Help! Need a solid natural health book

[balancedbeauty]

Hi everyone,
I have been trying to get healthy for the past 4 years after struggling with an eating disorder, and then "IBS" type problems that have led to other things... I grew up in a household where my mom had dropped out of medical school, and always fed us natural whole foods for the most part. I am entirely devoted to healing myself and hope to someday become some sort of holistic health practitioner.
the problem is that my boyfriend had a much different background than me. he is one of those lucky people that NEVER gets sick and doesnt even know what a headache feels like. he grew up on a typical SAD diet, and his uncle and cousin are MD's. At first, he respected me for eating healthy and was impressed by my beliefs and so on. But its been about a year that we've been together, and he sees me eating no gluten and no dairy, and taking different herbs, and going to get a few colonics, and doing other really 'weird" things, and he has become convinced that it is all a bunch of crap. He says that the only people he knkows that are so concerned with health and try to eat healthy foods (me andn my family and a few others), seem sicker than anyone else. I am fairly sure that I have made things worse with my general explanations of natural health and how it contrasts to the way the medical profession views and treats illnesses.
So my question is, does anyone know of a really good, solid, comparative type book that explains not only how natural health is effective, but is very logical and well laid out, with sources and studies and such? I want to find something that he will read, that is not too "over the top" that would just push him further in th eother direction. Something that also explains the connection between pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, the food industry, and the medical profession would be ideal.
thanks so much for any ideas!

[itslaura]

All I can do is commiserate, as I have a husband who thinks I'm full of it. Because of that, I can't commit 100% to eating as I'd like. And it's hard to understand why he thinks that way because he's from India and his family eats a standard Indian diet and uses Ayurveda at least in some measure. For every article I show him, he shows me one from the mass media. Hard to win!

[chickpea]

Hi,
I can empathise to some extent too. I think you just have to detach yourself, though that is hard with close partners. If you totally believe in what you are doing, it really doesn't matter if he has those beliefs or not. Maybe you haven't yet reached a state of health that you are happy with yet but this is a journey and you can make mistakes as you go along. It's more difficult when you are on a healing path yourself instead of just going to the docs every now and then for some prescription drugs to suppress things. It's much harder to go the natural way and as it takes longer to see results, so others become doubtful but try not to let that be your problem. Have you had any improvements in your health that he has seen?

You can also tell him that 'healthy' people suddenly develop cancer, or have heart attacks?! My dad had virtually no health problems until he had a heart attack at the age of 54! Did he just become ill on that day? I don't think so!! Just because you don't have any symptoms doesn't mean there's nothing wrong. If orthodox medicine really worked then why are the health systems so overburdened with long waiting lists for diagnosis and this and that treatment? Why is cancer and heart disease so prevalent? The cancer industry is a massive money making machine.....cancer has been around for a long time yet they still run campaigns, get celebrities on board to do marathons etc to raise money for the next 'cancer cure'! Does it mean perhaps that the drugs DON'T work??!!!

There are books out there that look at the politics behind health care but I can't remember the name of them sorry Next time I have my nutrition class I'll have a look in the book shop as I think they have one there and I'm quite interested myself.

Anne

[shelley]

You can try reading Nourishing Traditions or any of the works by Weston A Price, they are solidly researched. But they don't advocate avoiding dairy entirely, just pasteurized/homogonized dairy. They're very big on raw and fermented dairy.

Since they take a stance against diet dictocrats like vegans and get down to what has really worked for healthy, gorgeous tribal peoples over the centuries - a diet of a wide vairety of whole foods as mother nature intended, prepared so that nutrients are more bio-available - they are the best middle ground that I've found, right in between food extremists on one hand and ignorant MD's on the other. They point out how our beliefs - and the AMA and associations like the American Heart Associations are negatively influenced by the food manufacturing industries. Nourishing Traditions is nice because it has excerpts from all sorts of works. You read just a paragraph on the side next to the recipes and instantly have great information from good studies.

But when it comes to people's belief systems - and food and health are just as much belief systems as religion and politics - it's best to just let it alone unless someone actually asks you a question. Otherwise they feel you're not respecting them, their world, their timing. Simply ask for the same respect in return. They have their world, you have yours, and since you're not sharing the exact same body, you're allowed to find what works for YOU and not expect that that will work for anyone else, because we are all unique.

When people start saying "my way is the best way for everyone" that is arrogance and hubris and total ignorance. I'm not saying that that's what you're doing, mind, it's just something to be aware of during this quest for vital health.

For instance, would you be able to prescribe for anyone on this planet how much and what kind of alcohol they can drink in order to feel tipsy and not sick and drunk? No way! Everyone has different tolerances. The same is true for foods, carbs, proteins, nightshade veggies, sugar, nutra-sweet, exercise, etc.

Whenever people look at people as a bunch and homogonize everyone to be the same you know their logic and life experience and mind set is totally limited and probably not worth listening to.

