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Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read For Anyone Who Wants Lifelong Health
Review: As physicians, we have always known that inflammation has played a role in multiple disease processes; however, what is especially surprising is that the message that is emerging from the literature is that inflammation plays an even larger role than anyone expected. From heart disease to asthma to arthritis, deranged inflammation and immune response appears to play pivotal roles in the disease process. Even more important, and Jack Challem so eloquently describes, by reducing this abnormal inflammatory cascade we can help fight and prevent many of these devastating illnesses. As a physician and writer, I strongly recommend this book as essential reading to anyone who wants take control of their health and lead a long, healthy, and active life free of disease. Jonathan M. Berkowitz, M.D.
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Summary: Extremely informative and persuasive
Review: Great information in this book. I bought it as one of several avenues to help alleviate my family's allergies. I got more than I bargained for. Highly recommend this book to everyone, not just those looking for relief from a specific ailment. This should be on everyone's reading list.
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Summary: He's convinced me.
Review: I don't review books here very often, because I usually feel that other people have already said it better than I could, but as I read the reviews of this book, I got the feeling that the author called up everybody he knew and asked them to write a review for him here. But I'm not a friend of his, just a real person, so I thought I'd tell you what I think of his book. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes about 2 weeks ago. I've known it was coming for many years because there's a lot of it in my family. So anyway, I immediately went to my local bookstore and started looking for books to inform me about diabetes, and as I was browsing, I ran across this book. I bought it and read it, and I believe what he says. Since I read his book I've been thinking, "If only I'd had his book 15 years ago, or ten years ago, or even one year ago." The book says that it can help prevent or reverse(among others):
heart disease - my brother is taking drugs for high cholesterol.
arthritis - I've got that. I had to start walking with crutches in the past year.
Diabetes - I've got that.
Allergies - everybody in my family has plenty of these, including food allergies of various types.
Crohn's disease - my other brother and niece have that.
Gastritis and ulcers - my mother, myself, and my son all have problems with this.
Inflammatory bowel syndrome - yep, I've got that too and so does my son.
Obesity - I weigh 365 pounds in spite of (??because of??) 30 years of dieting. And both my brothers are pretty big too. So it was interesting to find out that there is a single underlying cause to all these seemingly disparate problems. He explains (and backs up his explanations with plenty of scientific studies) that our modern diet is so extremely different from what our ancestors were eating even 100 years ago, that we are in effect poisoning ourselves. The answer is to eat differently - more like our ancestors ate. This means cutting out the doughnuts and the french fries. His diet plan probably isn't going to be easy in the long run. I've only been doing it for about a week, and I'm okay with it so far. But I know from experience that in a few weeks someone is going to offer me a brownie or a doughnut and I'm going to want it a lot. However, I really don't want to spend the rest of my life as physically miserable as I am right now, and I certainly don't want to go blind and lose my legs like some of my relatives have done, so I'm determined to follow his advice. Everything he says in his book makes sense to me. I've read plenty of reviews of diet books of one flavor or another where some person writes in and says "!!!This book has changed my life. I've been on it 3 days and I know this is the diet I'll be one for the rest of my life!!!" Well, I find that a little ridiculous. But I can say that once I got past the withdrawal symptoms from not eating sugar, I've felt much better. The last 2 days I've even been able to walk short distances without my crutch for the first time in 9 months. I'm going to give his plan the old college try! 8-) More than that, I'm sending copies of his book to both my brothers. If you've got health problems of the type described above or a family history of such problems, I think you should read this book.
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Summary: Inflammation book
Review: I love the premise of this book: the guy has got the right idea about the inflammation thing and I would like to read the book, but all these vapid positive reviews seem like they are written by the same person and basically say nothing...very annoying.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, inflammation is getting attention.
