Diet Books

I can't say enough about Aajonus Vonderplanitz.

I owe my health and wellbeing to this guy. I used to suffer from chronic cystic acne. I would get recurring infections that would not go away and would leave large scars behind when they finally did. Eventually I found out it was cooked and refined, sugars, starches and fats that was causing the problem. Eating a mostly raw diet of meats and veggies has brought health to me beyond what I even hoped for. I now have more energy, I'm not perpetually cold, I've finally gained weight and of course, my acne is gone.

This book is great both as an introduction to raw eating and to help those of us who have been practicing this diet to understand why and how it works.

It includes plenty of references so you can chase down his claims.

The recipes are great, they allow you to enjoy things that you wouldn't be able to eat as much otherwise.

The only complaint I have is that I want more. I really hope he writes another book or five delving further in to the mechanics of nutrients in the body and maybe even a separate book on the benefits to tooth and bone.

Wonderful book, thanks so much Aajonus!

I've been eating Aajonus diet for 6 months now and I feel awesome.

This book will change the way you look at everything you put into your body. Aajonus has information that you will never hear anywhere else. It should be a requirement for every physician to read in medical school.

After reading his first book "We want to live" I had to have Aajonus' 2nd book. This book, "The recipe for living without disease" lists some more practical and very useful information about a healthy primal diet. Aajonus discusses some healthy food combinations and gives some valuable recipes (suited even for babies!).

As I have found out with many of the MDs and PhDs I've listed in my other review of his first book, they all advocate using a blender and a juicer. It reminds me of what Richard Schulze M.D. always said: a blender and a juicer saves lives! It's so true.

In this book Aajonus discusses what cooking does to nutrients in food, if microbes are dangerous to humans and bacterial food-poisoning etc.

I was very pleased to read that Aajonus is writing new books and that CD/DVDs will be published that show how to make recipes and use kitchen equipment etc. Anxiously waiting these arrivals...!

Seriously.Forget about the recepies.You'll never make them anyway,beside the basic ones(shakes,moisterizing drink).Once in raw diet,you'll eat your meal mostly plain.Get We Want 2 Live too.Lots of info.You'll need to read it over and over 10-20 times in order to stick.This book changed my life.I can't say enough about it.I saw him in person too.Great man!God bless him!
Prior to this diet I did evrything there is.You name it!Macrobiotic,vegeterian,Atkin's,lacto,etc...Never felt good. A year and a half on raw meat and fish,I feel different person.Thanks AV.

The first couple of frightening chapters motivated me to want to take positive action. The rest of the book allows you to do just that. Clearly written and well documented--I heartily recommend this book to anyone concerned about this dreadful, but reversible, disease.

Rob La Follette
Austin, Texas

I was recently diagnosed with high blood sugar by my doctor and this book has all the information I needed regarding foods to eat, foods to avoid and suggestions on diet, good recipes, supplements and gives breakdowns on good and bad fruits and carbohydrates. It is organized well and has lots of information. I got exactly what I needed and would highly recommend it to anyone with questions on what they should eat and do with prediabetes.

The book has great information and it is working for me. I have been reading it and changing what I eat. I feel better. It is too soon to tell about the weight, but I feel better and that says a great deal. The book is easy to read and has wonderful non-prescription information packed inside. It has information that I have read in other places, but being more up to date with vitamin issues helped me to learn more. My morning fasting blood sugar levels are down from 112-115 to 100-108 in just a week.

There are several good books for diabetics, and several more for people interested in a more natural diet. This is one of the few books, perhaps the only current book, specifically focused on prediabetes. That's important for people like me who found themselves to be prediabetic with no idea of what that word meant, and no outward signs that diabetes was a real threat. The book is smoothly written, clearly organized, and educational without being pedantic or academic. It's also very easy to integrate with diets like South Beach, the Abs Diet, and the slow-and-natural approach Michael Pollan advocates in In Defense of Food. If you're already trying to live a healthier lifestyle, this book will help you easily modify your life to accommodate your concerns about prediabetes. If you're just starting to learn about prediabetes and healthier options, this book is the place to begin. The authors claim that within just a couple of days of implementing changes you'll feel significantly better. I found that to be absolutely true and three months later it remains true. I would have paid $10,000 or more for that just three months ago, so the book has been a steal.

