Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The following review is both a criticism of what the author preaches, and what she leaves out, in her book, GREEN FOR LIFE. First, a little personal background: My friend Sedef was a raw food enthusiast. She even preached it on radio shows and often referenced this book. One morning of a yoga conference, she grabbed a handful of "wild edibles," a.k.a. "wild greens" growing in an arboretum -- no pesticides! and made a green smoothie. That smoothie would be her last. One of those greens was foxglove. Digitalis. Looks like a well-known edible, but certainly is not. My friend was one of the healthiest people around, a yoga enthusiast, a business owner with multiple employees, a lovely 40-something woman. She died in less than 48 hours after ingesting the greens. Alone in a hospital. GREEN FOR LIFE was my friend Sedef's "Bible." The author of this book, Victoria Boutenko, advocates taking risks eating wild vegetation. Here are two quotes from Ms. Boutenka's book: page 103 -- "...gather your wild produce on your own. Also there are lots of articles and photos of edible weeds on the Internet." And page 122 -- " ...I started making the smoothies the next morning, out of wild greens from my yard." Eating wild greens, whether they are located in an arboretum or your back yard, is very risky. The plants identified in this book are edible. One problem is that many plants look alike. The plant my friend ate looks like comfrey, which is popular as a tea. Some parts of plants are poisonous, whereas other parts of the same plant are edible. Some plants are edible in small quantities, but carcinogenic in substantial quantities. Last, there are actually plants that are fine to eat one season, e.g., spring, and yet poisonous in another season, e.g., the fall. You should really consult a botanist if you plan to eat wild greens. If you pass this word of caution about eating wild greens, perhaps my friend will not have died in vain.