Who's the new kid

Nine year old Breanna Bond weighed 186 pounds. At such a young age, she was experiencing the health consequences of obesity, not to mention the teasing and taunting from classmates. Something had to be done. Breanna's mom, Heidi, had made attempts to limit food, but almost always gave in to her daughter's wants. Finally, Heidi made one more attempt to save her daughter. Who's the new kid is their story.

Heidi started by throwing out all the junk food in the house and buying healthy foods instead. She had been unwittingly enabling her daughter by just having junk food in the house. Next she and her daughter started exercising. She soon realized they both needed to start slow and work up to running. So began their daily walks. Over time, with Heidi's firm hand, her daughter began to lose weight. Eventually, Breanna lost enough weight to be considered normal.

This book has received some criticism. Some believe Heidi acted like a bully, though she did have to take a tough stance. There is also the sustainability of her eat less, move more approach. With all the nutrition and health books I have read, I have to agree that it could become a problem. There were moments where Breanna complained of being hungry. Still, Breanna did lose the weight and eventually wanted to eat better to feel better.

This book is an interesting look at childhood obesity and one family's experience. It may motivate other families to make different lifestyle choices. From a nutrition perspective, it is problematic since the eat less, move more concept has been largely debunked. I have to wonder where Breanna is now. Has she maintained her weight loss? Does she have a healthy relationship with food?

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog

The Secret Life of Fat

The Secret Life of Fat by Dr. Sylvia Tara is an interesting book. Fat, both what we consume but also the fat in our body is not really understood well. Dr. Tara presents the science and case studies about fat. There were two particularly interesting cases regarding fat. One was of a girl who had no fat. Her body simply could not absorb and process it. The result was a very sick, thin girl. Another was of a young woman who literally could not stop eating. Both cases make you wonder about fat and the importance of it in the diet. Our bodies, especially hormones and our brains, depend on fat to function properly.

The book claims to provide the secret to losing weight. This is the weakest part of the book and the advice was really not all that helpful. This book provides insight and interesting case stories about fat and that is the main reason to read the book.

Book Rating: 4 stars.

Herbal Antibiotics

Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Buhner is a great reference manual. I picked this up because I was curious. Are there herbal remedies that can help fight infection? According to Buhner, there are and they are more effective long term than antibiotic pharmaceuticals. The herbal remedies are gentler on the body and have fewer side effects. More studies need to be done to really understand how the herbals work in comparison to prescribed antibiotics, but it is worth knowing what options may exist.

The books is a bit dry, detailed, and technical. There are bits and pieces of humor sprinkled throughout, so you may be surprised to read some of Buhner's personality coming through. I did read most of the book, skimming a few sections. Buhner describes each remedy, sources, side effects and warnings. He includes some dosing and preparation recommendations.

This is a handy manual to have on hand. Buhner has written extensively about herbal medicine and he is considered an expert on the topic. He does get some criticism because herbal medicine relies on "folk wisdom" rather than scientific. It's not that he hasn't encouraged more studies, it's just there isn't much motivation because there is little to no profit in it's application. Buhner is especially well known in the lyme community for putting together an herbal protocol for those patients.

Book Rating: 5 stars.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog, which are affiliate links.

The exhaustion breakthrough

I read the Exhaustion Breakthrough by Dr. Holly Phillips in hopes that I could find some insight on my chronic fatigue. Since I read this book a while ago, I can't really remember a lot of details about her suggestions. Most of the suggestions are common sense : eat right, get better sleep, and exercise.

Sleep is a big factor and having good sleep hygiene is important. Turn off electronics, have a night routine, etc. Try to get around 7 hours of sleep a night. Eating right includes eliminating convenience foods and replacing your diet with minimally processed, whole foods. And yes, exercise but not too much. This kind of advice can be found in many places and it will probably help the person who has normal fatigue. She also advises a person be evaluated for thyroid problems and other conditions that contribute to fatigue. The book does focus on women since women tend have more trouble with fatigue and are more likely to be diagnosed with fatigue problems.

Unfortunately, her book does not really help a person who has chronic fatigue. I can say this because I have implemented some of her strategies. A squeaky clean diet, gentle exercise, and good sleep hygiene have helped me but it has not broken through the exhaustion. I have several theories as to why, but Dr. Phillips does not really deep dive on the subject. So this book is not really helpful for those who suffer from chronic, unrelenting fatigue.