This is an excellent book!!! Very Informative even if you don't have this diagnosis worry. The information is sound nutritional advise for every person. I learned so much about carbohydrates effect our bodies. This is food information everygody shoul know

Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES
David L. Johnson, Ph.D. & Carole A. Johnson, I.D.
Infinity Publishing.com, Haverford, PA (Paperback)
Copyright December, 2000, 206 pages

LIFE CHANGES by David L. Johnson, Ph.D. & Carole A. Johnson is a book
anyone addicted to tobacco will wish they had found it years ago. As a motivational speaker that stresses results, I was happy to see that Life Changes had a similar orientation. The authors use a number of powerful techniques to help a person beat tobacco addiction. Techniques and strategies that have proven to help people make personal changes with affirmations, reasonable goals, daily plans to achieve them, visualization, relaxation, and appropriately stated aversive and positive suggestions.
All of the more than 120 techniques and strategies put together form a supportive, personal framework that empowers one to focus on short-term, then life-long results.
The key principles and skills provide more ways to use setbacks, when necessary,
to learn more about ourselves and enable us to use them to bounce back quickly
with less fear of relapse.

Life Changes uses a self-instructional, self-paced approach that anyone can use,
with an emphasis on taking personal responsibility to learn the skills you need.
You can start at any point in the book, and implement the steps in the order you
feel most confident with. I love how the book relies on the reader to be imaginative
and use their creativity to apply the program to daily life and adapt the skills to
their goal of beating tobacco for life.


Life Changes is a self-instructional, self-paced program that works in proportion
to the time and attention you give to learning how to use the program skills daily.
You may have tried to beat tobacco many times, but this time buy a book to use
that builds on what you know for life changes. I highly recommend it!

Edward W. Smith
Author, Sixty Seconds To Success
ISBN 0-9754164-0-5
www.brightmoment.com

In our modern-day addictive culture, it is no small wonder that the quick-fix approaches to stopping tobacco use are so often ineffective. Typically, these approaches are reflective of the instant gratification orientation of our society. People pay big money for patches, pills, programs and purges, while expecting an intractable addiction that may have taken a lifetime to develop to just suddenly go away. For those who have come to understand that ending tobacco addiction is not like having results served like fast-food, there is a powerful option that offers a high predictability of success.

Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES, by David L. Johnson, Ph.D., and Carole A. Johnson, ID, is the definitive manual for those who truly wish to recover from their tobacco addictions. Written with candor, erudition and wit, the book takes the smoker (chewer, or dipper) by the hand and authoritatively walks him or her through a comprehensive but doable process that not only fleeces the person of a life-threatening habit - but builds in life enhancement skills that surpass any rewards they may have perceived in their tobacco use.

The 206 page quality paperback pursues a step-by-step process that begins with an orientation to the program, including a convincing review of current knowledge pertaining to the health and economic consequences of tobacco use that should strip away every last vestige of motivation for tobacco use in any sane person. We then find preparations for stopping use which cover every aspect of an individual's lifestyle that supports use and that might undermine the stopping process. Here, and throughout the book, the Johnsons have included worksheets that facilitate insight, individualized understanding of the process, and personalized application of the program to ensure success. The comprehensiveness of their approach is also found in their explanation of every strategic option that can be included in a person's individualized program, including the responsible and effective integration of nicotine-replacement products like patches, gums, inhalers, and other cessation pharmaceuticals that are less effective when used alone.

Once understanding, confidence and a sense of competence have been established in the reader, the book moves into program strategies involving exercises that include powerful hypnotic imagery to undermine attraction for tobacco products and replace destructive behaviors with life-enhancing ones. Indeed, just reading the exercises - without taping and playing them in a relaxation/induction process - is enough to sicken the reader against the use of tobacco products for life! However, it is recommended that the reader individualize the exercises, as specified, and follow through with the authors' expert instructions. Incidentally, without going into detail regarding current research, the design of the exercises - including content and strategies - reveals a sophisticated understanding on the part of the authors with regard to subconscious learning processes and the power such processes can have on behavior change.

Finally, knowledge, process, and competence are blended into a creative integration that serves to develop a lifestyle that leaves no openings for a return to tobacco-using behavior. This leaving-no-stone-unturned approach to tobacco cessation impresses me as the most comprehensive and reliable option available.

Throughout, self-defeating thinking patterns are broken down and replaced with positive, life-enhancing ones in a process that makes this book a hallmark in the annals of stop-smoking strategies: it takes a total lifestyle approach to the problem. This total lifestyle approach demonstrates the Johnsons' understanding of what is necessary to tackling tobacco addiction in the way a surgeon understands the approach to cutting away a cancer - every part of the threatening tumor (thinking/feeling/behavior) must be removed or the life-threatening condition will spring anew and attack with a vengeance.

