Eat Well, Stay Well With Parkinson's disease

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money...
Review: As an early-onset Parkinson's person, I read as much as I can about good nutrition. I believe Ms. Holden's title that to eat well means to live well with Parkinson's. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to learn more when I discovered Holden's book, Eat Well, Stay Well with Parkinson's Disease. I bought it. However, I was disappointed with a salad bowl of worn-out nutrition theories.

She dishes out page after page of junk food advice. Let me give just one example. Why would a nutritionist recommend recipes (p. 111) that include a quarter cup of vegetable oil, which food professionals know oxidizes into compounds that damage the cardiovascular system and promote cancer? Most vegetable oils people buy are extracted from hard seeds with heat, pressure and chemical solvents. They're dangerous, especially to Parkinson's patients.

But it gets worse. She's even got recipes that call for margarine! (pages 112 - 113) in spite of well-recognized research on the danger of trans-fatty acids.

And of the 161 pages in this book, about one-third are general references on Parkinson's: appendices which include pages of product outlets, with such helpful products as "Lighthouse" for the blind (p.141), and lists of national Parkinson's groups which anyone associated with the disease has already.

Plus there are lots of pages of blank paper for "notes". And just in case anyone has a good idea on nutrition they can send it to her on the one of the four order forms provided for more copies of her book. The final insult is the inclusion of just awful poetry, like a 28-word stinker that takes up a whole page (74).

Don't buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book on nutrition and the PD patient.
Review: One of the most enlightening books I've read regarding Parkinson's Disease. Focusing on nutrition and what your body is going through with PD, it is a primer for what to watch out for, how to deal with dietary challenges, and what to expect. This book will help you make a nutritional game plan, and prepare a pre-emptive strike against most of the common surprises PD throws at you. I don't suffer from PD - I'm a family member. It was great for me and great for my family PD-er. I recommend this book to everyone interested in living better with Parkinson's.

Rating:
Summary: A GODSEND
Review: This book has proven a godsend for my mom (who suffers from Parkinsons) and myself. The information is sound, easy to follow, and presented with ample background. I like the writer's approach to nutrition (i.e., good flavor is essential). Her knowledge of Parkinsons is impressive. I can't begin to tell you how many questions it answers. I consider this book an essential part of my mom's medical "team."