The book is not terrible and may help those with normal fatigue.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

Passionate Nutrition

Passionate Nutrition by Jennifer Adler is part nutrition advice and part memoir. Jennifer Adler shares her personal story and journey which includes malnutrition in childhood and adolescence. As a young adult she studied nutrition in college and she dutifully followed her training for herself and her clients. She sensed that nutrition was a factor in her physical and mental health, but when applying her education and training to herself it did not seem to work. Her personal story is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of heartache there, but I appreciate her willingness to share her story. It is inspiring and motivating.

Over time, Adler started to get a better sense of herself and food. She broke away from the conventional nutrition and diet advice and started to practice in a different way. She focused on whole foods that are minimally processed, locally grown, and organic. She encourages consuming plenty of healthy fats and bone broth. In other words, she encourages eating a traditional foods diet.

What I like about Adler's approach is her gentle transition to a healthier way of eating. In the traditional foods community it becomes an all or nothing approach. You must immediately change your diet and drop all the bad junk foods. Instead Adler suggests gradually transitioning so that you can observe how you feel and how your body reacts. For example, begin adding a salad to every dinner meal. Next, start reducing some carbs with more vegetables. This approach teaches a person to pay attention to how they are feeling after consuming the foods they eat and to learn how to make healthier choices over time.

Both the memoir and and nutrition advice are well worth the read.

Toxic War : The Story of Agent Orange

Few books have made me angry when I read them. Toxic War by Peter Sills made me angry because the very topic is so upsetting. Sills examines Agent Orange, a chemical used heavily in the Vietnam War. He explores its origins, manufacture, and use in warfare. He also details the long term health consequences of the soldiers that served and the people of Vietnam.

I had heard about Agent Orange but I didn't really know all that much about it. Agent Orange or dioxin was a chemical that was produced and used in herbicides prior to Vietnam, but not heavily. There were some reports of employees getting sick who had been exposed to the chemical, but these reports were largely buried. You could say that Dupont and Monsanto both manipulated studies to show the chemical was safe for use. But no one, up to that time, had ever used or applied dioxin in the quantities that were needed in Vietnam.

Vietnam presented a logistical challenge to warfare. The enemy could easily hide in the vegetation and disappear. The danger to soldiers was very high. The solution was to remove the vegetation and the easiest way to do it was to spray dioxin. Dioxin was sprayed around all the bases on a monthly basis. The bases had buildings with open windows, so the spray just drifted in. It was sprayed on top of soldiers and civilians in the field. Soldiers bathed in and drank water that had been contaminated. When people talk about a scorched earth, Vietnam became that place. Dioxin does not break down over time, so it contaminates the soil and plants that grow in it.

Despite the environmental damage and exposure, the US government deflected responsibility. They had been told it was safe, so they ran with that story despite mounting evidence it was not. The most heavily exposed soldiers died within months of returning home from bizarre cancers. Children born to these soldiers had odd birth defects. Then the lesser exposed soldiers started developing aggressive cancers as they aged to retirement. So while the government continues to deny responsibility, they now acknowledge it is possible that some veterans are sick because of Agent Orange. There is an official list of cancers that the VA will cover if a soldier served in Vietnam. Aggressive prostate cancer is now one of them as many Vietnam vets are dying of prostate cancer.

This books is well written and a must read.

Adrenal Reset Diet

Dr. Alan Christianson is a naturopathic physician that has helped people lose weight and rebalance their hormones. The Adrenal Reset Diet is Dr. Christianson's method for healing the adrenals. He has other books and supplements that help reset the thyroid, metabolism, and immune system. His approach includes diet therapy and behavior modification. The diet therapy, if you go all in, includes his own branded shakes and supplements. The book basically supports the sales of the shakes and supplements.

Dr. Christianson's treatment protocol probably does help some people. There is a prevailing theory that adrenal fatigue, or the idea that the adrenals are overworked and are starting to wear out, is a primary cause for weight gain and chronic fatigue. I am not completely convinced that such things find their root cause in the adrenal gland, but his dietary approach and life style changes are worth trying. Can one really "reset" the adrenal gland. Maybe not, but one can heal the body naturally with the right diet and lifestyle changes.

