Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)
by Paul Pitchford

List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $21.00
You Save: $14.00 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $15.72 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

• Current guidelines on nutrition basics, such as the protein/vitamin B12 group, fats and oils, sugars and sweeteners, water, salt, seaweeds, "green foods" (micro-algae and cereal grasses), calcium, oxygen, and other nutritional concerns
• Discussions of the Chinese healing arts applied to physical and emotional conditions, including the Eight Priniciples (Six Divisions of Yin and Yang), Five Elements, and syndromes of the internal organs
• Information on making a gentle transition from a diet based on animal products to one centered on whole grains and fresh vegetables. Over 300 hearty, purely vegetarian (vegan) recipes, as well as the healing properties of plant and animal foods
• Sections on weight loss, heart and vascular renewal, female health, digestive problems, candida yeast infections, root canals, food combining, fasting, children, pregnancy, and aging. Includes insights from Ayurvedic medicine of India
• Detailed "Regeneration Diets" and herbal treatments for cancer, arthritis, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, AIDS, and other degenerative conditions. Also features a "Parasite Purge Program" tailored to specific body types.

• Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
• RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
• Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

Book Reviews of Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)

Book Review: Valuable but Biased
Summary: 4 Stars

For example, night sweats could be caused by a yang excess or a yin deficiency. The treatments for both are almost opposite. Knowing the difference is very difficult unless you have some knowledge of Chinese medicine or are seen by a practioner. I, for example am both yin and yang deficient, and eliminating the building foods, as Pitchford recommends for excesses, wasn't helping me and could have had devastating conquences. Pitchford seems to sway towards this diet, recommending a liver cleanse as the first step toward balancing most problems.

He is also a devout vegan, which he explains at the beginning of the book. And it is this diet he is pushing, while in traditional Chinese medicine, such a diet is not recommended because it can lead to deficencies. Animal products are both recommended to eat and in herbal formulas. His dietary suggestions are a bit extreme as well, like don't give kids nut butters. What is life without nut butters? A kids gotta live! If it wasn't for some of the condiments Pitchford says to avoid, my kid would never eat. But my kid wouldn't touch an obvious vegtable if he was starving all day.

Buy this book if you want to know about whole foods, but be aware of this bias. And if you need treatment, go to a practitioner, certainly before you follow any of Pitchford's recommendations. I did go to a practitioner and knew what my issues were (all deficient, as post-pardom mothers usually are) and did a gall bladder cleanse from this book with amazing results (as horrible as it is to drink a cup of lemon juice and olive oil). There is certainly alot of good information here, but I completetly disagree with the need for a vegan diet, especially concerning children. Pitchford himself says it isn't really possible to get B12 adequately from this kind of diet, so how can it be the most natural diet for humans?

Summary of Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)

Used as a reference by students of acupuncture, this is a hefty, truly comprehensive guide to the theory and healing power of Chinese medicine. It's also a primer on nutrition?including facts about green foods, such as spirulina and blue-green algae, and the "regeneration diets" used by cancer patients and arthritics?along with an inspiring cookbook with more than 300 mostly vegetarian, nutrient-packed recipes.

The information on Chinese medicine is useful for helping to diagnose health imbalances, especially nascent illnesses. It's smartly paired with the whole-foods program because the Chinese have attributed various health-balancing properties to foods, so you can tailor your diet to help alleviate symptoms of illness. For example, Chinese medicine dictates that someone with low energy and a pale complexion (a yin deficiency) would benefit from avoiding bitter foods and increasing "sweet" foods such as soy, black sesame seeds, parsnips, rice, and oats. (Note that the Chinese definition of sweet foods is much different from the American one!)

Pitchford says in his dedication that he hopes the reader finds "healing, awareness, and peace" from following his program. The diet is certainly acetic by American standards (no alcohol, caffeine, white flour, fried foods, or sugar, and a minimum of eggs and dairy) but the reasons he gives for avoiding these "negative energy" foods are compelling. From the adrenal damage imparted by coffee to immune dysfunction brought on by excess refined sugar, Pitchford spurs you to rethink every dietary choice and its ultimate influence on your health. Without being alarmist, he adds dietary tips for protecting yourself against the dangers of modern life, including neutralizing damage from water fluoridation (thyroid and immune-system problems may result; fluoride is a carcinogen). There's further reading on food combining, female health, heart disease, pregnancy, fasting, and weight loss. Overall, this is a wonderful book for anyone who's serious about strengthening his or her body from the inside out.

The information on Chinese medicine is useful for helping to diagnose health imbalances, especially nascent illnesses. It's smartly paired with the whole-foods program because the Chinese have attributed various health-balancing properties to foods, so you can tailor your diet to help alleviate symptoms of illness. For example, Chinese medicine dictates that someone with low energy and a pale complexion (a yin deficiency) would benefit from avoiding bitter foods and increasing "sweet" foods such as soy, black sesame seeds, parsnips, rice, and oats. (Note that the Chinese definition of sweet foods is much different from the American one!)

Pitchford says in his dedication that he hopes the reader finds "healing, awareness, and peace" from following his program. The diet is certainly acetic by American standards (no alcohol, caffeine, white flour, fried foods, or sugar, and a minimum of eggs and dairy) but the reasons he gives for avoiding these "negative energy" foods are compelling. From the adrenal damage imparted by coffee to immune dysfunction brought on by excess refined sugar, Pitchford spurs you to rethink every dietary choice and its ultimate influence on your health. Without being alarmist, he adds dietary tips for protecting yourself against the dangers of modern life, including neutralizing damage from water fluoridation (thyroid and immune-system problems may result; fluoride is a carcinogen). There's further reading on food combining, female health, heart disease, pregnancy, fasting, and weight loss. Overall, this is a wonderful book for anyone who's serious about strengthening his or her body from the inside out. --Erica Jorgensen

Whole Foods Books

• Subjects > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Whole Foods
• Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine
• Diets & Weight Loss > Diets
• Nutrition