Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and Their Effects


Weston A. Price - 1939
    Instead of looking at people afflicted with disease symptoms, this highly-respected dentist and dental researcher chose to focus on healthy individuals, and challenged himself to understand how they achieved such amazing health. Dr. Price traveled to hundreds of cities in a total of 14 different countries in his search to find healthy people. He investigated some of the most remote areas in the world. He observed perfect dental arches, minimal tooth decay, high immunity to tuberculosis and overall excellent health in those groups of people who ate their indigenous foods. He found when these people were introduced to modernized foods, such as white flour, white sugar, refined vegetable oils and canned goods, signs of degeneration quickly became quite evident. Dental caries, deformed jaw structures, crooked teeth, arthritis and a low immunity to tuberculosis became rampant amongst them. Dr. Price documented this ancestral wisdom including hundreds of photos in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome


James L. Wilson - 2001
    Dr. Wilson explains that healthy functioning of your adrenal glands is essential to virtually all aspects of your health as well as to your ability to handle stress. For this reason, stress and adrenal function often also play a role in many health conditions, such as frequent infections, chemical sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, menopause and PMS, thyroid function imbalances, chronic fatigue syndrome, low libido, chronic anxiety, and mild depression. All of these problems and more may be aggravated by the effects stress can have on your adrenal glands.Under certain circumstances, stress can fatigue your adrenals. It is estimated that most North Americans experience some form of stress-related adrenal fatigue at some time. Although many people realize that stress is a problem in their lives, few understand the actual physical ways stress acts on the body and mind through the adrenal glands – or more importantly, what to do about it. Unfortunately, even most doctors still do not recognize the common health picture produced by adrenal fatigue. This leaves a lot of people suffering without anywhere to turn for help. That's where Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome comes in.In Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, Dr. Wilson explains not only how stress affects your health but what you can do to un-fatigue your adrenals, protect your health and become more stress hardy. He has written this book in an entertaining, easy-to-follow style that is designed to guide you through everything you need to know about stress, adrenal fatigue and your health. It contains the questionnaire Dr. Wilson developed and used in his practice plus simple self-tests to help you determine if you are experiencing adrenal fatigue and how much it may be affecting you. Dozens of cartoons, illustrations, charts and fascinating case histories from Dr. Wilson's files make this book hard to put down. From beginning to end it will take you step-by-step to reclaim your life from the negative effects of stress.

SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life


Steven G. Pratt - 2003
    Steven Pratt's instant bestseller, you can actually stop the incremental deteriorations that lead to common ailments and diseasesBeans -- reduce obesityBlueberries -- lower risk for cardiovascular diseaseBroccoli -- lowers the incidence of cataracts and fights birth defectsOats -- reduce the risk of type II diabetesOranges -- prevent strokesPumpkin -- lowers the risk of various cancersWild salmon -- lowers the risk of heart diseaseSoy -- lowers cholesterolSpinach -- decreases the chance of cardiovascular disease and age-related macular degenerationTea -- helps prevent osteoporosisTomatoes -- raise the skin's sun protection factorTurkey -- helps build a strong immune systemWalnuts -- reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer* Yogurt-promotes strong bones and a healthy heartSuperFoods Rx includes recipes created by Chef Michel Stroot of the Golden Door Spa and teaches you how to incorporate SuperFoods and their sidekicks into your diet. SuperFoods Rx is an indispensable guide to a healthy, long, and energetic life.