Dr. Christianson does not restrict any particular food macro. His diet allows healthy fats and carbs. It is not a gluten-free or paleo diet. He believes in carb cycling to force the body to lose weight. Based on my own experience and observation, women in particular need to be careful of extremely low-carb diets. I know that when I tried to lower my carbs to 20-30g carbs a day (a Keto diet level) and increase my fat intake I just did not feel well. I'm still low carb compared to many Americans, but not Keto low. Some in the Keto community do a form of carb cycling or carb ups in order to maintain energy levels.

For the lifestyle changes, Dr. Christianson recommends good sleep hygiene and moderate exercise, such as walking or yoga. The last few chapters have a few menu ideas and recipes.

Overall, the book was a "meh" for me. It didn't really add much to other things I have read. I also felt the book overall was light weight on documentation. His clinical experience counts for a lot, but the overall presentation did not inspire me. His suggestions will probably help some people, so it may be worth a read to see if it will be helpful. The recipe section was particularly weak and I think people who follow this diet will look elsewhere pretty quickly for recipe ideas.

Have your cake and lose weight too!

Have your cake and lose weight too is another diet and nutrition book focusing on eating a traditional food diet. Minimally processed, locally grown, in-season, organic foods. Unlike the Nourished Kitchen, this book is more accessible and practical.

In this book DaNelle Wolford breaks down why and how to eat healthier. She states that by eating better you can lose weight. She claims to have lost 35 pounds and cured her chronic illness. Her food suggestions allow fats and carbs in addition to real, whole foods. She doesn't eliminate any particular macro, but suggests moderation. She does recommend that you make choices that are right for you so there is no expectation to blindly follow everything she suggests. I have no doubt that she lost weight and felt better.

In theory, she is right. A better diet will help you lose weight. But what do you do if you follow her advice and still not lose weight? That happened to me. I have been following a variation of a paleo, gluten free diet for a long time and I was gaining weight. With the addition of exercise 4 times a week, the weight should have come off quickly. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated.

I eventually figured out why I couldn't lose the weight, which was an extremely damaged gut. I made some changes in my supplements while maintaining my modified Paleo diet and the weight came off. I'm sure that my case is not unique. I think DaNelle, despite her chronic illness, was able to lose weight because she was younger and did not have the metabolic problems that many people have. So just a word of caution that your success may or may not happen in the same way.

With that said, her dietary recommendations are worth taking note and trying. Eating a more traditional foods diet will likely help you improve your overall health. I did not try any of the recipes because they were similar to what I was already eating. There is also no cake recipe. Like many other reviewers state, it can be difficult to find and afford grass-fed, pasture raised meat and all organic vegetables. Like anything, just do the best you can.

I read the printed version of the book, which had printing errors. There were several pages that were extremely light and a few pages were smeared. The book is self-published, so a bit of polish would have helped improve the overall quality.

The Nourished Kitchen

The movement to a whole foods, minimally processed diet is a well-needed food trend. The more I have read about food and nutrition, the more and more apparent it becomes that many of our modern health ailments are because of poor nutrition and diet. What does it take to give up our convenient foods and eat only locally grown, in-season, organic foods?

The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther is perhaps one approach. The book is beautiful with lots of full color pictures. The book is mostly a recipe book, but there is some discussion on her philosophy of food. In some ways I would consider McGruther a food purist in which she searches for food that is as close to the farm as your own backyard. It's the idea that you know the farmer and how he raised or grew your food before you purchased it. In some cases you even do it yourself.

In an idealized world, we would be able to do all of this. The reality is that many of us are not close enough to a farm or a farmer to really know. We could make some efforts by shopping only at farmer's markets, but even that can be difficult. It's not to say that many of us are unwilling to trade our convenient life, but those who live in large cities there are many challenges to sourcing this kind of food. Even for me living in a rural area, it's not so easy to find certain foods directly from a farmer or to even grow certain foods. For example, I can only grow lettuce a certain part of the year and it is nearly impossible to grow peaches due to the elevation of my area. At the end of the day, we can only do the best we can to achieve such a lifestyle. In other words, I felt a bit of guilt that I couldn't achieve such food purism from reading her book.

Many recipes in the book call for "exotic" ingredients that may be difficult for the average person to obtain, like real lard direct from the farmer without any pasteurization or processing. Some recipes have no pictures and call for ingredients I've never heard of or have never seen. Some recipes could use some extra instruction, such as step-by-step pictures of the process. The recipes may be simple, but for newbies more instruction would be better.

