it from Netgalley. It was a worthwhile read. (Or should be. That remains to be seen.)

I requested the book already very aware of the benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet. But as an unrepentant carnivore, I was looking for a not-so-drastic way to decrease meat and increase whole grains and vegetables. I thought this was a vegan recipe book. While there are recipes and meal plans at the end of the book, the first part is more instructional/motivational. 

The author is a wellness physician who guides people toward healthier lifestyles. There are many anecdotes of patients who were able to reverse their diabetes, cholesterol elevations, lose weight, etc. There are also fairly comprehensive discussions of micro and macronutrients–how much do we need? Where can those nutrients best be found?

For readers who want a firm foundation before embarking on a new, healthier lifestyle, this book provides that. For those who want motivation to make a change, this book is certainly inspiring. It’s lengthy for all that, and I found myself skimming a good deal, though I slowed down when parts of the book hit home.

The recipes that I was hoping for come in the second half of the book. I had fully intended to try a few for this review. However, in what I consider a poor omen for committing to this particular lifestyle change, we suddenly have a lot going on in our lives (emerging from our pandemic antisocial stupor), and this review is so long overdue that I didn’t want to put it off any longer. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I’ll post an update.

For now, this is a comprehensive guide to plant-based eating. If you are someone interested in what all that entails and how it could be beneficial, this book can help.