Eating Well for Optimum Health


Andrew Weil - 2000
    It clarifies the mishmash of conflicting news, research, hype, and hearsay regarding diet, nutrition, and supplementation, and further establishes the judicious Dr. Weil, the director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, as a savior of public well-being. If you've ever wondered what "partially hydrogenated soybean oil" really is, been perplexed by contrary news reports about recommended dosages for supplements, or questioned the safety of using aluminum pots for cooking, Dr. Weil will make it all clear. Weil (pronounced "while") bravely criticizes many of the major diet books on the market, and backs up his admonitions with science. He warns readers to not fall under "the spell" of the anticarbohydrate Atkins Diet, but also criticizes the eating plan advocated by Dr. Dean Ornish--which has been granted Medicare coverage for cardiac patients--as being too low fat for the majority of people. (The omega-3 fatty acids missing from Ornish's diet are essential for hormone production and the control of inflammation, he says.) It's also fascinating to learn that autism, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease may be caused by omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies, while an excess of omega-6 fatty acids--very common in the typical American diet--can exacerbate arthritis symptoms. Weil's explanation of the chemistry of fats will prove difficult for most readers, but few will want to eat fast-food French fries ever again after reading his appalling reasons for avoiding them, which go way beyond their well-documented heart-clogging capabilities. After a thorough rundown of nutritional basics and a primer of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals, Weil unveils what he feels is "the best diet in the world," with 85 recipes, such as Salmon Cakes and Oven-Fried Potatoes, that are healthy, tasty, quick to prepare, and complete with nutritional breakdowns. He includes a stirring chapter on safe weight loss (he sympathizes with the overweight and comically recalls his one-week trial of a safflower oil-diet while an undergraduate). Other, equally enlightening sections include tips for eating out and shopping for food (with warnings on various additives and a guide to organics), and a wondrous appendix with dietary recommendations for dozens of health concerns, including allergies, asthma, cancer prevention, mood disorders, and pregnancy. Eating Well is an indispensable consumer reference and one not afraid to lambaste the diet industry and empower the public with information about which the majority of doctors--to the detriment of the public health--are ignorant. --Erica Jorgensen

Real Food: What to Eat and Why


Nina Planck - 2006
    The country's leading expert on farmers' markets and traditional foods tells the truth about the foods your grandmother praised but doctors call dangerous.Everyone loves real food, but they're afraid bacon and eggs will give them a heart attack--thus the culinary abomination known as the egg-white omelet. But it turns out that tossing out the yolk isn't smart. Real Food reveals why traditional foods are not only delicious--everyone knows that butter tastes better--but are actually good for you, making the nutritional case for egg, cream, butter, grass-fed beef, roast chicken with the skin, lard, cocoa butter, and more.In lively, personal chapters on produce, dairy, meat, fish, Nina explains how the foods we've eaten for thousands of years--pork, lamb, raw milk cheese, sea salt--have been falsely accused. Industrial foods like corn syrup, which lurks everywhere from fruit juice to chicken broth, are to blame for the triple epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, not real food.Nina Planck grew up on a vegetable farm in Virginia and learned to eat right from her no-nonsense parents: along with lots of local fruits and vegetables, the Plancks drank raw milk and ate meatloaf, bacon, and eggs with impunity. But the nutritional trends ran the other way--fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol were taboo--and in her teens and twenties, Nina tried vegan, vegetarian, low-fat, and low-cholesterol diets, with unhappy results.When she opened the first farmers' markets in London, Nina began to eat real food again--for pleasure, not health--and to her surprise she lost weight and felt great. She began to wonder about the farmhouse diet back home. Was it deadly, as the cardiologists say? Happily for people who love food, the answer is no.Real Food upends the conventional wisdom on diet and health. Prepare for pleasant surprises on whipped cream and other delights. The days of deprivation are over.(from the flap)

Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It


Garth Davis - 2015
    Foods, drinks, and supplements are loaded with extra protein. Many people use protein for weight control, to gain or lose pounds, while others believe it gives them more energy and is essential for a longer, healthier life. Now, Dr. Garth Davis, an expert in weight loss asks, “Is all this protein making us healthier?”The answer, he emphatically argues, is NO. Too much protein is actually making us sick, fat, and tired, according to Dr. Davis. If you are getting adequate calories in your diet, there is no such thing as protein deficiency. The healthiest countries in the world eat far less protein than we do and yet we have an entire nation on a protein binge getting sicker by the day.As a surgeon treating obese patients, Dr. Davis was frustrated by the ever-increasing number of sick and overweight patients, but it wasn't until his own health scare that he realized he could do something about it. Combining cutting-edge research, with his hands-on patient experience and his years dedicated to analyzing studies of the world’s longest-lived populations, this explosive, groundbreaking book reveals the truth about the dangers of protein and shares a proven approach to weight loss, health, and longevity.

Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous!


Rory Freedman - 2005
    And they'll guide you on making intelligent and educated decisions about food. They may be bitches, but they are skinny bitches. And you'll be one too--after you get with the program and start eating right.

