readingroom Review By Kent McKeithan


duced in the world, infectious diseases are on the rise. In the past twenty years, more than thirty new diseases, including AIDS, toxic shock syndrome, fl esh-eat- ing bacteria, and the Ebola virus, have emerged for which there are no cures or vaccines. Meanwhile the ‘wonder’ drugs and vaccines that are prescribed to heal us often harm and even kill us. There has never been a more crucial time to take charge of our own health.” So Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, prefaces


“I


the second edition of Prescription for Dietary Wellness. Then she devotes 305 pages to providing us the nutritional tools to do just that, very thoroughly. Much as Adelle Davis of an earlier generation did for our parents (and us if we were around in the 60’s), she relates a myriad of diseases and dysfunctions to missing nutrients then sets forth the remedies. But, in a change from the fi rst edition, she emphasizes healthful eating as a lifestyle to promote wellbeing, rather than as a prescription for a specifi c ailment. To be sure, the “cures” are there, con-


veniently collected in several appendices. For example, if you’re suffering from ar- thritis, there are 16 recommended foods, ranging from apples, through fl axseed oil to watercress; seasonings—cayenne pepper, ginger root, etc; a list of foods


Prescription for Dietary Wellness By Phyllis A. Balch


n The United States, which uses 50 percent of the drugs pro-


to avoid such as eggplant, saturated fats, and cooked or juiced spinach. If you want to know why arthritics should avoid spinach, Part Four, Prescription Foods, contains almost a full page about spinach. First come the benefi ts (“nutri- tional bonanza”…protects against cancer by preventing the body’s cells from under- going mutation… phytochemicals zea- xanthin and lutein, which are abundant in spinach, can produce a lower risk of macular degeneration”). Then comes a list of 21 nutrients, some with subcategories, e.g. lipids, and 13 phytochemicals—with more subcategories. Next, Balch tells us that spinach con-


tains oxalic acid, which interferes with the body’s inability to absorb calcium and other minerals. This doesn’t fully give the reason to avoid spinach for an arthritis sufferer, but checking the index produces a reference to arthritis and nightshades. Since spinach isn’t a nightshade, there’s no traceable answer in this book, which is annoying-—it frustrates one’s ability to make educated choices and plan ef- fectively. But before we leave spinach, note that Balch also includes instructions on how to buy, store and prepare spin- ach. This amazing depth and breadth of information is typical of her Prescription Food entries. She also includes alternatives for


drugs in the Dietary Prescriptions sec- tion: Did you know lemon is an anti- histamine? Appendix B targets body


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parts, listing foods and supplements that support muscles, joints, specifi c organs, etc. Here, there’s a description of the part, how it works, what it needs in the way of nutrients; the best vegetable, fruit and nut-grain-seed support, and related information, such as essential fatty acids’ role in brain nourishment. Other chapters detail how vegetable


oils are processed, the dangers of hy- drolyzing, autolyzing, and hydrogenat- ing (produces unassimilable trans-fats, unsaturated fats that become saturated, resulting in the loss of their essential fatty acids). There is a much improved and expanded chapter on juicing, a regimen that saved my life when threatened with pancreatic cancer. In fact, there is such a wealth of in-


formation in this book that it’s impossible to do it justice in this short review. It is an excellent reference for foundational support—with one caveat: the reader must be willing to be responsible for setting priorities and making informed judgments. For instance, the advice in this book often does not jibe well with that in Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type (D’Adamo, P., Putnam, 1996), a well-respected book in the nutrition fi eld. It is well to remember that each body is different, with unique requirements, heredity and history.


You may order this book online at www.1straybooks.com. Reviewer Kent McKeithan can be reached at McKeithan Pain Treatment Center (formerly Transfor- mative Bodywork) at 336-761-0501. See ad on page 29.


November 2004 15


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