Cleaning Up the Clutter in Your Body

GARY NULL’S ULTIMATE LIFETIME DIET

By Gary Null

Simon & Schuster Audio; abridged nonfiction; two cassettes (two hours, 30 minutes); $18; read by the author; available in bookstores.

This author of more than 50 books takes a broad approach to cleaning up our health regimen and lifestyle. He discusses the reasons for obesity and makes a case for his particular approach to becoming fit. His recommendations include herbal supplements, vitamins, amino acids, lots of homemade juice and a mostly vegetarian diet. He urges us to eat low-glycemic carbohydrates, choose fish over meat and, of course, exercise.

Although his approach is a bit alternative, much of it is more common and less radical than those plans urging a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Like many other health gurus, he strongly suggests we avoid those trans fats found in margarine and many processed foods.

Null believes we can jump-start our metabolism and fight obesity with a detoxifying regimen, vitamins and herbal supplements. Unfortunately, he recommends many supplements, but doesn’t give enough guidance in choosing those best for you.

Much of what Null has to say has been said before; if you have heard or read some of his other books, you will notice the overlap of information. He also inflicts a certain amount of psychobabble on the listener. For instance, he tells us to lighten the clutter in our homes in order to feel lighter and help us lose weight--not advice for which we need to pay.

Missing from the audio are the recipes in the printed version. However, also missing are dry scientific explanations that pad the printed book. Although the audio is more precise than the original material, we must listen to the author’s poor narration. Null’s stultified phrasing make him sound insincere. Instead of settling into the task at hand, he hems and haws and sounds more uncomfortable as the tape progresses.

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DR. ATKINS’ AGE-DEFYING DIET REVOLUTION

By Robert C. Atkins

Simon & Schuster Audio; abridged nonfiction; two cassettes (three hours); $18; read by Jeffrey DeMunn; available in bookstores.

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Still flying in the face of convention, Dr. Robert C. Atkins has developed a plan he insists will keep you healthy and feeling young. He continues to advocate a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, but now recommends specific supplements to enhance our hormones and detoxify our systems. Fighting free radicals and maintaining a healthy insulin level is more important, insists Atkins, than worrying about our fat intake. However, one should note that he suggests taking supplements we could be eating naturally in some foods--foods he does not recommend because they do not fit into his low-carbohydrate plan.

No one will argue with some of his advice. Most of us need to drink more water and exercise more often. However, we must keep in mind that much of what Atkins has to say is deemed quite radical by the American Medical Assn. And although Atkins may quote studies that underscore his findings, he is not going to quote from those studies disputing his beliefs.

For the most part, the audio is a guide to supplements and is not a rehash of his past work. With his easygoing manner and moderately deep voice, DeMunn proves to be a better than average narrator. However, some of this material is so dry that you may find yourself rewinding to once again hear material you tuned out.