Rating: 
Summary: An Extraordinary View of Food
Review: I read Kesten's first book about food and spirituality, FEEDING THE BODY, NOURISHING THE SOUL, several years ago. Since then, I've known that whatever she writes about will be thought provoking and will offer a new perspective in some way. Well, THE HEALING SECRETS OF FOOD surely achieves this and more. It really created a whole new view of food for me. How so? Kesten writes about food and nutrtion like a poet. Each page is filled with substance and amazing information about food and its power to heal. Her many stories about her own experiences with the healing secrets are fascinating. Reading THE HEALING SECRETS OF FOOD is a chance to visit with an amazingingly insightful and wise writer and researcher. Kesten has put together such an amazing array of information in such a way that you feel transported, a partner on her nutrition journey. To say THE HEALING SECRETS OF FOOD is fascinatng does not begin to express the wisdom on each page. It is riveting reading, filled with enthralling ideas and stories. Nutrition is kind of my hobby, and I've read lots of health books, but I think that THE HEALING SECRETS OF FOOD is the most amazing book about food that I've ever read. With THE HEALING SECRETS OF FOOD, Kesten promises to revolutionize our ways of looking at food and health. It is truly a gift for body, mind, and soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Horrible!
Review: Ms. Kesten's book claims to be a treatise on traditional food wisdom, but it is obvious from the book that she knows very little about traditional diets or what native peoples throughout history have eaten. Ms. Kesten makes many dismaying and untrue statements like this one: "Not only do diets high in 'sat fats' [saturated fats] make you feel sluggish (by lowering the amount of circulating oxygen in the blood), they may also impair memory and alter your mood by encouraging depression." No scientific references are given for this idiotic tidbit. Throughout the book, Kesten disparages fats in almost any form and in this she shows her lack of knowledge about lipid biochemistry, as well as native diets which are rich in animal fats as numerous explorers have reported (e.g., Weston Price, Viljhalmur Stefansson, Cabeza de Vaca, and Samuel Hearne). Kesten offers no reputable research to back up her dubious claims about fats--how convenient to be able to make far-flung claims and offer no supporting proof! In chapter three, Kesten states that saturated fats are "memory-dimming," citing the ideas of Richard and Judith Wurtman who claim that eating fats may slow down serotonin production and therefore cause depression. This unsupportable claim is at variance with research which shows that vitamin D (found only in animal fats which are highly saturated) can fight chronic fatigue, depression, and seasonal affective disorder. Traditional peoples who ate lots of animal/saturated fats were strong, healthy, and cheerful as Price's seminal work showed. Mood disorders and depression go hand in hand with poor nutrition--something Kesten's book is teaching though she is unaware of it. The book has several chapters on "healing secrets" and the importance of being mindful, appreciating food and socializing while eating. She does have some good ideas, but they are eclipsed by her dismal dietary advice. Chapter seven is devoted to urging people to eat fresh, whole foods. She then makes the outrageous statement that "technically, because they are not plant-based, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy aren't whole foods." HUH!? I guess making up your own definitions is one way to make your plan seem logical! She then addresses the "Paleolithic perspective," and makes the false claim (a la Boyd Eaton), that our Paleolithic ancestors ate a lowfat diet--something that is not supported by nutritional anthropology (HL Abrams. J Appl Nutr, 31:1,2:43-59, 1979; HL Abrams, Food & Evolution, Temple University Press, 1987). She mistakenly claims that wild game has a fat content of about 4%. Did she check with any hunters before she wrote her book? Obviously not as wild animals like bison have a high amount of body fat in certain areas. Anthropological research shows unequivocally that native peoples prized the fatty parts of the animal over the lean muscle meats. And the whole animal was consumed, including the inner organs some of which (e.g., the brain) are very fatty. The bizarre grand finale of her book is her description of a Christmas dinner of "optimal foods" in Norway, 1995. She rightly describes the typical Norwegian Christmas foods of fresh cod, lutefisk, pork ribs, sausages, and mutton--all true traditional foods that nourish and sustain during the dark, cold winter. For this dinner, however, she comes up with a mostly vegetarian meal consisting of melon soup, freshly squeezed juices, and plant foods with a little dairy. She admits how difficult it was to find such foods in Norway during the winter. This should have given her a clue about the validity of her dinner: She's going against nature with her strange ideas about food and native diets! How serving a meal of fruits and veggies during a frigid Norwegian winter has anything to do with "ancient food wisdom" is hard to understand. Do not be deceived by this book. It is a far cry from traditional food wisdom. A better and more accurate book would be Fallon & Enig's NOURISHING TRADITIONS, also available from amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Food Secrets that Have the Power to Heal Millions
Review: Nutritionist/author Deborah Kesten invites the reader on an alchemical journey to discover The Healing Secrets of Food-a remarkable melding of cutting edge science with ancient food wisdom. She has blazed a path to vitalizing and refreshing new nutrition terrain-one that nourishes body, mind, and soul-even our social well-being.
