[.ca] Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible: A Comprehensive Guide ... (ISBN 0743226615)

From Amazon.com:
The boom in nutritional supplements has been bewildering to most health-conscious people. One camp, made up mostly of traditional scientists and nutritionists, says that supplements are unnecessary, that you can get all the nutrients you need from a well-balanced diet. Then there's the group that says a normal diet can't supply all the super-duper stuff that researchers of varying degrees of credibility discover on a regular basis. Which set is right? Earl Mindell, for one, is solidly in the latter, recommending virtually everything you'll find on the shelves of your neighborhood nutrition store. He answers questions you might have about supplements you've heard of but don't understand, and he explains what all the excitement (if any) is about. From DHEA to cat's claw, bovine tracheal cartilage to chromium picolinate, he endorses all.

The scriptures of health:
The introduction to these scriptures explains exactly how vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals, RDAs are defined and provides thorough background information about supplements and we need to take them. Then follows the Hot Hundred nutritional supplements from Alpha Carotene to Zeaxanthin. Each entry provides the potential benefits and interactions of these substances, plus the food sources in which they are found. These are verily the 100 golden talents for good health, if not the 100 commendments. The chapter Hot News About Old Favorites discusses aged garlic, capsaicin, reishi mushroom, GLA, Ginseng, Omega fatty acids, magnesium, selenium and many other well-known substances that for a very long time have been known to promote health. In the chapter Fat Burners and Sports Supplements, stuff like androstenedione, CoQ10, creatine, pyruvate, amino acids and other supplements are investigated, whilst Mood Enhancing Supplements deals with inter alia SAMe, 5-HTP, St John's Wort and Tyrosine and contains a section Stress Busters with information on Kava Kava, DHEA and flower essences. The other chapters are titled Supplements For Your Sex Life, A Brief Guide To Homeopathy, Hot Supplements From Around The World (including those from the Ayurvedic and Chinese traditions, and from the rain forests), Supplements For Sensational Skin and Get Smarter With Supplements (including discussions on Grape Seed Extract, Lipoic Acid, Vitamin E, DMAE, Ginkgo Biloba, Pregnenolone, Phophatidylserine and other major discoveries). This excellent guide to what is hot on the supplement scene concludes with a bibliography and concordance. I also recommend The A - Z Guide To Supplements (Prescription For Nutritional Healing) by Phyllis A Balch, Renewal by Timothy J Smith, The Superhormone Promise by William Regelson and Forever Ageless by Rothenburg. Let these tried and trusted works of wisdom be a lamp unto your feet.

Hmmm. Not so Fast.:
It's an okay source of information, but it seems Mindell hasn't met a supplement he won't endorse in some manner or other, even if it is with a caveat or two. I've been "researching" supplements for a long time, too, but I've come away with a different interpretation of whether or not they will work as advertised. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a "bible". Read the "Physicians' Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements" if you want to read the real "bible" on supplements. The PDR doesn't trim the facts to suit a lifestyle. Don't get me wrong; Mindell isn't out to mislead, but his medicine cabinet must just be STUFFED with bottles of herbs, vitamins, and other things, and brother, you just don't need all that stuff to live a healthy life. One or half-dozen supplements...okay, but not every supplement under the sun, trying to be slimmer, smarter, sexier, etc. They can't all be good for you, and there are other research claims out there that say some aren't, and may be more harmful than benign. Overall, Mindell's book is for the supplement choir. If you're not a member of the choir yet, reach for the above mentioned PDR before you jump in.

Valable health information which goes beyond vitamins.:
Earl Mindell is justly famous for his best-selling book Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible (Currently available as Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century). Thousands -- perhaps even millions -- of people have strengthened their health and even extended their lives with the information contained in Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible. Now Dr. Mindell has written an equally well-written and authoritive book which discusses dozens of nutritional supplements which are not normally covered in books on vitamins. Many of the supplements discussed in this new book -- including Coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, and DHA, to name a few -- are every bit as important to human health as vitamins are. If you are seriously interested in learning about the broad scope of nutritional supplements which are currently available you will not want to be without this book.

The Supplement Bibble:
The main reason why I bought the book was due to my interest in "Fat Burners & Sport Supplements". It's great! In particular that a nove like me can get really confused about the tons of products available on this subject. The great thing about Mindell's book is that he trakes the results from different researchers, does his own, makes up his mind, and thus give you recommendations. If he likes a product (and he loves many!), he writes very persuavely. I will finally keep of my hands from any "fat burning" product, and wil instead use other products recommended like Chromium Picolinate.

Cutting Edge Stuff:
Dr Mindell proves once again that he is on the cutting edge in nutrition... Dr Mindell is years ahead of any other nutritional author. In this book you'll find nutrients that the massive health food store doesn't even sell-yet. But after a couple of years everyone will find out about them, and there'll be a demand for them. I found previews of soon to be popular nutrients, along with some 'tried and true' nutrients that I already knew about and Dr. Mindell gave me more information about them... If you are into health and nutrition than this, and all of Dr. Mindell's books should be referred to often.