I have the book. I think his ideal weights may be too heavy for some --
especially petite or small boned women. I think the protein is too low for
some people. I think that it would be very difficult to do his diet without
cream or butter to up fat without adding carbs or protein. Not impossible --
one could drink lard or guzzle coconut oil -- but it would be much more
difficult. He also considers animal fat to be preferable over vegetable fat.
Much of the recipes are clearly Polish cuisine and heavy on pork -- he
favors pork. But US pork is perhaps not fed the same as pigs in Poland. Here --
most pork is fed corn/soy etc so the fat is more unsaturated. Weston
Price web site did a review I think a while back -- they thought his alleged
"ideal" ratios based on mother's milk were incorrect technically. I also
wonder why adults would want to eat a diet based on fat/protein/carb ratios of
mother's milk. He slams Atkins as "too much protein" yet there is no evidence
that high protein diets harm kidneys unless a person already has a kidney
problem to begin with. The Optimal Diet could be done with paleo foods but it
still seems a highly artificial diet with rigid proportions -- especially
with respect to protein consumption. Many find success with this plan but
those I've read who have posted do it using dairy -- especially large amounts
of cream and butter. Not paleo in my view but I personally wrestle with the
idea of adding dairy back. On the one hand -- butter, cream, cheese etc
have vitamins and minerals that vegetable oils lack. But on the other hand,
they are also chock full of naturally occurring growth factors and hormones.