Official Review: The Ketogenic Diet by Jeff J Jackson

[DancingLady]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Ketogenic Diet" by Jeff J Jackson.]

---

1 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Ketogenic Diet by Jeff J. Jackson is a short book describing the ketogenic way of eating and why one should adopt it. The author's intent is to explain the diet, its benefits, and how a person can implement it successfully. As a follower of the ketogenic way of eating, I approached this book excited to learn more about the subject and gain new insights into my own diet and lifestyle. While the author clearly believes in the ketogenic diet and wants to share it with others, this admirable intent seems to be the only positive thing I can comment on as every other aspect of this book failed to live up to my expectations.

With any health-related subject, the reader should expect the author to establish his or her personal qualifications on the subject are they are addressing or state the sources they used and the qualifications of those sources. At no point in this book does Jackson identify himself as a qualified writer on the subject of diet and nutrition, nor does he cite any sources for the information and advice he shares. Right away, this struck me as a big problem as I am not one to take anecdotal health advice and put it into practice until I have confirmed that this advice is supported by research and healthcare professionals.

While I am by no means an expert in nutrition, as a person who practices the keto way of eating, I have done my own research into the subject, seeking qualified sources. As I read this book, I found a number of statements that were simply incorrect. For example, the author states, "Fruits and veggies are essential in a keto diet." While this statement is half true, a quick search of basic keto guidelines will reveal that fruit, with the exception of small amounts of berries, is not permitted on a keto diet at all. He also includes sucralose as an acceptable sweetener and makes incorrect statements regarding exercise while following a ketogenic diet.

This book also failed to lay out any understandable guidelines for successfully adopting a ketogenic diet. In the chapter titled, "How to adopt a keto diet," the author focusses on removing non-keto foods from the home and finding a friend or relative who can be an accountability partner. While these are valuable pieces of advice, nowhere in this book is there an explanation of macros, how to count net carbs and how many you may have per day, or any guidelines for calculating your personal protein and total calorie needs. Without these basic tools, how is the reader to know how much he or she ought to eat from the different food groups?

Lastly, this 53-page book is filled with dozens of grammatical errors and odd word choices. Due to some of the unusual wordings, such as using the word "take" where one would expect the word "eat," I was unsure if the author is, in fact, a native English speaker. Regardless of the author's background, this book does not appear to have been edited by a second set of eyes before publication. Since the keto way of eating has benefitted me so much already, I was terribly disappointed to find that this book was not useful to me in any way. Due to all the problems with this book, I am giving it a rating of 1 out of 4 stars. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

******
The Ketogenic Diet
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like DancingLady's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Marissa Michael]

Thank you for your extra efforts in researching this book and for producing a meticulous review. Since this book does not cite anything from reliable and qualified sources, and lack of editing, I also have to pass this book.

[Ruba Abu Ali]

There are many issues with this book. If the basic foundation of having referenced and evidence-based health information is not available, then I do not think I will embark on such a read. I, however, appreciate your honest and thorough review. Thanks.

[DancingLady]

There are many issues with this book. If the basic foundation of having referenced and evidence-based health information is not available, then I do not think I will embark on such a read. I, however, appreciate your honest and thorough review. Thanks.

Thanks, I’m glad you found it helpful. Even though the book was pretty bad, I decided to try to help others out if I could by pointing out what they need to look for in a health related book.

[Alicia09]

I've given 1 out of 4 star reviews to books before so I feel your pain. I agree that having more than anecdotal evidence would have been helpful for the author to prove that the keto diet works. Anectodal evidence can be helpful, but it should be combined with larger statistics in order to prove that something like a diet can be effective. At the same time, it sounds like you did your research into the keto diet so at least you can have that background knowledge to inform your understanding of what the keto diet is and how it works. Thanks for the review!

[DancingLady]

I've given 1 out of 4 star reviews to books before so I feel your pain. I agree that having more than anecdotal evidence would have been helpful for the author to prove that the keto diet works. Anectodal evidence can be helpful, but it should be combined with larger statistics in order to prove that something like a diet can be effective. At the same time, it sounds like you did your research into the keto diet so at least you can have that background knowledge to inform your understanding of what the keto diet is and how it works. Thanks for the review!

Thank you, fortunately, it was a very quick read. I have been keto since July 11, which is one reason I jumped on the review opportunity, but also thankfully, why I was able to spot the incorrect information. It's certainly frustrating to realize you are going to have to ruin someone's day with a terrible review, but that's how it goes sometimes.

[AmySmiles]

This review is very important for readers to understand that incorrect information is given. I hope people who seriously want to follow this diet will do their own research before following the advice in this book. I'm not interested in this diet, but even if I were this would not be the book I chose to read. Thanks for the review.

[Cecilia_L]

How disappointing that the author neglected to research adequately. Research is essential for any nonfiction book, especially when the reader is looking for information regarding nutrition. I struggled when I've had to give the lowest rating, too. However, it certainly seems necessary here. Thanks for your honest review.

[daydreaming reader]

Very happy I read your review, I don't know much about ketogenic diet, so this book would have definitely caused some confusion for me. Thank you for your excellent review.

[DancingLady]

Very happy I read your review, I don't know much about ketogenic diet, so this book would have definitely caused some confusion for me. Thank you for your excellent review.

If you are interested in good info, look up Dr. Berg. He makes things very easy to understand and explains how to nourish yourself properly.

[daydreaming reader]

Very happy I read your review, I don't know much about ketogenic diet, so this book would have definitely caused some confusion for me. Thank you for your excellent review.

If you are interested in good info, look up Dr. Berg. He makes things very easy to understand and explains how to nourish yourself properly.

Thank you for your recommendation, I will be sure to look up Dr. Berg.

[shakeevsu]

I started reading a book by Rujuta Dewaker “Don’t lose your mind Lose your weight”. Do we really need to follow Ketone diet as long as we don’t have any major issues?? Not recommended for normal people. Try to read this book. It’s nice to know hidden basics of balanced diet.

You can find a copy at www.bukstand.com