'Joshi is truly special. I love him', Gwyneth Paltrow, emblazoned on the front cover should have been warning enough about the dubious nature of this book, but keen to become a healthier, slimmer me I decided to persevere.
The introduction with its 'Princess Diana was a patient of mine, and I am not ashamed to use that information to try to sell my book' blah-blah paragrah was sufficient to have me reaching for a sick bag; however, I decided to overlook the fact that this so-called doctor was close to disregarding his hypocratic oath in order to discover if there was any substance to this diet. After all, I'd just bought a new bathing suit...
Although I am a reasonably well educated person, I actually had to read the book twice to make sure I had fully understood the requirements of the diet - and also to ensure the inconsistencies and spelling errors I'd perceived the first time round were not figments of my imagination.
On one page he tells us to start the day with yoghurt and on another, he tells us that we will not be eating 'dairy' at all on this diet. Later he features the humble potato on the list of alkaline-forming foods and then proceeds to say the opposite a bit further on. To name but a few...
All this left me wondering if Dr. Joshi was indeed a doctor in medicine or a doctor in the ancient art of quackery...especially as I woke up several times in the middle of the night with hideous stomach cramps.
On the positive side - having once deciphered what I actually could and couldn't eat on this diet - I did lose some weight and felt generally 'refreshed'. On the other hand, I would be loathe to recommend it to any of my friends as I would like to keep them!
P.S. Message to Gwyneth P.:'Joshi is truly questionable and I don't love him'.
