Dr. Atkins' Vita-nutrient Solution: Your Complete Guide to Natural Health: Nature's Answer to Drugs [Paperback]

Two years ago, I followed the Atkins' diet and easily lost 30 pounds, increased my energy level, lowered my LDL cholesterol and boosted my HDLs. I've had no trouble staying on the diet, and my health and stamina keep improving. Now Atkins gives us something even better: a well- documented, easy-to-use guide to using vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as the "treatment of choice" to overcome numerous conditions without the side-effects of drugs. Already, I followed his advice for zinc to completely clear up my acne in 5 days, and carnitine and chromium to further improve energy and mental outlook. This book and the "complementary medicine" movement may revolutionize health care in the United States!

This book is one of the best, or maybe even the best, out there on this topic. I very highly recommend it. I have read maybe 2 or 3 dozen vitamin books which claim to be the best or the 'only guide you'd ever need' and all of them put together are not as good as this one book.

The information given on each of the major vitamins and how much and what forms to take is very good and many times more detailed than in most books.

Don't be swayed by whether or not you agree with Atkins' dietary advice. (I don't 100%, far from it although I feel he had some parts of the theory right). This is an excellent book on vitamins and other supplements and I highly recommend it.

(As with all health books what he says about 'CFS' is ridiculous and silly and should be ignored fully by everyone, no matter their diagnosis. 'CFS' is a wastebasket term and not a distinct disease. Patients need a real diagnosis and real help, not to be fobbed off with this unhelpful MISdiagnosis!)

It talks about how to reduce your cancer risk, what vitamins are in what foods and how much of each vitamin you need and why, and so on. It contains very extensive information on each vitamin and mineral etc. including adverse reactions if any, dosage recommendations to maintain health and for different diseases, drug interactions and so on.

This is one of the few books with enough technical info for doctors, but that also includes a large amount of practical advice and tips for patients on managing their own health and their own vitamin and nutrient regime. It includes a lot of the practical information lacking in some other books which focus solely on looking at studies proving the benefits of each supplement instead. This book does both. It is also very easy to read.

What is so great about this book is that it devotes a whole section to each vitamin etc. (and tells you what it can do and which diseases it may help with and why) rather than just giving you a list of things to take for disease x, y or z. (Although it briefly does that as well.) That sort of superficial approach is just not helpful when you are trying to learn as much as you can about each vitamin and what it does and how to take it safely and effectively, and when your disease is NEVER one of the diseases listed (as with M.E.)

The dosages given are not super-conservative as they are in so many books either. Some of us need higher dosages with some diseases and when we are very ill and Dr Atkins recognises this.

The political information in this book is also excellent. The whole 10 pages or so on that topic is all quotable. It is very well done and compelling.

This is the number one book I would recommend people buy to learn about vitamins and how best to take them. If you can afford or read only one book on vitamins, make it this one. It's so good. The authors passion for this topic is obvious and I'm so grateful to Dr Atkins for writing this book. It deserves to be far more well-known than it is. It is also one of the best books I know of to give to doctors.

I'd give this book a 9 ½/10.

My only criticisms of the book would be that the inclusion of solid dietary advice would also have been useful (diet is only mentioned occasionally, and always in relation to the Atkins diet).

I'm also sure Dr Atkins would have updated this book had he still been alive today. A few sections are outdated somewhat, such as the section on vitamin D for example.

Atkins should have been famous for this great book, rather than his diet books in my opinion, it's a real shame the negative and ignorant hype over his diet books obscured his extensive knowledge of orthomolecular medicine and the information in this book that needs so much to become public knowledge.

If you are seriously ill and want to read as much as possible about how to heal then this book is essential.

If you combine it with excellent books on diet such as Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and books on reducing your total load and detoxification and so on such as 'Detoxify or Die' by Dr Sherry Rogers and the book on sauna use by Dr Lawrence Wilson you will have information that can really help you and that is just not included in the vast majority of 'nutrition by numbers' books out there.

I have read hundreds of health books, it has become a sort of hobby. These 4 books have helped me the most and are probably all you need, or at least a wonderful starting point.

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encepahlomyelitis

Actually this is the second copy of this book that I have purchased - it is sooooooo brilliant and has helped me in my quest to recover from mercury poisoning caused by mercury leaking from my amalgam fillings. An invaluable addition to anyone's health library. Highly recommended.