BOOK REVIEW: What to Eat for What Ails You

WHAT TO EAT FOR WHAT AILS YOU; how to treat illnesses by changing
the food and vitamins in your diet (Fair Winds Press, 2007; distr.
Canadian Manda Group, 368 pages, ISBN 978-1-59233-236-6, $27.95 paper
covers) is by Winnie Yu who writes frequently for national magazines on
topics concerning health and nutrition. The promo sheet in the
publisher's catalogue identifies her as Winnie Scherer, under which she
may also have written. In fact, the original title for this book was to
be "The Encyclopedia of What to Eat for What Ails You", and the
subtitle was to be "a complete guide to special diets and nutritional
cures for everything from arthritis to warts". I suspect the word
"cures" bothered the lawyers in the due diligence process.
Nevertheless, this is good medical and nutritional advice, and the "A"
section now begins with "acne". For each condition (e.g., psoriasis)
there is a one or two page description, notes on what to eat, what NOT
to eat, and nutritional supplements. There are also separate strategies
on how to handle each condition, notably on how to reduce your stress
or learn to see your trigger points. Typical entries cover rosacea,
diabetes, high blood pressure, CFS, alcoholism, canker sores, lupus,
even cancer. And she is spot on, at least for those conditions I have.
Over the years I've searched books and the Internet on diets for my
problems, and she has done a nice job of summarizing. So there is every
likelihood that she is okay on all the other areas I know nothing
about. For almost all conditions, the foods to avoid are always salt,
trans-fatty acids, and refined foods, followed by saturated fats,
alcohol, and caffeine. Get rid of those six items, and you'll be almost
free of your health condition. Why? Because these six products are
KNOWN to weaken your own natural immune system. She concludes with a
resources list of books, articles and websites. As well, there is an
extensive index.
Audience and level of use: those looking for ease, reference libraries.
Some interesting or unusual facts: Many illnesses can be controlled by
identifying and avoiding specific foods, as well as lifestyle or
environmental factors that trigger flare-ups.
The downside to this book: there could be missing information, such as
under "Ear Infections" she doesn't cover animal dander which is a known
cause of ear problems.
The upside to this book: she has material on special diets, nutritional
supplements, and healthy foods for each ailment.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.

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