The book is inspiring, I just wish it had a bit more practicality for the rest of us.

Sweetening the pill

I had previously reviewed a book several years ago on this topic called The Greatest Experiment Ever Peformed on Women, by Barbara Seaman. The title sounds like hyperbole, but it really is true. The birth control pill was given to women with very little testing. The side effects were relatively unknown, both short term and long term. It was touted as a cure-all for all kinds of female ailments and was supposed to prevent heart disease, among other things. Instead there were serious side effects, such as breast cancer and death. As time has gone on, some of those side effects have been reduced because the amount of hormone in the pill has been reduced. But the long term side effects still exist and the risk for blood clots are still pretty serious. I can remember my doctor saying I would only gain a few pounds. I gained at least 10 pounds because my craving for carbs increased. I was also more moody and depressed. Doctors just dismiss these problems. Even though these problems may seem minor, they are indications of a hormonal upheaval in the body.

Sweetening the Pill by Holly Grigg-Spall is an updated look at the birth control pill. Holly references Barbara Seaman's book with some newer sources. In this book Holly shares her personal experience with the pill as well as the experiences of others. Very few have positive experiences. Despite that, Holly takes a pragmatic approach. She believes the pill may be useful for some women and so she is not in favor of an outright ban. But women need to have more information about all the possible side effects so they can make an informed choice. The pill can have an impact on every organ of the body, so a decision should never be made lightly. Especially when there are less invasive means of birth control.

I think both of these books are important for women to read. Understanding the impact of the pill is very important. I think most women should avoid the pill, except for rare circumstances. Amazon has mixed reviews on Sweetening the Pill because of poor editing. I personally did not notice any major problems because the personal anecdotes drew me in. The book does have references and sources, though the author does not review them in detail as Barbara Seaman did. Holly and a few others had hoped to put together a documentary to go along with the book. From what I can find Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein were making it, but I don't know how or where to view it or if it was even made.

There is another great blog entry at Groknation on this topic.

Book rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet

God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet is probably one of the best books on medicine that I have every read. Medicine at it's heart is supposed to be about healing. But anyone who has interacted with medicine in the last decade or so encounters insurance problems, short visits, impatient providers, and high costs. My own interactions with local doctors did not provide the healing I sought. Since I did not fit the diagnostic criteria for a "problem", I was shrugged off. It wasn't until I found a doctor that ran her practice in the same spirit as Victoria Sweet that I started to find healing.

God's Hotel is part autobiography, part medicine, part history. Victoria Sweet was hired to work at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital. This hospital cared for the very poor, indigent people of the community. It was a place of last resort for many. This is where Sweet discovered slow medicine and how to help people heal.

One particular story in the book has stuck with me. A woman with many health problems came in with extremely bad bed sores. So bad that she would most likely be severely disfigured, disabled, or dead. She could not lie on her back at all. Laying face down over a period of months, her sores were treated and she healed. Spending all that time staring at the floor beneath her, the patient came to the understanding of how she needed to change her life to improve her health. In this case mind and body were healed.

Such a health care situation would likely not happen today with hospital metrics and outcomes. Sweet discusses the transition of Laguna Honda hospital to a more modern hospital with ever increasing pressure from bean counters and administrators. She details her journey through her experiences in medicine alongside. The result is a moving journey that makes you think about what it means to heal and to be healed.

Book Rating: 5 stars - everyone in medicine should read this book.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Why do I still have thyroid symptoms?

I read this book to see if it would help me understand my chronic fatigue. Could it be thyroid related? The author of this book, Dr. Datis Kharrazian, is a chiropractic doctor who has focused his practice on helping people with thyroid problems. In my case, I learned which lab tests I should ask for and how to read them. The thyroid is a complex topic and many doctors do not understand it. If you get a normal result on the TSH test, you are considered normal. This is why the title of the book is so appropriate. If my TSH is normal, then why do I still have symptoms? That was certainly my question. After a much more thorough work up and the help of an integrative medicine doctor, I was able to determine my chronic fatigue was not because of my thyroid.