The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet


Alicia Silverstone - 2009
    In The Kind Diet, actress, activist, and committed conservationist Alicia Silverstone shares the insights that encouraged her to swear off meat and dairy forever, and outlines the spectacular benefits of adopting a plant-based diet, from effortless weight loss to clear skin, off-the-chart energy, and smooth digestion. She explains how meat, fish, milk, and cheese--the very foods we've been taught to regard as the cornerstone of good nutrition--are actually the culprits behind escalating rates of disease and the cause of dire, potentially permanent damage to our ecology.Yet going meat- and dairy-free doesn't mean suffering deprivation; to the contrary, The Kind Diet introduces irresistibly delicious food that satisfies on every level--it even includes amazing desserts to keep the most stubborn sweet tooth happy. Alicia also addresses the nutritional concerns faced by many who are new to a plant-based diet, and shows how to cover every nutritional base, from protein to calcium and beyond.Whether your goal is to drop a few pounds, boost your energy and metabolism, or simply save the world, Alicia provides the encouragement, the information, and the tools you need to make the transition to a plant-based diet deliciously empowering.

Your Body's Many Cries for Water: You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty: Don't Treat Thirst With Medications


Fereydoon Batmanghelidj - 1992
    Batmanghelidj, M.D., has identified the crisis calls of the body for water -- pain, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more. He has discovered the key to a longer, healthier, and more vigorous life. He shares with you his medical breakthrough, that many people put their minds and bodies under intolerable and unecessary stress and become sick simply because they do not drink enough water. Unintentional dehydration leads to illness and painful, degenerative diseases that can be prevented, treated, and cure by drinking plenty of water. You will learn how to use water to:* Prevent and reverse premature aging* Eliminate pains including heartburn, back pain, arthritis, colitis pain, anginal pain, migraine headaches* Cure asthma in a few days, naturally and forever* Cure hypertension without diuretics or other medication* Lose weight effortlessly and naturally, without strict dieting

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure


Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. - 2007
    Drawing on the groundbreaking results of his twenty-year nutritional study, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., a former surgeon, researcher, and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, convincingly argues that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent and stop the progression of heart disease, but also reverse its effects. Furthermore, it can eliminate the need for expensive and invasive surgical interventions, such as bypass and stents, no matter how far the disease has progressed. Dr. Esselstyn began his research with a group of patients who joined his study after traditional medical procedures to treat their advanced heart disease had failed. Within months of following a plant-based, oil-free diet, their angina symptoms eased, their cholesterol levels dropped significantly, and they experienced a marked improvement in blood flow to the heart. Twenty years later, the majority of Dr. Esselstyn's patients continue to follow his program and remain heart-attack proof. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease explains the science behind these dramatic results, and offers readers the same simple, nutrition-based plan that has changed the lives of his patients forever. In addition, Dr. Esselstyn provides more than 150 delicious recipes that he and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have enjoyed for years and used with their patients. Clearly written and backed by irrefutable scientific evidence, startling photos of angiograms, and inspiring personal stories, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease will empower readers to take charge of their heart health. It is a powerful call for a paradigm shift in heart-disease therapy.

Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat


Melissa Joulwan - 2011
    That's why Well Fed: Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat is packed with recipes for food that you can eat every day, along with easy tips to make sure it takes as little time as possible to get healthy, delicious food into your well-deserving mouth. If you count meals and snacks, we feed ourselves about 28 times each week. All of the Well Fed recipes — made with zero grains, legumes, soy, sugar, dairy, or alcohol — were created so you can enjoy your food every time.The two essential tricks for happy, healthy eating are being prepared and avoiding boredom. Well Fed explains how to get in the habit of a Weekly Cookup so that you have ready-to-go food for snacks and meals every day. It will also show you how to make Hot Plates, a mix-and-match approach to combining basic ingredients with spices and seasonings to take your taste buds on a world tour. The recipes are as simple as possible, without compromising taste, and they've been tested extensively to minimize work and maximize flavor.With 115+ original recipes and variations, this book will help you see that paleo eating, too often defined by what you give up, is really about what you'll gain: health, vitality, a light heart, and memorable meals to be shared with the people you love.