Unlike the less predictable, quick-fix, approaches to tobacco cessation, the Johnsons' Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES offers lifestyle-oriented strategies that address the unique needs of every user in a warm and readable format that offers the best of what's out there. Unlike other approaches that require a full commitment before purchase, this book has such powerful introductory content that I would recommend it to those who are only thinking of stopping their tobacco use. At a modest $19.95 retail (US), I cannot suggest a more economic, powerfully effective, approach to stopping nicotine addiction and saving lives.

Granville Angell, EdS, LPC, NCC
Licensed Professional Counselor
Author of The God-Shaped Hole

Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for Life Changes
By David & Carol Johnson
Reviewed by Billie A Williams
ISBN # 0-7414-0481-8
2001 (206 Pages)

Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for Life Changes is more than just a healthy read. It is an activity book that will take you step by step through some very positive life style changes that can help you cease to use tobacco products.
With the Johnson's help you identify the problem situations where you would use tobacco. Then you develop specific plans for each situation so that you can visualize yourself dealing positively with the situation. By mentally rehearsing the plan, success is more likely. They stress that you should reward yourself when you do well, but also to not be afraid to modify your plans when necessary.
Dr Johnson addresses the principles you need to adapt to focus on your plan for action; these include Confidence, competence, commitment and creativity which he calls "4-Cing the future". Key principles in Life Changes makes it a book of crucial strategies that provide effective cessation tools with skill-based exercises, scripts, options and resources while also outlining specific activities that can you can use to target issues you define, and strategies you design to cope with the issues. Johnson then provides reinforcement of those actions through his scripts and scripts you record to personalize the program.
Dr Johnson inspires and re-enforces with his poetry and quotes from other sources. Stress relief through laughing, re-focusing, relaxation and affirmations provide a failsafe for those wishing to cease the habits of tobacco use. Johnson also touches on the use of hypnosis as an aid in his program. He defines the use of hypnosis by first defining the term as he sees it: hypnosis spontaneously occurs when we relax, focus attention, and engage in imaginative activity.
Then he walks the reader through some guided imagery that helps to focus attention on positive images. The imaginative/creativity exercises that follow involves exercises with word association, squiggles and shapes you turn into "stuff", headlines that are laughable, and other humorous one-liners.
The Johnson's never say they are the only or the best solution. They say *you* are the only solution; *you* are the best solution to cessation of tobacco use.
The back of the book is a veritable tome of resource places to further your education and find additional help. There are even worksheets to develop a maintenance program for yourself and one in the event that you slip.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a way to end the habit of tobacco use. Other uses of the program's strategies Could include weight control, stress management, and any one going through any life stresses, losses, or who has needs for more stability, resolve, and confidence.

"I was very ready to quit smoking many times in my life. When I began to read Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES, I realized I was reading something very new and different! This book appeals to anyone who needs a fresh approach to "just quitting" Through the use of LIFE CHANGES, I was able to really look at my motives and emotional needs surrounding smoking. The program put me on a path filled with information and humor which I could understand and build upon, using my own creativity. I was amazed at how enjoyable it was to participate in the planning and management of my own program. You will find everything in this book you need to know to finally end this "awful" dependency!"

I have been studying tobacco addiction and helping patients quit for over 25 years...Cessation has every thing to do with packing the brain with reasons to quit and techniques to help accomplish the goal. Each person has to decide which reasons apply personally. LIFE CHANGES is packed full of reasons to quit and exercises to help you take control of your life back from tobacco. It exposes tobacco not as a friend that settles you down and keeps weight off, but an enemy that robs you of over a decade of what should be golden years. I like this book and whole-heartedly recommend it to my patients. Congratulations to David and Carole Johnson! Through their book they will save and touch more lives than they will ever know. This book helps develop tools that, if achieved, will be far more powerful forces to combat tobacco addiction than any patch or gum could be.

John Robbins was a good friend to many people, and I was fortunate enough to know him when he lived and worked in North Carolina. "Strings - The Miracle of Life" is a great story by a talented historian. John was always a true raconteur - he could hold you spellbound with utter nonsense, or really make you think about the hard decisions in life. It came as no surprise to me that John Robbins wrote a book about love and death and healthcare that I had to read in one sitting.