I started off trying to read the Kindle version of this book. The Kindle version is formated very poorly and the images and charts are nearly impossible to read. I abandoned the digital version and grabbed the print version. I was able to skim through most of the book and focus on the areas that seemed to apply to my situation. There a few successful case studies that a person could relate to, but caution is certainly in order. Not everyone has undiagnosed thyroid problems. Their symptoms can be due to something completely different, as in my case. At least I was able to eliminate the possibility with help from this book.

I recommend this book for anyone who has or might have a thyroid problem. Patients have to be advocates for themselves and the more knowledge you have the better you will be at advocating. It is possible to feel better and the author certainly gives you hope.

Book Rating: 4 stars.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

The truth about statins

A couple of years ago I read a book in which the author, a doctor, believed that everyone should be on a Statin. If I remember right, he had some kind of financial ties to statins. I also remember reading negative reports about statins at the same time as picking up that book to read. The bad news on statins has only continued. Barbara H. Roberts, M.D., continues the bad new stories in her book, The Truth About Statins.

Dr. Roberts is a cardiologist, which makes this book even more compelling. She takes the time to review the studies on Statins and why the research is flawed. Included is an overview of the serious side effects of taking statins, especially for women. She recommends lifestyle and diet changes first, which many doctors don't think the average patient can successfully achieve. But she thinks we can. She does not say that no one should take statins, but only a very, very select patient.

If you or someone you know is taking a statin, this book is a must read. I've talked with a few library patrons who picked this book up and realized that the way they were feeling after starting statins was not normal. They immediately talked with their doctors and stopped taking them. As patients, we need to question every pharmaceutical that is prescribed because no pharmaceutical is without side effects, some of them quite serious.

The book is well written. The chapters that review the statin studies are a bit boring. There are some recipes included that are supposed to help heart health, but they almost seem like an afterthought. The version of the book I read was a small paperback, so not really convenient in the kitchen anyway.

Book Rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Adrenal Fatigue : The 21st Century Stress Syndrome

Adrenal fatigue is one of those things modern medicine either ignores and claims doesn't exist. The normal definition is that the adrenal glands become tired or worn out and therefore stop working properly. I've done some reading on this and I'm not sure that adrenal "fatigue" is really the right description for what is happening. Perhaps in some cases the adrenal gland really is worn out. I think in others the adrenal gland is responding properly based on the stresses on the body. This implies that we are simply under too much stress. In any event, adrenal fatigue, however you look at it, is a very real problem.

Dr. James L. Wilson, a chiropractic and naturopathic doctor wrote this in depth book about adrenal fatigue. The book reviews the symptoms, has a quiz you can take, and then discusses various natural treatments including diet changes and supplements. The book is heavily referenced.

Despite modern medicine's disregard for the topic, fatigue and chronic fatigue are very real problems. Stress can have a huge impact on your overall health. The book is worth a read if this is something that you are dealing with. Caution and care should still be used when reading any medical self-help book. And it is always best to try and find a doctor willing to work with you to make sure there isn't something else going on as well.

I have read two versions of this book. The Kindle version is absolutely terrible. The drawings, as silly as they are, are very small. The quizzes and all other graphics are too small to read. You can find the quiz on Dr. Wilson's website, but why should you have to do that if you have the book? Also, the footnotes are in regular size print and disrupt the flow of reading because all of a sudden you run into a series of numbers. I did find a print copy of the book and it lacks all of these problems and I was able to reread some of the sections without any problems.

Kindle version: 2 stars
Print version: 4 stars


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Salt Sugar Fat

Most of us would think that food that came from lab would be disgusting, and yet we eat it anyway. Jello, Lays potato chips, sodas, and nearly all pre-packaged convenience foods are made this way. The book Salt, Sugar, Fat is all about How the Food Giants Hooked Us.

Michael Moss explores the big business of food. There are a lot of interesting tidbits on how these companies conduct food tasting experiments to discover how much salt, sugar, and/or fat a consumer can tolerate. Even more interesting is they also look to see what makes us crave more. They then manipulate their food products to not only satisfy us, but to get us to buy more. At other times food scientists try to solve a problem to make a food more convenient or less expensive. Jello and pudding are two examples of a food product designed to create an instant food that use to take much more time to prepare. Other products have a constant shifting of ingredients depending on the price of food commodities available.