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease


Michael Greger - 2015
    In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America -- heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more -- and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live healthier lives.The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer.History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks.In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -- a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day. Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives.

The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People


Dan Buettner - 2014
    In The Blue Zones Solution, readers can be inspired by the specific stories of the people, foods, and routines of our healthy elders; understand the role community, family, and naturally healthy habits can play in improving our diet and health; and learn the exact foods-including the 50 superfoods of longevity and dozens of recipes adapted for Western tastes and markets-that offer delicious ways to eat your way to optimum health. Throughout the book are lifestyle recommendations, checklists, and stories to help you create your own personal Blue Zones solution. Readers will learn and apply the 80/20 rule, the plant slant diet, social aspects of eating that lead to weight loss and great health naturally, cultivating your "tribe" of friends and family, and your greater purpose as part of your daily routine. Filled with moving personal stories, delicious recipes, checklists, and useful tips that will transform any home into a miniature blue zone, The Blue Zones Solution is the ultimate blueprint for a healthy, happy life.

Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It!


Kris Carr - 2010
    Infused with her signature sass, wit and advice-from-the-trenches style, Crazy Sexy Diet is a beautifully illustrated resource that puts you on the fast track to vibrant health, happiness and a great ass!Along with help from her posse of experts, Carr lays out the fundamentals of her Crazy Sexy Diet: a low-glycemic, vegetarian program that emphasizes balancing the pH of the body with lush whole and raw foods, nourishing organic green drinks, and scrumptious smoothies. Plus, she shares the steps of her own twenty-one-day cleanse, and simple but delectable sample recipes.In ten chapters with titles such as, “pHabulous,” “Coffee, Cupcakes and Cocktails,” “Make Juice Not War,” and “God-Pod Glow,” Carr empowers readers to move from a state of constant bodily damage control to one of renewal and repair. In addition to debunking common diet myths and sharing vital tips on detoxifying our bodies and psyches—advice that draws both on her personal experience as a cancer survivor and that of experts—she provides helpful hints on natural personal care, how to stretch a dollar, navigate the grocery store, eating well on the run, and working through the inevitable pangs and cravings for your old not-so-healthy life.Crazy Sexy Diet is a must for anyone who seeks to be a confident and sexy wellness warrior.Including contributions by:Dean Ornish, M.D. – author and founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research InstituteNeal Barnard, M.D. – author, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), author of Food for LifeKathy Freston – author of Quantum Wellness and health advocateAlejandro Junger, M.D. – author of Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself, and director of integrative medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, NYCRory Freedman – coauthor of Skinny Bitch and health advocateMark Hyman, M.D. – author of The UltraMind Solution and pioneer in functional medicineEmily Deschanel – star of the Fox series Bones and health advocateSharon Gannon – author of Yoga and Vegetarianism, and cofounder of Jivamukti YogaWayne Pacelle – president & CEO, The Humane Society of the United StatesStacy Malkan – author and cofounder of the Campaign for Safe CosmeticsDr. Lilli Link – specialist in raw foods and integrative nutrition Frank Lipman – author of Revive: Stop feeling Spent and Start Living Again and founder of the Eleven Eleven Wellness CenterCrazy Sexy tips for optimal health:Flood your body with alkaline nutrients * Flush stored waste products and chemicals * Reduce or eliminate animal products * *Dump sugar, you’re sweet enough * Go gluten-free *Shake your booty * Wrangle the monkeys in your mind and turn down the stress * Install healthy boundaries so you don’t burn out * Kill your television and Detox your In Box (Facebook too!) * Take fun seriously * Build a wellness posse support system *Be a "prevention is hot" cheerleader!

Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health


Jo Robinson - 2013
    Unwittingly, we've been selecting plants that are high in starch and sugar and low in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants for more than 400 generations.EATING ON THE WILD SIDE reveals the solution--choosing modern varieties that approach the nutritional content of wild plants but that also please the modern palate. Jo Robinson explains that many of these newly identified varieties can be found in supermarkets and farmer's market, and introduces simple, scientifically proven methods of preparation that enhance their flavor and nutrition. Based on years of scientific research and filled with food history and practical advice, EATING ON THE WILD SIDE will forever change the way we think about food.Winner of the 2014 IACP Cookbook Award in the category of "Food Matters."