This is a nonfiction book that baby boomers facing health crises--their own or their parents'--should read. But this tale of miraculous recovery from life-threatening illness feels more like a Vonnegut novel than the standard human interest story you might expect.

It cuts elegantly between the tense and fast-paced action of a quite miraculous liver transplant and sophisticated spiritual and philosophical questions about ethical issues in life and medicine. There is a wonderful section that presents the disorientation of a type A personality in a medical crisis--mental confusion due to prolonged illness, lack of control, medical complications, frustration at the slow pace of recovery--and reads like a primer for 50-somethings who are facing their first serious illness or surgery or trying to understand the growing frailty and increasing health care needs of their aging parents.

It weaves the varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives of patient, family, and med! ! ical professionals into the most complete picture of a modern medical crisis I've seen.

Mr. Robbins takes the reader, grabs them quickly, and doesn't let go until the end. You know he survives his ordeal, but you are still in tears in the middle wondering "is he going to make it?"

Thanks for writing this valuable book.

John Robbins uses a mix of Buddhaism and basketball (effortless effort) to tell how he survived and prospered after a near death experience. Part medical thriller and part spiritual exploration, he tells his story of surviving a liver transplant. His recollections about his surgeon alone are worth the read. A very good writer, he tells his story without without self-pity or fatalism. Inspiring is perhaps an over-used word in book reviews, but you will agree it applies to Strings.

It was with great saddness that I recently learned of the passing of Dr. John Robbins from one of his Thai friends.

I knew John in Bangkok prior to his illness and saw him in Washington, D.C. both while he was waiting for the transplant and later after he received it. My last conversation with him was at the time his book was published and he was so excited by the possibilities.

John's use of the Buddhist "stings" to hold the book together is wonderful. His "rat-a-tat" writing style in describing the fast pace of medical events is attention-getting.

John changed the world a bit with his book. I regret I will not be able to tell him how much it meant to me.

I am 62 years old and have always worked hard at leading a healthy life. I work out six days a week, train with weights, and play full court basketball three days a week. I have limited my fat and salt intake since I was 40. But I have had some problems that seem to come with older ages. This book really opened my eyes to all of the things I could do that I didn't even know about. I've only just finished the book and already I've added new things to my diet and adopted many of the wisdoms found therein.

I haven't been paining for at least one whole month. I was really shocked too. I have been to 3 doctors and had them check my legs so by reading this book I found out I had cold in my bones and arthritis. So thanks to this book, it really helps me.

I am a healthy 50-something male, with strong interest in preserving his health. But I cannot recommend this book too highly for the excellent quality of the writing. It gives a thorough, balanced, but easy to read, account of each topic. (Whoever the writer is, he/she comes across as an extraordinarily honest, balanced, decent, well-informed individual-- a saint and a sage rolled into one!)

Even the most esoteric medical research is presented with terrific clarity, and free of all unexplained jargon--this has got to be some of the **finest** medical writing for the laity i've ever seen. Neither does the author pitch to dummies--like so much of the advertising copy of the vitamin catalogs--for he has nothing to sell, nor does he speak over the heads of his readers.

If this tells you anything, to date I have bought 20 of the "Super Life, Super Health" books from Amazon. It is such a well written and informative book. I absolutely had to give this book to many people I know. I'm with Subway ("Eat Fresh") area corporate, and, as everyone knows, people go to Subway to aid in their quest for a healthier life. I do plan to buy many more of this same book for others. Health is more important than wealth!

This book contains much information for improving one's health and possibly extending one's life. Perhaps the problem with this is that there is so much that can be done that one does not know where to start. For example, there are numerous vitamins and supplements listed. Is one supposed to try to take them all? There are things as diverse as Vitamin B, Coenzyme-Q10, green tea, garlic, ginger, and selenium emphasized. No attempt is made to prioritize the supplements.

Exercise is listed as the closest thing to an antiaging pill. There is also a practical list of stress-busting activities that one can do at home.

There is a good table provided for substitution of foods with high fiber in place of foods with low fiber. Other tables give the vitamin contents of various foods. This book favors the low-fat over the low-carb approach to health. However, the hazards of a high sugar diet in terms of acceleration of aging are mentioned.

Not everything in this book is something one can do without a doctor's prescription. Apropos to this, there is a section on hormone replacement therapy for both men and women.