Michael Moss provides an expose of several food products and and food giants, which is very interesting. He suggests one real solution to the problem. The power is in the consumer to buy or not buy. If we don't buy a product, the food giants will change their product until we do. We are starting to see a backlash against this kind of food production. MacDonald's sales are down. Other food companies are removing high-fructose corn syrup and using "real" sugar (though even this is highly suspect)*. There is growth in organic and natural products. Vigilance on the part of the consumer is important because these changes may not always mean what we assume.

The book is a worthwhile read and will make you think twice about shopping the aisles of a grocery store.

Book Rating: 4 stars

*I recently bought a can of Betty Crocker frosting that proudly claim to have removed high-fructose corn syrup. But if you read the ingredients, it still contains corn syrup, which is misleading.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Life is your best medicine

In life we are constantly bombarded with things. Stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition wear us down. Women are particularly vulnerable to these problems and our state of health shows it. Dr. Low Dog takes a different approach to medicine. She wants us to love our life and to nurture our minds and bodies - thus living life as we should becomes our best medicine.

The medical advice in this book is rather simple and straight forward. There are various tips dropped along the way that can help us achieve better health. Dr. Low Dog practices medicine from a different perspective than most doctors. She is a fully trained, in the conventional way, physician. And yet, she believes in treating the root cause of disease and promotes healthy life styles through nutrition. She prefers this over pharmaceuticals, which are only prescribed if there is no other choice. She wants to help you in the least damaging way.

For me, the book is more than that. Dr. Low Dog shares her journey in life, and specifically what drove her to study medicine. This is an inspiring story of a woman who has suffered poverty and loss and searched for that peace and happiness we all desire. She worked as a massage therapist and herbalist only to realize she didn't know enough. This was the turning point that motivated her to go to medical school. She not only wanted to know more but she also wanted to change medicine. Through her work with Dr. Weil, Dr. Low Dog is influencing future doctors with her experience and wisdom.

The medical advice offered in the book is pretty common sense. Wrapping the advice around Dr. Low Dog's story is what makes this book special.

Book Rating: 4 stars.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

21 day sugar detox

I loved the book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. That book is organized very well by dividing up various conditions and explaining how to eat Paleo to treat those conditions. There are meals and shopping lists. It has large, beautiful pictures in full color. There are handy infographics. Practical Paleo scored high on diet self-help books. I was super excited to learn that Diane Sanfilippo was coming out with a new book.

Sugar has gotten a lot of press lately. In the past we were told to watch our cholesterol intake by avoiding fats including eggs. Then we were told to load up on healthy whole grains and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Now the focus is finally turning into something more real. Whole, minimally processed foods, also known as clean eating. In addition the evils of excess sugar consumption are finally being supported by science. Sugar is found in nearly every processed food and in some other surprising items, like vitamins. Over the weekend I read the ingredients on DH's gummy multi-vitamin. High-fructose corn syrup. Yikes! All this excess sugar is thought to be the real culprit behind the rise in diabetes, heart disease, and more. Consuming so much sugar causes us to crave more. It's like a drug addiction.

Diane Sanfilippo holds your hand as she guides you through a 21 day sugar detox. There are three plan options that you select based on your current lifestyle. Once you decide to start, you follow a plan leading up to the start of the detox. In other words, you don't stop cold-turkey. You have food in place to help with the cravings. Then you follow the meal plan using the recipes in the book.

The detox is written from a Paleo perspective. I can understand this because those healthy whole grains actually turn into sugar in the body and can undermine your detox. For people who are not Paleo, this is quite a transition and I think a challenge. For people who are Paleo or mostly Paleo, the sugar detox is probably the next step in cleaning up their diet. I tried a few of the recipes, in particular the smoothies. These were definitely not sweet, and for me almost unpalatable. I ended up adding about 1 tablespoon of honey in order to swallow them down. Which tells me my taste buds preferred some sugar. It also told me that I probably need to detox.

The book has a lot of the same good qualities as the Practical Paleo book. Clear, well-reasoned instructions, lots of hand-holding, menu plans, and shopping lists. The book is laid out well with excellent photography. The book is a smaller book, so it is easier to hold in the hands.

I read this book a while ago. I do like it, though it is heavy on Paleo. I will probably take a look at it again.

