By Abbygail Zwane

The Decarb Diet is one of the better diet and lifestyle books I have come across in a long time. It has been described as “practical Noakes” taking the reader through the basic laws of the currently fashionable “paleo diet” without being condescending. As for the tone, it is energetic and snappy. In addition the chapters are presented in short, digestible chunks stuffed with clever observations.

Dr Howard Rybko is a medical doctor and he has used the latest nutritional research in creating the Decarb Diet eating and lifestyle plan. Dr Rybko has been involved in sports nutrition and performance since the early 1990s, specialising in cycling, a sport he continues to be actively involved in. As a diet cynic it gives me peace of mind that Rybko is an authority on nutrition and, judging by the comments on his website www.decarbdiet.com, the diet has helped many people shed kilograms of unwanted weight.

The book is an easy to navigate guide to weight-loss and a healthier lifestyle. In the introductory section it gives the reader a background on the principles of the diet, reasons to avoid carbohydrates, the benefits of balancing Omegas as well as how and when to exercise.

The next section of the book is titled “What” and is the preparation phase. It shows the reader how to set personal goals, prepare the kitchen, learn to read supermarket labels and survive eating out. The strike phase is all about the food – what to eat, what not to eat as well as examples of low-carb meals.

The section titled “Why” goes deeper into various issues that affect people unable to shift weight, including the sweet suicide of sugar, eating too much, ketones and the worldwide diabetes epidemic.

The “Toolkit”, positioned conveniently towards the back of the book contains guides, charts, recipes as well as sample journals to help with the journey to a healthier life and a healthier outlook on life.

I’d recommend the book to those wanting to better understand the paleo diet as well as those who are interested in sports, health and nutrition.

The Decarb Diet is available from Exclusive Books, www.porcupinepress.co.za, www.kalahari.net and all other good book dealers.

For more information, visit www.decarbdiet.com.