Recommended Reading

The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat

Amazon.com Review

According to author Loren Cordain, modern health and diet problems didn't start with the advent of packaged snack food, but much earlier--back at the dawn of the agricultural age many thousands of years ago. As humans became less nomadic and more dependent on high-carbohydrate diets, we left behind the diet we had evolved with, which is based on low-fat proteins and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Sugars, fats, and carbs were rare, if they were present at all, and survival required a steady, if low-key, level of activity.

Cordain's book The Paleo Diet blends medical research with a healthy sprinkle of individual anecdotes, practical tips, and recipes designed to make his suggestions into a sustainable lifestyle, rather than a simple month-long diet; he even includes cooking recommendations and nationwide sources for wild game.

The New Glucose Revolution: Low GI Eating Made Easy

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In Everyday Low GI Eating, the authors of the New York Times bestseller The New Glucose Revolution show readers how to choose low-GI carbohydrates—the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose levels—so that they feel fuller longer and increase their energy levels, making weight loss achievable and sustainable. Jennie Brand-Miller and Kaye-Foster-Powell, along with Philippa Sandall, offer a simple overview of the GI and why it's such an effective dietary tool; a list of the top 100 low-GI foods divided into easy-to-follow sections such as fruit and veggies, breads and cereals, legumes, nuts, and indulgences; tips on low-GI cooking and shopping; and much more. Complete with a 7-day low-GI meal plan to start readers off on the right foot, Everyday Low GI Eating is a one-stop resource for all those looking for an easy way to make the switch to a low-GI lifestyle.

The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That's Destroying Our Health

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Combat silent inflammation -- the most serious health threat you never heard of

Heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans.
Cancer is the #1 fear of Americans.
Dementia is the #1 concern of Americans.

What do these devastating illnesses have in common? All three have been linked to silent inflammation, a condition that occurs when the body's natural immune response goes awry. Silent inflammation attacks the heart, arteries, and even the brain -- and you will not even know it. Obesity is the primary cause of silent inflammation and excess body fat is causing today's epidemic rise in countless health threats.

Now Dr. Barry Sears shows you how to combat silent inflammation in this comprehensive guide. His research shows that following the Zone dietary plan, including supplements of ultrarefined fish oil concentrates, is the best way to ensure the future of your health. You can reduce your risk of each disease and condition, or reverse silent inflammation if you have it already -- in only thirty days. The Anti-Inflammation Zone includes a week of Zone meals, exercises that you can do at home, and tools and tests for determining your level of silent inflammation. Follow this plan and enjoy these benefits:

Better health
Greater longevity
Reduced symptoms of chronic diseases
Improved emotional control
Greater mental acuity
Improved physical performance

The Coconut Oil Miracle

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Use nature's elixir to lose weight, prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and beautify skin and hair.

Can saturated fat be good for you?

Natural coconut oil-not the hydrogenated version often found in processed foods-is a saturated fat, but not the kind your doctor has warned you about. Studies have shown that this uniquely curative oil actually has innumerable health benefits ranging from disease prevention to anti-aging. Now, in his revised edition of the first book to describe the therapeutic properties of coconut oil, Bruce Fife offers a nutrition plan with dozens of tasty recipes that will allow anyone to experience the healing miracles of what he deems the "perfect food."

When taken as a supplement, used in cooking, or applied to directly to the skin, coconut oil has been found to:

- Promote weight loss
- Help protect against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases
- Strengthen the immune system
- Improve digestion
- Prevent premature aging of the skin

Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

Amazon.com Review

Healing Back Pain promises permanent elimination of back pain without drugs, surgery, or exercise. It should have been titled Understanding TMS Pain, because it discusses one particular cause of back pain--Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)--and isn't really a program for self-treatment, with only five pages of action plan (and many more pages telling why conventional methods don't work). According to John E. Sarno, M.D., TMS is the major cause of pain in the back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and limbs--and it is caused not by structural abnormalities but by the mind's effort to repress emotions. He's not saying that your pain is all in your head; rather, he's saying that the battle going on in your mind results in a real physical disorder that may affect muscles, nerves, tendons, or ligaments. An injury may have triggered the disorder, but is not the cause of the amount or intensity of the resulting pain. According to Sarno, the mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by making you focus on pain in the body. When this realization sinks in ("and it must sink in, for mere intellectual appreciation of the process is not enough"), the trick doesn't work any more, and there's no need for the pain. (Healing Back Pain should not be used for self-diagnosis. Always consult a physician for chronic or acute back pain.) --Joan Price