Prepare to laugh, cry and cringe --- but also to learn --- as Abby Ellin leads us through the landscape of obese teen life. First, though, a confession: When I volunteered to read this book, I feared that I was facing a hard, long slog through a dry tome packed with scientific studies on how to help an overweight kid drop a few pounds. Instead, I could barely put down this lively read. Ellin keeps a page-turning pace as she skillfully weaves her own story as a heavy, weight-obsessed teenager through the stories of other such adolescents.

Ellin begins with her own family, who courageously support her by not challenging her right to tell the unvarnished truth about the ways in which her home contributed to her weight problems and food fixations. Interestingly, the family's attitudes toward weight resulted in the author's sister becoming anorexic. Even as Ellin grew larger and larger, her sister began dieting by third grade.

Ellin's grandmother was a major influence on her self-image, withholding affections when Ellin gained weight. On visits to Grandma's house in Florida, Grandma weighed Ellin daily. At home, Ellin's mother obsessed over her own weight, restricted her diet and exercised before stepping on the scales each morning. She taped a photo of an obese woman on the refrigerator door. Both grandmother and mother repeatedly drilled into Ellin and her sister the dangers of gaining weight. As a child, Ellin was devastated when her grandmother told her she couldn't come to Florida for a visit at Christmastime unless she lost 15 pounds. The ploy didn't work. Nothing really did, for many long, sad years.

Ellin spent six years at weight-loss camps. She lost weight but also learned more about dysfunctional eating and how to do it (one counselor sneaked Ellin out to buy a cart full of candy and cookies because "Your body's getting used to the diet. You need sugar to give it a jolt."). In describing her fat camp days, she tells us the story of the owners of weight-loss camps, beginning with her visit as an adult with the man who ran the first weight-loss camp Ellin attended. During her visit, she talks with young campers, giving us the first of many insightful conversations with teens seeking to lose weight. What they say about their parents can make a reader weep.

In TEENAGE WAISTLAND, we learn what has helped teenagers lose weight and, (heartbreakingly) more often, what has either not helped them or made them worse. Experts --- from fat camp leaders to directors of weight loss programs to bariatric surgeons, researchers and fat activists (and more) --- represent a variety of attitudes as each discusses the best way to help heavy adolescents. Ellin compassionately presents suggestions to parents on ways to support an obese child, all based on respect.

Although there is not a single solution to such a complicated problem, reading this book is informative and helpful. It is a horrifying and fascinating study in our culture's warped attitude toward food and weight. Even if you don't have a child with weight issues, TEENAGE WAISTLAND is an engrossing read.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

I work in public health and struggle to find resources that are useful. This is a great book for everyone. There is no magic pill and there is no easy fix - but there are LOTS of ways to make things worse. Until we have changed our social norms, our environment, and the availability and ease to make healthy choices, it's going to be a long, tough road. This book is a great read that describes what it's like to struggle with weight - good for those of us who are lucky and think our 5-8 pound struggle is horrible, as well as those who struggle with real weight challenges and are ready to hear the painful truth of a child's experience. Well done, Abby.

An honest look at America's obsession with weight loss and how it affects the younger generation. The author, a former fat kid and fat camp survivor (though not a parent, as she acknowledges) explores various ways to lose weight from fat camps to nagging to behavior modification and surgery, among others. Sadly, there is no quick fix or even well-planned diet and exercise program that works for all, or even some. Due both to lack of willpower or incentive, and physical factors beyond the dieter's control, often the weight is lost then gained then lost again.

"Teenage Waistland" lets the young subjects speak for themselves. It is a fascinating look at a controversial subject.

This book was extremely helpful to me and my family. As the parent of an overweight child, Abby Ellin's insight as a "former fat kid" is a hands-on "what to do/"what not to do" primer for any parents dealing with these sensitive issues. You're never really sure what to do until you're faced with it head on and Ellin's book showed that it's the sensible approach that makes the most sense. Don't panic; don't over react (as is the most instant impulse). Just act sensibly. Well done!

Simply put, Abby Ellin "gets it". She had a childhood relationship with weight, food, and family that stays with her, regardless of what the scale says today. She candidly tells her story, which isn't always a happy one, but it's often hilarious. When it comes to the "fat kid epidemic", the author doesn't claim to have all the answers, but is very willing to explore a variety of solutions. Teenage Waistland is tragic, eye-opening, humorous and true. Once you read the introduction: Fat Kid Blues - you'll be hooked, just like the author is on Hostess cupcakes!