Book rating: 4 stars


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Grain Brain

There are few books that I read cover-to-cover in a short period of time. This was one of them. As far as self-help diet books go, I found this one a page turner. Dr. David Perlmutter is a neurologist with training in nutrition. He presents the case that grains can be damaging to our brains. These grains include gluten but he casts the net further by including all grains like corn, quinoa, millet, etc. These grains possibly cause brain damage, dementia, and other serious health problems. He supports his argument by reviewing medical studies and presenting patient testimonials. His chapter on alzheimer's was particularly interesting to me and matches up with some of the research done by Dr. William Davis.

The book is a really great read. The author successfully convinced of the danger of grains and low fat diets. The weakest part of the book were the recipes, as usual. Like all diet books of this type, the recipe section is always the weakest. I never even look or try them. I'm not sure, but publishers must insist on including them. Seriously, if the recipes are that important, sell a companion recipe book along the same concept.

Critics claim that Dr. Perlmutter manipulated data from medical studies to support his claim. Statistics and test data are so easy to manipulate one way or another. The critics are right that it is important to understand how a study was set-up and executed before using the data to support a claim. Dr. Perlmutter may or may not have done this and since I didn't look up each reference (which there is an extensive list) I can't say one way or the other. I think the testimonials  of positive changes after eliminating/reducing grains are enough to warrant more evidence based trials. There is no money for such a thing because these kinds of studies do not involve pharmaceuticals. At the end of the day, it is any easy thing to try. If a patient feels better, then perhaps there was a problem there. A consultation with a nutritionist is always warranted after a radical diet change. And of course one always needs to avoid processed convenience foods and eat healthy, whole foods.

Book Rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

The clear skin diet

There are many diet books designed to help with various problems. This book by dietitian Alan C. Logan and Dr. Valori Treloar is designed to help you achieve clear skin through diet and nutrition.

The book contains a lot of details on various studies about acne and nutrition. It successfully confirms that acne and nutrition are linked, though this aspect of the book does drag. The authors do an exhaustive presentation of all the recent studies. Our skin is a reflection of our overall health and diet. It only makes sense to improve our diet to improve our skin. I think the average reader would also like a checklist of what to eat or not. Since I read this book a few months ago I can only remember the highlights. Generally one should avoid dairy. Other than that a person should eat as healthy as possible - lots of vegetables, good proteins, and fruits in moderation and no processed convenience foods. The overall diet advice is fairly common sense.

The link between nutrition and acne is something I've always thought was true despite various doctors saying there is no link between eating pizza, chocolate, etc., and acne. While the literature and study review was interesting, it did drag. I appreciate the authors trying to explain how more studies need to be done about this link despite little money being available to fund further research. The end of the book contained recipes to support the diet. Nice effort but I didn't even look at them. First of all, there are no pictures to support the recipes (a big fail) and second it wasn't really necessary. The diet advice fits with many other popular, healthy diets that it seemed like an add-on. I would have liked to see the authors present the information in a more interesting and accessible way instead.

Book Rating: 3 1/2 stars - interesting, but a bit boring.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Call the Midwife

Midwifery is an interesting profession. Women placed at pivotal times in a person's life to help bring new life into the world. It's an ancient practice that has endured until recently in the United States. There are pockets of resurgence, though physician groups have fought it insisting on oversight, licensing, and certified training. Those things are not wrong, but it is ironic considering midwives trained doctors on how to deliver a baby.

The UK has a strong tradition of midwifery. They still provide the primary care for pregnant women today. This is probably one of the most striking differences between our two countries - this attitude about who can safely deliver a baby. Jennifer Worth, a nurse midwife, wrote a memoir detailing her experiences working in the slums of London's East End among some of the country's poorest in the 1950s. The stories are funny, gripping, raw, real, and hard. She describes people who have made some very bad (even immoral) choices in such a sympathetic way that you can't help but feel empathy for them. She tackles topics such as racism, abortion, prostitution, poverty, elder care, rape, incest, workhouses, and the changing situation of London.

I really enjoyed reading these books. It helped me better understand what World War II had done to London and how hard life was for so many. The books have been published with new covers in three volumes.

The BBC has recently adapted these stories into a television show. The show has taken a softer approach to some of the stories of the book. Some of the stories in the books would rightfully be rated R whereas the television show would be PG or PG-13. The first two seasons cover most of the stories in the three books. I'm not sure on the third season as I have not seen it yet, but the producers have started creating additional material. The characters have all been cast with exactly the right actors that have done a great job capturing what Jennifer Worth described.

Book Rating: 5 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.