As a nutritionist who has been teaching a similar paradigm of intuitive eating, integrative nutrition and spiritual healing, what I appreciate most about Kesten's approach is her ability to blend the science of nutrition with the art of eating from the heart. She has solid research into the ancient healing traditions involving food, as well as religious, cultural and social customs and rituals. The healing secrets of food have actually been practiced for centuries, even millennia. Our modern culture has simply lost focus, by turning our attention outward-to (ever-changing) data, popular belief, and appearances. Many people are ready to end their struggles with food, eating, their weight and figuring the nutritional math. They are ready for a new focus and direction: a journey home, a return to the heart. The Healing Secrets of Food offers the tools to create this change and the map to discover the answers within. Everyone's journey is different and it is their own-that is the beauty of it.
In a society so dependent on numbers to define what and how much we eat, The Healing Secrets of Food takes you to a place where numbers are meaningless, where the authenticity of foods and nutrition inhabit a different kind of value. We discover that the incredible advances in nutritional science have not translated into optimal eating and improved health for most of our population. Simply eating from a nutritional databank can leave one depleted of meaning and deaf to the intuitive wisdom from within, and that can lead to unhealthful and disordered eating. For instance, Kesten links the newly identified eating disorder, orthorexia (an obsessive fixation on eating the "right" food) to the emphasis on what she calls "eating by number"-weight watching, calorie counting and figuring grams of fat, protein or carbohydrates. In the Healing Secrets of Food, Deborah Kesten unveils a new paradigm. Here, you will find the "nutrients" missing from the food charts. Kesten points out that what is not so easily measured might be much more valuable to our health. If not numbers, where does the meaning or nutritional value come from?
Food is more than a "product"; it is a culmination and assimilation of vital life force energies, whether in animal or plant food, that have been nurtured by air, water, soil, and sun. Kesten demonstrates that when we eat--and take in the vital life force energy in food--from a place of appreciation, mindfulness, and connection (love), and we honor our social heritage as well as our feelings, we will choose the optimal foods for our own health that are capable of nourishing and healing all aspects of the self. Optimal eating is not something that we calculate and obsess about, rather it is something that we naturally know about and crave to experience.
Kesten doesn't tell the reader any one way to eat. Rather, she leads you to form your own conclusions based on your personal health and nutrition concerns. Incorporate the healing secrets and watch your health and well-being improve.
It is an inside out approach, the kind that really works because a shift is made from the deepest part of the self. Kesten reveals that by practicing these secrets, "we have the potential to heal our body, our emotions, our sense of spiritual connection, our social link to one another and communities, and potentially our world and planet." Food can heal on many levels. And the healing gifts of food are available to us each and every time we eat. Kesten beautifully illustrates that we can imbue our food with love-from the time we plan what to eat, through the shopping, preparing, cooking, serving, eating and even clean-up-and when we ingest that spiritually instilled food, we reap the benefits: better tasting food, feeling more connection, feeling more centered and at peace, and even a heightened ability to metabolize more nutrients.
From Kesten's wonderful personal experiences, her fluid and poetic writing style, and her culinary metaphors--such as flavoring your food with love, spicing it with meaning, or seasoning it with the sacred--I had the feeling that I was reading a time-tested heirloom recipe book for enhancing my physical, emotional, spiritual and social well-being. I am recommending this book to my clients, colleagues, friends and family, as it dishes up a timely, inspiring and transforming message palatable to all.
A truly wise and generous serving of delicious secrets that has the power to heal millions.
Highly rewarding, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant banquet for nourishing body, mind, and soul!