This is an absolutely great and needed book!!! Breast cancer seems to run in my family and after seeing two grandmothers suffer from it, I decided to take things into my own hands! I decided to research prevention a little more after picking up a pamphlet from the American Cancer Society at my doctors office and under the "Best Defense" for Breast Cancer they listed only early detection! While breast exams and mammography are important, they only detect cancer once it has hit you!!

I thought it was ridiculous that the American Cancer Society would say nothing about diet and excercise, and the multitudes of carcinogenic chemicals, and not give us any concrete ways to actually prevent breast cancer! As the author of this book says - in only about 30% of breast cancer cases do any of the traditional 'risk factors' (such as family history of the disease, late menarche, late pregnancy, etc) play any part! And breast cancer rates in the U.S. have been rising for the last several decades, while there are some groups of women that are not as afflicted with breast cancer! There is so much we can do to help PREVENT breast cancer, which is the topic of this book!

This book is a great source of information and a great resource that brings in together many different facets of breast cancer causes and prevention - from alcohol use, to pesticide use, to water filtration, to animal fat and other diet concerns, to excercise and stress reduction, etc, etc.
This book has a great section on all the good kinds of food to eat and hints and recipes on how to incorporate them into your diet. It also has a great section talking about excercise programs, and several diagrams of proper stretching techniques. It also has a chapter for parents of young girls - to help even further reduce thier risk of developing breast cancer when they are an adult.

I have already bought a copy of this book for my mom and grandma, and am considering getting it for all my aunts and female cousins! This is a GREAT book, and I wish they could somehow get all the information in it to every woman!

Ever since my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer I have read almost anything I can get my hands on regarding this dreadful disease. This book is by far the most outstanding I have read. I wish I had looked here first. Joseph Keon's 7-step plan is remarkable and so very easy to read. I've read it from cover to cover 3 or 4 times and have tried almost all of the recipes he suggests. They are just fantastic. I've watched my weight and exercised regularly most of my life....now I feel that, with his help, I'm on the right track with nutrition, too. If only we all would follow his advice, maybe there would be less people having to deal with breast cancer. I highly recommend reading this book.

The Truth About Breast Cancer: A 7-Step Prevention Plan is a soundly researched and highly accessible work that offers practical, useful information about breast cancer and what those at risk can do to prevent it. Joseph Keon surveys and explains the risk factors for breast cancer, offers a complete seven-step approach to preventing breast cancer, and four chapters dedicated to "Cooking for Health" and transitioning to a risk-avoidance dietary life-style. Enhanced with resource lists, extensive notes, and an index, The Truth About Breast Cancer is highly recommended, life-saving reading specifically and successfully designed for the non-specialist general reader.

Dr. Keon's book should be required reading for everyone: women, men (and especially) doctors.

My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer before Christmas '99 and has healed herself with the information contained in this life-saving book.

Joseph Keon, Ph.D. says "women can do much more to reduce the risk of breast cancer than perform self-exams and subject themselves to mammograms." In The Truth About Breast Cancer: A 7-Step Prevention Plan, Keon describes the known causes of cancer and presents ways that every woman can reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.

He shows how "most cancer is strongly related to environmental factors and lifestyle choices to which we expose ourselves." These are factors and choices which individuals can control, at least to a certain extent.

Although statistics from the American Institute for Cancer Research shows that "between 30 and 50 percent of all breast cancer can be prevented through a healthful diet and regular exercise," the focus in mainstream medicine remains on treating breast cancer, rather than on preventing it.

Some risk factors can't be changed. For example, more women than men develop breast cancer, and a family history of breast cancer increases an individual woman's risk. Other factors are subject to limited choices, such as whether or not to reduce your risk by becoming pregnant while young, choosing whether or not to breast-feed, or opting for estrogen-replacement therapy.

Factors like alcohol consumption, weight, smoking, stress, exposure to radiation (X-rays), and diet are, however, under the control of most women. Of all these, good nutrition is the most important factor in preventing breast cancer. A diet high in dairy products is exceptionally unhealthy. (Contrary to popular commercials, dairy products can cause a net loss of calcium, leaving no reason to consume them.)

Dr. Keon also presents an extensive discussion of how various other foods affect the immune system, either strengthening the body's defenses, or weakening them so that individuals become susceptible to disease.