Review: Inflammation today is the hot topic in medical research--and for good reason. Chronic inflammation underlies many of our most serious health ailments. Jack Challem lays out the evidence for this in the lucid and accessible manner for which he is known. He then goes a step further and shows how individuals unwittingly contribute to the problem through everyday diet and other habits. Lastly, he gives concrete advice as to what is known about reducing inflammation. His suggested options are much more significant and a lot safer than the notion that you routinely should take a baby aspirin. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great explanation of the underlying cause of most disease
Review: Jack Challem writes articles on health for both the general public and scientific publications. He is also co-author of the book Syndrome X. The Inflammation Syndrome is divided into four parts: an explanation of the connection between inflammation and disease, including causes of inflammation; a 15-step diet plan to prevent and heal inflammation; supplements recommended to combat inflammation; and inflammation and specific diseases. There are multiple quizzes throughout the book on different causes of inflammation to allow you to see all the various ways your lifestyle may be currently promoting, or preventing, inflammation in your body. The book is written in a lively, easy-to-understand style, and the author helpfully provides a detailed table of contents, an index, extensive references, and appendices listing medical tests for inflammation and sources for anti-inflammatory products. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about inflammation. Its straightforward, practical suggestions are not horrendously difficult to implement, and the author includes menu plans and recipes to get you started on his eating plan. I find his quizzes especially useful as a kind of lifestyle self-diagnosis. If you'd like to do additional reading on this subject, another excellent book is The Inflammation Cure: How to Combat the Hidden Factor Behind Heart Disease, Arthritis, Asthma, Diabetes, & Other Diseases, by William Joel Meggs. An outstanding related work is The Body Restoration Plan: Eliminate Chemical Calories and Restore Your Body's Natural Slimming System, by Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton. Dr. Baillie-Hamilton doesn't specifically write about inflammation, but provides very valuable insights on the damage done by environmental toxins to the body, which both Meggs and Challem indicate are strongly implicated in causing inflammation.
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Summary: Rethinking Lifestyle Choices
Review: Jack Challem's Inflammation Syndrome explains how a dizzying array of diseases and conditions that we take for granted as part of getting on in years is related to poor nutrition and lack of regular exercise. Instead of relying on pharmaceuticals, simple lifestyle changes can enhance and extend your life. If you eat the typical American diet, you are at risk. This book is full of advice about simple lifestyle changes you can make before you get sick. And if you are already suffering from one or more conditions impacted by inflammation, you can learn how to reverse the path you're on.
Rating:
Summary: Full Coverage
Review: The author does a first-class job of covering not only the
causes of most of our physical ailments, but also of how to
give yourself relief from them.
His theory is that so many of our physical problems come from
what we eat and drink, that we should be able to avoid those
problems by eating right. Not a new theory, but he outlines
all the problems affected by our poor diet, and he documents
scientific and medical studies showing the cause-and-effect,
and then, to cap it all off, he explains how we can specifically
change our diets to start improving our physical health.
He gives details for anyone truly interested in those questions,
and he has a direct and rather plain-speaking way of showing
us what items we need to eliminate from our diets, and then
he happily presents the better, more healthful substitutes.
The author covers everything in the field, and he not only outlines the problems, he shows us the way to a more healthful
life, and he does that in a way we can understand and follow.
For anyone suffering from any health problem, or who is worried
about their future health, this is a must.
Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Emphasis on Your Diet
Review: The Inflammation Cure by Meggs and Svec, and The Inflammation Syndrome by Challem, both appeared in 2003 and both discuss the role of inflammation in the major diseases of our time, and the things that one can do to limit the risk of diseases related to inflammation. Both books are easy to read. Which to choose? According to the prestigious Library Journal, "While Jack Challem's The Inflammation Syndrome covers similar ground [to the Inflammation Cure], his approach leans toward the faddish and sensationalist, while Meggs takes a more levelheaded approach, weaving the latest research on various diseases into a broad picture." The thing I most prefer about Meggs' book is that it takes a comprehensive approach (including diet) to the things that affect inflammation, rather than spending the whole book just discussing the role of diet as is done in Challem's book. Challem is a health reporter who writes and publishes The Nutrition Reporter newsletter; it is natural that he would stress diet and its consequences. But diseases are caused and controlled by much more than our diet. Meggs is a practicing physician who has a great deal of clinical experience with all aspects of inflammation, and who has woven many real-life cases into the book as illustrations. So, which book should you buy? I have little doubt that you will find The Inflammation Cure by Meggs and Svec more informative and much more useful as a reference on your shelf.
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Summary: Life Changing
Review: This book described exactly the major problems I had been having regarding my health particularly relating to arthitic pain and asthma. I am in my late fifties and, no doubt, many of my aches and pains related to a vigorous lifestyle when I was younger (sports, etc.). I have generally enjoyed a history of basic good health and a moderately active lifestyle but have a sensitivity to many anti-inflamatory medications. I needed to look at other solutions. I started following a number of Dr. Challem's recommended lifestyle changes and dietary adjustments. Within 5 days of eating as he recommends, the swelling, heat and pain in my right foot was gone! Within a couple of weeks, many of my complaints were gone. I started to lose weight - basically a side effect of the lifestyle changes - and lost 60 pounds. Over a year later, the weight has stayed off and my general health has improved beyond anything I would have expected. Many of my friends have asked about my "regimen" and have either bought the book or are considering doing so. This book changed my life and I would recommend it for anyone who is experiencing inflammation-related health problems.
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