Review: The Healing Secrets of Food takes you on an extensive, self-exploring journey that reveals the core ingredients of optimal eating; what Kesten describes as "nutritional truths": feelings, mindfulness, appreciation, connection/love, socializing, and optimal foods. I am a research scientist and my studies on lifestyle and health have been published in medical journals ranging from the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet to Psychosomatic Medicine. Because of my work, I am quite knowledgeable about scientifically credible food and nutrition information, and in my opinion, the insights and advice in Kesten's book create an exemplary, worthy model of what nutritional science ought to be. Of the many books and articles I have read about food, nutrition, and optimal eating, The Healing Secrets of Food is by far the most balanced, timely, and innovative. While remaining scientifically credible throughout, the author calls upon ancient food wisdom that has served humankind for millennia. Kesten has brilliantly synthesized nutrition insights from Western nutritional science, Eastern healing systems that include nutrition (such as traditional Chinese medicine), and what she calls "timeless food wisdom" from world religions and cultural traditions. By eliminating unimportant dietary details, the ideas that are most helpful stand out more clearly. Ultimately, what emerges is a complete, scientifically credible, detailed and practical nutrition program that has the power to heal body, mind, and soul...literally. I found myself especially impressed by the way in which Kesten turned to credible Western research and studies to verify the healing power of the food and nutrtion secrets she reveals. Indeed, in the foreword, Dean Ornish, M.D., tells us that "it is rare to find someonw who can skillfully walk the tightrope between scientifically proven nutritional concepts and those that are more dificult to prove yet are often even more meaningful. In The Healing Secrets of Food, Deborah Kesten has done just that." Ultimately, this is a book that can help you nourish every aspect of your being each time you eat. Unlike many food, nutrition, and diet books that are aimed at helping you find "the answer" for weight loss or feeling better, The Healing Secrets of Food shows you not only what to eat for health and well-being, but also how to eat for weight loss and optimal health. In this way, it provides a multi-dimensional, comprehensive eating style and way of life that can enhance your physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health every time you eat. Many people will find Kesten's personal experiences with the healing secrets fascinating, and the tips at the end of each chapter, incredibly practical and useful. I certainly did. Much of the work is based on a successful seminar that the author has been teaching and researching over the years, so the practical suggestions have a lot of experience and substance behind them. Whether you are grappling with weight issues, an eating disorder, or food-related ailments, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, or heart disease, The Healing Secrets of Food provides the insights you'll need to discover the best way for you, personally, to eat--based on your personal nutriton and health concerns and goals. This is because the book is a brilliant synthesis of scientifically proven nutrition wisdom, as well as spiritual, psychological, and social nutrition insights. In addition, the Personal Food Profile questionnaire at the end of the book is an excellent self-help tool for making dietary improvements, and I intend to adapt it to some of my own research studies. In so many ways, The Healing Secrets of Food is a groundbreaking, well-written book--truly a good read--filled with dependable, timeless, practical information. Its wisdom will remain with you long after you read it. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant banquet for nourishing body, mind, and soul!
Review: The Healing Secrets of Food takes you on an extensive, self-exploring journey that reveals the core ingredients of optimal eating; what Kesten describes as "nutritional truths": feelings, mindfulness, appreciation, connection/love, socializing, and optimal foods. I am a research scientist and my studies on lifestyle and health have been published in medical journals ranging from the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet to Psychosomatic Medicine. Because of my work, I am quite knowledgeable about scientifically credible food and nutrition information, and in my opinion, the insights and advice in Kesten's book create an exemplary, worthy model of what nutritional science ought to be. Of the many books and articles I have read about food, nutrition, and optimal eating, The Healing Secrets of Food is by far the most balanced, timely, and innovative. While remaining scientifically credible throughout, the author calls upon ancient food wisdom that has served humankind for millennia. Kesten has brilliantly synthesized nutrition insights from Western nutritional science, Eastern healing systems that include nutrition (such as traditional Chinese medicine), and what she calls "timeless food wisdom" from world religions and cultural traditions. By eliminating unimportant dietary details, the ideas that are most helpful stand out more clearly. Ultimately, what emerges is a complete, scientifically credible, detailed and practical nutrition program that has the power to heal body, mind, and soul...literally. I found myself especially impressed by the way in which Kesten turned to credible Western research and studies to verify the healing power of the food and nutrtion secrets she reveals. Indeed, in the foreword, Dean Ornish, M.D., tells us that "it is rare to find someonw who can skillfully walk the tightrope between scientifically proven nutritional concepts and those that are more dificult to prove yet are often even more meaningful. In The Healing Secrets of Food, Deborah Kesten has done just that." Ultimately, this is a book that can help you nourish every aspect of your being each time you eat. Unlike many food, nutrition, and diet books that are aimed at helping you find "the answer" for weight loss or feeling better, The Healing Secrets of Food shows you not only what to eat for health and well-being, but also how to eat for weight loss and optimal health. In this way, it provides a multi-dimensional, comprehensive eating style and way of life that can enhance your physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health every time you eat. Many people will find Kesten's personal experiences with the healing secrets fascinating, and the tips at the end of each chapter, incredibly practical and useful. I certainly did. Much of the work is based on a successful seminar that the author has been teaching and researching over the years, so the practical suggestions have a lot of experience and substance behind them. Whether you are grappling with weight issues, an eating disorder, or food-related ailments, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, or heart disease, The Healing Secrets of Food provides the insights you'll need to discover the best way for you, personally, to eat--based on your personal nutriton and health concerns and goals. This is because the book is a brilliant synthesis of scientifically proven nutrition wisdom, as well as spiritual, psychological, and social nutrition insights. In addition, the Personal Food Profile questionnaire at the end of the book is an excellent self-help tool for making dietary improvements, and I intend to adapt it to some of my own research studies. In so many ways, The Healing Secrets of Food is a groundbreaking, well-written book--truly a good read--filled with dependable, timeless, practical information. Its wisdom will remain with you long after you read it. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This book is right on!
