The Healing Power of Whole Foods

Rating:
Summary: A must read book for everyone!
Review: I bought this book after I began to think that, despite how healthy I THOUGHT I was eating, certain health problems I was suffering from including borderline obesity, recurrent infections, and skin problems (for the latter two doctors told me there was nothing that could be done) were at least in part nutrition related (the rest I believe is stress). The explanations as to why one should cut out refined carbohydrates (i.e. white flour, white rice, all sugars, etc.) were good and made sense even to a nutrition/biology newbie, but I have read more in depth explanations on the web. The author's extensive lists of what is okay and what is not okay to eat make shopping for the whole foods lifestyle and label reading easy. The recipes have been great though I have had to alter a few a little (like adding more oil to the banana bread recipe) to my own taste, and there are tons of recipes. While I felt that a "perfect" whole foods was diet was a little unrealistic for me and my family, I (and my whole family) have been following a "liberal" whole foods diet with great ease and success. My skin is clearing up, the infections have lessened in frequency and intensity, and I have lost 15 pounds in the 4 months that I have been following a "liberal" whole foods diet. I wonder what would happen to my health if I followed a "perfect" whole foods diet! Even if you think you are healthy now and think you eat well, get this book, after reading it you will be amazed to find out that you may have thought wrong, and this book gives you great tools to do something about it!

Rating:
Summary: Misleading information about "whole" foods.
Review: I suppose this book is an acceptable first step for someone eating the standard American diet (SAD), but it is a first step only and using "whole foods" in the title is midleading. For example, the book includes recipes with ingredients such as eggwhite powder, non-fat and lowfat yogurt, whole wheat pastry flour, etc. in the recipes, none of which are "whole foods" but are actually "processed" or "refined" foods. There is also too much focus on "low fat". There is some decent ELEMENTARY advice about eliminating the "bad" (refined) fats and sugars, alcohol and caffeine, but nothing you couldn't find easily on the internet. There is too much scientific information out there now about how crucial whole, raw fats are for brain, nerve and endocrine function to advocate the above mentioned "refined" foods. A better cook book is "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, PhD., which has many recipes and is packed with up-to-date nutritional information about fats and goes beyond the elementary info in this book to discuss the importance of raw dairy, lacto-fermentation and other important nutritional subjects.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for reversing chronic symptoms
Review: The Healing Power of Whole Foods is a powerful book and a real treasure. Those who think it is a beginner's volume obviously have not used it to resolve a chronic health condition like I have. Beth's book contains two versions of a whole foods diet. One is a liberal whole foods diet which I believe is the diet offered by most books about whole foods. The other diet, the Perfect Whole Foods Diet, is unique among all the different diets I have tried. The Perfect Diet as a very strong healing capability, and going on this diet can often be enough to resolve certain chronic symptoms or illnesses. It requires the total elimination of refined carbohydrates, and Beth's book gives excellent instructions. This book and diet have provided such effective help for my health that not only am I on this diet for life, I have also described it in a book that I am writing, which covers the topic of how to reverse chronic health conditions. Don't miss out on the chance to really improve your health and feel good -- The Healing Power of Whole Foods is a wonderful resource for doing just that.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for reversing chronic symptoms
Review: The Healing Power of Whole Foods is a powerful book and a real treasure. Those who think it is a beginner's volume obviously have not used it to resolve a chronic health condition like I have. Beth's book contains two versions of a whole foods diet. One is a liberal whole foods diet which I believe is the diet offered by most books about whole foods. The other diet, the Perfect Whole Foods Diet, is unique among all the different diets I have tried. The Perfect Diet as a very strong healing capability, and going on this diet can often be enough to resolve certain chronic symptoms or illnesses. It requires the total elimination of refined carbohydrates, and Beth's book gives excellent instructions. This book and diet have provided such effective help for my health that not only am I on this diet for life, I have also described it in a book that I am writing, which covers the topic of how to reverse chronic health conditions. Don't miss out on the chance to really improve your health and feel good -- The Healing Power of Whole Foods is a wonderful resource for doing just that.