In this book, Cousens teaches us how to follow the Ayurvedic principles through a 80-90% raw food diet. He also teaches us how to individualize our diets for our metabolic body types. This is one of the only books I know that teaches how to individualize diet for a vegetarian.

The book covers religion, meditation, toxins in our environment, and has a nice living foods recipe section in the back of the book. The nice thing about it, is that with the recipes, he doesn't try to offer dishes that are similiar to those which are cooked. I see a lot of vegetarian recipe books doing that. "Try our delicious all vegan pizza!" and of course, it tastes no better than a branch off of the Maple tree in my back yard. These recipes offer new tastes.

I like a particular section in the book where Cousens tries to explain the logic behind why people think he looks much more unhealthy now than when he did when he was a bulky college football player. We live in such an obesce society, that someone of a healthy weight appears too slim, or unhealthy. Because Cousens doesn't have a pot belly, and sagging male breasts, many people say he looks "thin and puny". This book teaches us that through living foods, we can sculpt and shape our bodies pretty much any way we'd like. He chooses not to be muscular anymore, because he feels he has no need for 30 extra pounds of muscle. Steven Arlin on the other hand, is 230 lbs, and likes to feel big and strong.

All in all, this book takes you on a journey through the fascinating world of raw, living foods. It could change your way of thinking.

111 of 116 found the following review helpful:


Useful information  May 01, 2001 By Frederic Patenaude "Author of Raw Secrets"
Gabriel Cousens is a trained physician who operates the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona. I remember reading the first edition of "Conscious Eating" years ago. It was one of the first vegetarian books I read, and one that influenced me deeply. Gabriel explores food and its relation to health taking in consideration its effects on different levels: physical, mental, and spiritual, as well as each person's individuality. Gabriel Cousens tries to "Individualize the Diet" instead of saying that there is one diet ideal for everyone. I was more enthusiastic about these ideas when I first revised this book, but now I am not so impressed by all these theories anymore. Dr. Cousens has adapted the Indian health system of Ayurveda to vegan, raw food nutrition. The chapter on vitamin B-12 will be of great interest to all vegans and raw-foodists. Doubts about a vegetarian diets are dispelled. The part on Vegetarianism in world religions, and also the vegetarianism of Jesus are also fascinating chapters included in this part of the book. Part three is titled: "Transition to Vegetarianism," but is also about transition to living foods and the reasons behind such a diet. Gabriel outlines the best way to make this transition as easy as possible. The transition is in four stages, from a meat and dairy based diet to a vegan, raw food diet. The final stage of 95% living foods, a difficult step for most people that can be made easier understanding the psychology behind it. "Stage Four diet is more intense and more likely to be successful for those who are mature and balanced in all areas of their lives. For most people, it requires several years of experience and self-experimentation to become balanced and grounded with the full life-force power of this diet." Other chapters of interest in this part include information on pesticides in our food, and a list of the most sprayed fruits and vegetables. The book also contain many raw-food recipes.

61 of 62 found the following review helpful:


Totally changed my perspective on food  Sep 18, 2002
I bought this book because I wanted to become a better vegetarian/vegan and gain a healthier attitude toward self-nourishing (without giving up coffee and chocolate!). I found the analysis sections extremely eye-opening, and learned that the high-carb vegan diet I was having such trouble sticking to is not at all suited to my body/metabolism. I've made some real shifts in my diet based on this book, especially including both more protein and more raw foods, and have a lot more focus and energy now.

I highly recommend this book, especially for people who want to move further toward or into vegetarianism. It will help a lot with that transition and guide you to finetuning what you eat to suit your metabolic needs. It will also change your perspective and understanding of food and how it affects mind, body, and spirit.

Unfortunately, some of the information is a little confusing: I couldn't always figure out how to apply or use what I'd learned. And while I personally agree about the spiritual dimensions of diet, others may find that focus (especially in the beginning of the book) a little too strong. I think Dr. Cousens would have done better to shift that focus to the second half, so he could gradually build up to it.

53 of 55 found the following review helpful:


a few small problems and one very BIG problem; otherwise...  Jul 25, 2007 By Bates Family
i'm studying to be a naturopathic doctor and this was a required text.

i was already vegan when i read this book and i was considering moving to a raw-food diet. this book did further convince me of that choice, and my family is transitioning now.

however, i did have a few problems with the book. they are certainly easy enough to gloss over in favor of the solid knowledge that it does in fact contain, but they were there nonetheless.