Review: There are a lot of magical concepts of eating and digestion written within. The book presents the theme of how we have conditioned ourselves (been conditioned??) and have lost touch with what nourishment means beyond something to fill our stomachs with. Nice cultural references relating to food are brought to light, and it is accessable for people who are just getting conscious about what they are taking into their bodies, as well as a good reference for people who are already are aware of the holy power of food. It flows well, gets spiritual and it's a solidly uplifting guide for getting the most of our nutritional consumption. A sweet read!!
Rating:
Summary: REVEALING BEST-KEPT SECRETS
Review: This amazing, well-written book explores a subject that has for too long been overlooked: the multidimensional ways in which food influences all aspects of our health. From optimal eating strategies and the food-mood connection to imbuing food with spiritual meaning and social satisfaction--this pioneering book covers it all. Author Deborah Kesten is a groundbreaking thinker who shares the latest evidence that builds a bridge between ancient food wisdom and modern, Western nutritional science. The end result: a bold new vision of the role of food and nutrition in our everyday life; a book that lays the foundation for a genuine East/West integration for both what and how to eat for optimal health.
Rating:
Summary: Reveals fascinating food secrets
Review: This book explores a subject that has for too long been overlooked by much of nutritional science and medicine. Kesten adeptly merges ancient food wisdom with modern science to reveal nutritional truths that have served humankind for centuries. I recommend it to everyone. Read this book and be open to the excitement of discovering the affect that food and and feelings, mindfulness, appreciation, love, and dining with people we enjoy, have on your health and well-being. In this age of shifting, confusing, often-conflicting nutrition information and beliefs, Deborah Kesten reveals an old/new way of thinking about food, nutritional science, and optimal health--not only for the body, but also mind, and soul. Deborah Kesten is a consummate scholar, an innovative thinker who cuts through the nutrition maze to reveal the latest evidence linking food to health on many levels. At the same time, she calls for a bold new integration of Western nutritional science, Eastern healing systems that include nutrition, and ancient food wisdom. This book is long overdue, a treasure for anyone who is weary of the food and nutrition wars, and who prefers to enjoy the food they eat each day.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT YOU EAT HAS A PROFOUND AFFECT--AND EFFECT
Review: This book is a new kind of nutrition guide. It starts with an overview about how so many of us have spun out of control with food--66% are overweight or obese and even more Americans obsess about food by what Kesten describes as "counting calories, watching weight and figuring fat--both in food and our bodies." It then goes on to explain how diet can radically affect more than physical health, that it also influences how a person feels emotionally, even spiritually. The antidote to our disordered eating is the remainder of the book, which turns to science and story-telling to explain long-lost secrets about the many ways food heals. Finally, this book offers a step-by-step, practical solution to eating well and to actually enjoying your food at the same time. This book is highly informative and enlightening. My only criticism: This isn't a cookbook, but I would've liked to see some recipes. Still, it brings up and answers a lot of diet and food questions that other books on the subject miss or ignore completely. It's a gem.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful optimal eating program
Review: This is one of the most fascinating, innovative, and inspirational books I have ever read about food and nutrition. Deborah Kesten reveals powerful optimal eating strategies that are based on profound and timeless truths about food and its role in our lives. In essence, she reveals the powerful healing forces inherent in food, while shedding light on nutrtional wisdom that has been neglected by modern medicine for centuries. This intelligent guide is filled with practical wisdom that is both ageless and scientifically modern. It has empowered me to protect all aspects of my health by showing me how to access the measureable--and not so easy to measure--nourishment in our meals. Everyone would benefit by reading it.
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