His 7-step program includes eating a healthy diet (one that is free of animal fats), choosing organically-grown foods (to minimize intake of harmful chemicals), drinking pure water (again, to minimize harmful chemicals), reducing the use of toxic chemicals in your home, avoiding alcohol, exercising, and meditating to reduce stress. He provides detailed instructions for implementing all seven steps.

Dr. Keon also discusses the fact that girls are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages--some as early as three years old. This significantly increases their chances of developing breast cancer as women. He offers suggestions to mothers on how to protect their children, primarily by starting healthy habits when they're young.

Dr. Keon says "the Truth About Breast Cancer will help you understand the ways you may be at risk for breast cancer, and how you can take this knowledge and use it to make real-life changes that reduce your risk and increase your level of health, your overall well-being, and your peace of mind."

It's a book that every woman needs to read.

Sandra I. Smith Reviewer

This book is great for those interested in Chinese medicine. It gives a great overview of the different aspects of Chinese medicine without over doing it. It is easy to read, has photos to illustrate ideas, and is not too dry. A great place to start exploring the world of Chinese medicine!

This is a good book for general and basic information about TCM. It lacks details about treatments and diseases, though.

I've had the fortune to study under Master Holland. I'd simply like to assure everyone out there that this is a man who knows what he's talking about! Insightful, well-spoken, and brilliant, you'll definitely want to pick up all of his books! Pick up this little wonder if you're someone worried about your first acupuncture experience, or are a practicioner wanting to offer a bit reassurance to your clients. Worth the buy!!
Check out his school at [...]

This book pulled me in the moment I opened it. It is incredibly easy to read and is a very good introductory guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine. I would recommend it to anyone who is curious about TCM but does not want to read large books on the topic. This book is written without lots jargon or unnecessary details. It is easy to follow and understand.
Read it, you won't regret it, especially if you are a beginner such as myself.

This book is a little gem. It sets out the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the theoretical framework and types of treatment (acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, cupping, herbal medicine and Qi gong) in an amazingly easy to understand way. It also includes additional information on the history of TCM, accreditation in the US, and safety aspects. If you want to get to grips with what TCM is all about, but don't want to be bogged down with a tome, this is the book for you.

Since I have switched to eating more natural, organic foods, I have been finding some great books on the subject. Luise Light has 10 rules for healthy eating, and they have nothing to do with "dieting."
She says that you should:
1) Eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
2) Eat whole grain-pasta, rice, breads, and cereals.
3) Eat certified organic foods.
4) Eat natural fats/avoid synthetic fats.
5) Avoid refined starch and sugar.
6) Eat wild fish and meat and eggs from range-fed, antibiotic- and hormone free animals.
7) Eat several good sources of calcium.
8) Avoid too much salt and salty foods.
9) Avoid processed and additive-rich foods.
10)Drink plenty of clean, filtered water.

Sounds obvious, right? Then why do we keep eating in a way that makes us gain so much weight? The author tackles the issues that talk about more than just "eat healthy and exercise." She talks about what's wrong with our food. "In the past fifty years, food has been transformed into packaged products designed by industrial engineers for long shelf life, profitability, and repeat purchases. We're relying on brand names, labels, and marketing slogan instead of tried-and-true human experience. Today, and across the globe in our own backyard, more people are fat, sick, depressed, and fatigued than at any other time in recorded history."

Does this scare you? It should. She recommends what many other dieticians recommend. Going back to basics. Don't rely on low-fat nightmares to make you healthy. If you are eating "low-fat," something else gets in there to take it's place. Eat naturally, eat organic, eat to heal yourself. She talks about the kids of foods we should avoid, fake ingredients like: Artificial food colors (which is linked to things like asthma and hyperactivity) sulfites, (linked to cancer) MSG, (used in a lot of food from places like Burger King, McDonalds, etc) Food preservatives, (linked to allergy and sensitivity reactions) etc.

This is information that I have found in books time and time again. I know that there is truth in it not only because I constantly read about it, but when I have followed this advice, I have lost weight slowly, had less headaches, and feel more awake and alive than I ever have. She isn't peddling some diet hoax, she is showing us a new, healthier way of life.

Highly recommended.

I just finished reading this book and was amazed at the incredible amount of information contained between its covers. Not only does Dr. Light discuss "what to eat" as the book's title tells us, it also engages us with eminently readable accounts of the influences of government and the food industry on what ultimately gets presented to the American public in the form of things like the food pyramid and other nutrition related reports. Add a mind boggling chapter on nutrition related illness, as well as another on obesity and diet and you have all the basics you really need to know in one book. It may well be that the recipe for hummus included in the short, sample menu section is alone worth the price of the book...yum!