first of all, there was one GLARING error in his discussion of breastfeeding toward the end of the book. he says that the two circumstances under which a woman should not breastfeed are in the case of certain medically-necessary medications, and if the baby is jaundiced. sadly, cousens is extremely misinformed about jaundice and gives very bad, completely false information in this case. i was a student midwife for three years and i am a certified lactation educator now. if a baby has jaundice two things are most important to help it pass: to expose the baby to natural light and to NURSE NURSE NURSE. fluid will help the bilirubin pass faster and if a baby is given water or formula instead, it can cause health problems and interfere with breastfeeding. one potential problem resulting from jaundice is lethargy. if jaundice isn't caught early and breastfeeding isn't established well, then serious problems can occur because the baby is not awake enough to take in the necessary fluid to help the bilirubin pass. as a result, jaundice may persist and bilirubin levels may raise to dangerous levels. this is why it is of paramount importance that breastfeeding is established early and babies are breastfed exclusively, on-demand from birth. breastmilk is absolutely the best healer for jaundice; if breastfeeding is not established and the baby is deprived of the breast, jaundice is much more likely to occur and to persist to a critical level. while every breastfeeding expert and supportive organization in the world says that breastfeeding is the best thing you can do to prevent and correct jaundice, cousens claims that breastmilk contains "substances" that supposedly prevent bilirubin from passing. but he doesn't say what these substances are, and he gives no references, and i have not been able to find a single piece of scientific literature supporting his assertion. universally, the fact stated by experts is that except in the case of a few extremely rare metabolic diseases, breastfeeding can and should continue when a baby is jaundiced. please overlook cousens' inaccuracy and look to your midwife, lactation consultant, LLL leader, or BREASTFEEDING-FRIENDLY doctor for more accurate information if your baby is jaundiced.

with that long diatribe aside... :)

i found some of his spiritual commentary off-putting. as a casual pagan who is vegan in part due to spiritual reasons, i am certainly open to considerations of spirituality in diet, and i consider myself very tolerant of religious beliefs. but in this case i found most of his comments irrelevent and even somewhat nonsensical. again, this is easy enough to overlook, but it might be a serious bother to some people. the sections on jesus, the apostles, and the bible, while interesting, were especially confusing in context.

this book is dense with intense information. it is really a scholarly work and was quite difficult for me to get through in a timely manner with a toddler and a newborn. but i did come away with a ton of really excellent insight and understanding. some parts i discarded, but other parts i found surprisingly enlightening. i went in very skeptical about the ayurvedic diet system that he describes, but i was amazed at how specifically true, and positive, it ended up being when i adjusted my eating habits to fit his recommendations for my "dosha."

i didn't feel that the book was laid out very well. i felt that many chapters were stuck in at random. and i found a lot of his commentary saccharine and condescending - such as looking at food as "love messages from god." gag.

he also plugs his own health resort regularly, which is a great option for the rich who have money to burn on such luxuries.

i was also thoroughly disappointed that he didn't have any advice whatsoever for applying a live/raw-food diet to babies or children.

i did find the book basically informative and enlightening and i found most of his principles easy to apply, despite the aforementioned problems.

-chandelle

110 of 123 found the following review helpful:


More palatable without the religious sections....  Nov 06, 2005 By ReadNReVu
I have read this book and the Rainbow Diet (same author), and I wish he would put just the recipes and menus from both books into one book, then I'd buy it. The recipes sound varied and interesting, although most involve a LOT of work (the same or more than regular cooking) and/or expensive equipment.

I don't know what purpose the religious sections served, other than to perhaps attempt to spread the author's beliefs (and they will probably annoy some Christians). They don't do a lot as far as arguing for vegetarianism per se--some of the scientific arguments are far more compelling.

However, what did bother me is that while he promotes eating a "natural" vegetarian diet, more in line with how our ancestors lived, he sure has made it complicated to do so. Expensive juicers, food processors, and dehydrators are necessary with this method, along with out-of-season foods, and definitely out-of-your-local-area foods.

Were the ancients farming spirulina? Doubt it. Were they juicing, sprouting, and dehydrating foods at a precise temperature? Doubt it. Were those living inland eating coconuts and other tropical foods on a regular basis? Doubt it. Why not just eat local foods within season (or sun-dried out of season)--right off the tree or the plant as the case may be?

I was surprised that his book did not have any references to growing your own fruits and veggies at home. That would be the best way to make sure they were fresh, as well as pesticide-free.

Bottom line, the recipes have potential, if you have the time and money to do them. If the author stuck to the arguments about vegetarians damaging the planet less than meat-eaters, it would have been fine (although since much of that came from Diet for a New America by John Robbins, you may as well read that book instead) as an argument for vegetarianism.

Because this book didn't have any footnotes, it is very difficult to check the references, especially in the religious sections, even though there is an extensive bibliography.

Borrow from your library before buying--imho about half the book falls under the category of "interesting to read, ONCE", which makes this a very expensive book to take up space on a shelf.

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