The G Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide

by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Book Overview

For years, Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn't figure out what was making her sick. She asked doctors and consulted nutritionists, but no one seemed to have any answers. It wasn't until spending time in the Australian Outback, living off the land on the grueling Survivor TV show, that, ironically, her symptoms vanished. Returning home, she pinpointed the food that made her sick -- gluten, the binding element in wheat. By simply eliminating it from her diet,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1599951886
• ISBN13: 9781599951881
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Center Street
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Helpful information

Just realizing my daughter's issues for years are linked to gluten. This book has become an easy to read, understandable resource for us both.

The author is a lightning rod, but this book shouldn't be.

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.

Being On 'Survivor' Probably Saved Elisabeth Hasselbeck From A Life Of Pain!

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 t

Very Informative!

I found this book interesting and informative. As a health care provider, I wasn't looking for all of the medical jargon. I was looking for everyday information I could use....helpful tips and that is what I got from this book. Who better to give you tips than someone who is living with the disease themself. I've researched medical journals, books, etc., and found great information. However, it's everyday life that we have to deal with and there were several things in this book I could relate to. I know others wanted recipes, well then buy a gluten free cookbook. This book is about how to manage your life gluten free. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone!

Highly recommended for any general-interest library

THE G FREE DIET: A GLUTEN-FREE SURVIVAL GUIDE tells of a woman who had experienced severe stomach pain for decades and was close to surgery when, deprived of food for thirty-nine days as a contestant on Survivor, she found herself pain-free for the first time in years. Her surprising discover of celiac disease and its only treatment - a lifelong gluten-free diet - contributes to a title explaining gluten disease and how people can create a G-free kitchen and diet plan. Highly recommended for any general-interest library.