I was amazed to find this book. How important to finally hear that the food supply itself is the cause of some of my overweight problems. I can't wait to start using some of Dr. Light's dietary suggestions. They seem really "right" to me. They're so sensible, not another crazy diet "fad." From what Dr. Light says, so many American's health problems can be traced back directly to our badly managed food supply. How shocking! It's astounding to think that so many of us have been manipulated into obesity, fibromyalgia, or ADD. I think everyone should read this book!

I don't read diet books, being that overweight is not my problem. Shopping and cooking for my family while working, that is my problem. Dr. Light's book, "What to Eat," is the first thing I've seen which really explains how all those processed foods that look so fast and tempting in the supermarket are short-changing us nutritionally. It's kind of scary, actually, especially since the author exposes the way the government (she worked for the U.S. Dept of Agriculture so saw it first-hand) is hand-in-glove with the big food companies to deliberately make us eat wrong, resulting in diabetes, fat kids, slowed mental activities, and a lot of other bad health problems. What makes this book exciting, though, is how easy she makes it to get yourself and your family on fresher, healthier foods. And you don't have to be a vegetarian, which I'm not, to do it. She even suggests some recipes. We loved her Turkey Tacos, and my teenagers, surprise! like her Swiss Chard with the nuts and raisins in it. I'll still shop at the supermarket but not for the processed things with ingredients you can't pronounce. And I hope to join a farmers cooperative, where you can get fresh foods, some organic. I think all parents and school cafeteria people should read Dr. Light's book, which is actually a good read, straightforward, smart and inspiring.

Dr. Luise Light offers a fascinating under-the-covers look at what happens when government agencies climb in bed with big business. Did you ever wonder how our U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1980 came up with a food pyramid that encouraged people to pig out on 6-11 servings of bread, pasta, bagels, cereal, crackers and other cheap, starchy carbs every day? Did you know that this recommendation differs little from the USDA's advice to farmers on how to fatten pigs? No wonder the U.S. is in the midst of an obesity epidemic!

Dr Light once worked for the USDA. She and other experts had proposed a far healthier, science-based food pyramid that would have encouraged real, whole foods only to see it deconstructed by higher-ups kowtowing to the greedy grain cartel and processed food industry. The FDA,too,has forgotten its mission as America's "foremost consumer agency" as shown by its approval of lethal drugs like Vioxx, neuro-toxic ingredients like aspartame and a spurious health claim for soy protein. Unhappily, she has plenty more evidence of government corruption and industry arm twisting.

What to do? Dr. Light recommends grass-roots, local and personal solutions. We the people must not only speak out and join up but vote with our dollars in favor of real, live, whole, organic and slow foods. If her ten commandments for healthy eating seem obvious, the bottom line is that common sense is uncommon. How else can we explain the fact that 250 million Americans are sick, tired and malnourished yet continue to gorge daily on packaged, processed, damaged, dead and fast foods? Clearly, a whole lot of people need Dr. Light to hold their hands as they learn the ABCs of real food and take those difficult first ten steps. For those able and willing to go the distance, Dr. Light wisely and generously refers readers to the Weston A. Price Foundation and other independent, courageous and forward-thinking nutritional and environmental organizations.

I think every woman should read this book.
Dr. Nancy takes the worry out of growing older.

Hope Nature returns to all of us in infinite ways.It made me very happy reading this book.

This is a wonderful, sensible, informative book on health written by a female doctor. I am following many of the book's suggestions and have seen health improvements in myself. I have recommended it to amy of my friends.

This is an invaluable resource for all women, especially those over forty approaching the transition of menopause. Overflowing with very practical information to assist women during this natural life passage. I wish I had known this when I was forty! But far beyond just a manual for navigating through menopause it offers wise counsel on how women can maximize health at all the stages of life. As a health educator I recommend it often.

Nancy Lonsdorf has written a terrific book that really should be read by all women, before the age of 40! Dr. Lonsdorf renews one's ability to be guided by their own common sense while, at the same time, giving a deep understanding of the ongoing physical, mental and emotional changes experienced by women. If you read this book you will be able to take care of yourself and continue to experience life full of energy and zest! Dr. Lonsdorf explains concepts about the physical in a very clear way and also gives practical tips for taking care of health and preventing problems. It is very empowering to learn these tips and to apply them .....and then to feel better than ever.