[seraph69]

This is kinda long but i just had to get everything out so i could feel better I didn't really know where to post this but I just can't take it anymore. I am a second semester sophomore at a public state college and I just recently changed my major to dietetics. Its only the 2nd time that I had my nutrition and food science class. I know I should value and respect other peoples opinions but I can not believe the things they teach, it just makes me so upset when I hear them talk. In my nutrition class a few of the 10 flags of junk science we learned include ~ Claiming sugar and other food addictives are poison and responsible for a variety or problems, listings of good vs. bad foods, and claims physicians are money-grabbing, incompetents not to be trusted. But my favorite thing I learned was that quackwatch.com was an actual valid website online. Also in my food science class I almost wanted to walk out, I thought the food industry was bad but I never knew. They really don't care about nutrition, They actually make processed foods to have less water so that microbes won't grow. If something has to high of a water content they add sugar or salt so that it increases shelf life. They are extremely paranoid about things decomposing, but they don't see that if they don't decompose for a long time on the shelf what happens in the body. I really want to just leave school and attend somewhere else but my parents would kill me for switching again. Also just the other night my boyfriend and I got in a huge fight about me wanting to become a naturopathic doctor, I wish I could go straight there but for many places u need a bachelors degree. Its just so difficult when no one else believes in you or what u believe. Thank u for listening I just had to get everything out because I know my friends don’t like me complaining to them about this. Thanks

[shelley]

I hear you! It's why I never bothered getting any kind of a "respectable" degree or license.

Do you think you can just grin and bear it until you finish? Detach entirely and think, "there but for the grace of God go I"? Lots of us have to pretend to agree until we get that degree, and then off we go to do our own thing.

If not, then you have to seriously consider switching no matter what your parents think.

[Invincible]

seraph - I totally empathise!!!! I recently completed my Diploma in Anatomy and Physiology and my lecturer kept telling us that the tonsills and appendix were not necessary at all - that they were extras! She said there was no known use for melatonin .. eh????? I spoke up several times against what was taught, and many of the other students were keen to have the 'truth' ... but to pass the exam, which is a universal one, I just had to answer the questions like it was taught to me.

Keep going, the great thing is you know what is the truth. When you qualify, you can set your own standards and protocols.

BTW, quackwatch is going down big time! Keep an eye on http://www.quackpotwatch.org/

[shelley]

Oh man, were the textbooks like 20 years old or something??? sheesh!

[seraph69]

Well at least i'm not the only one that feels that way! thank u for ur responses.

[alien]

I purchased this book a few months ago when I was so sick with Candida I was admitted to hospital (and they did little to help me). This book is an amazing read and really opens the eyes of people who do not accept 'the truth' easily. There is some good reading on the author’s web site which is listed at the end of this post.

Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry
by Elaine Hollingsworth

HOW TO...
Sail through menopause, drug-free

Prevent/reverse osteoporosis

Substitute safe remedies for dangerous HRT

Banish brain fog

Avoid food and beverages that cause bones to dissolve

Determine which foods and which minerals build bone mass

Get a mineral from overseas that halts 40-50% of calcium loss, is scarce in our depleted soil and is not available in Australia

Get from overseas the only progesterone that is effective, does not contain preservatives, and costs less than A$15 per month

Get a Peruvian root vegetable that has been used for 10,000 years to promote bone growth and make menopause easy, and costs less that A$15 per month

Avoid/reverse all female (and male) complaints without drugs

Prevent breast cancer

Prevent/reverse impotence and prostate illnesses

Avoid a commonly prescribed drug that creates severe spinal degeneration, even in the young

Use simple, natural remedies for many common ailments

YOU WILL LEARN WHY...
Milk and calcium tablets do not promote strong bones and can cause serious health problems

All soya bean products, especially soya milk, leach calcium from bones and create havoc in the body

Prostatic specific antigen (PSA) test can be hazardous to your health

Widely-advertised menopausal 'aids' can be useless and/or harmful

Osteoporosis drugs are dangerous and counterproductive

Cholesterol hysteria is based on propaganda

Polyunsaturated oils contribute to heart disease

Olive oil and coconut oil are healthful

Mammograms don't cure cancer, in fact contribute to cancer

A commonly used food additive is so poisonous that it aggravates/causes the following
Episodic Violence
Obesity
Birth Defects
Parkinson's Disease
Liver Disease
Cancer
Migraines
Brain Tumours
Vertigo
AIDS Dementia
Multiple Sclerosis
Epilepsy
Endocrine Disorders
Fibromyalgia
Asthma
Neurological Disorders
Depression
PMS
Alzheimer's Disease
Epstein-Barr Virus
Diabetes
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Memory loss
Nausea

For more information please see Elaine's own site,
www.doctorsaredangerous.com

[balancedbeauty]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I have for the most part been able to disregard my boyfriend's negative comments and scornful silences when I talk about health or feeling sick.
I have never tried to 'preach" to him or change his views or eating habits whatsoever. he knows this. and he does try to respect my beliefs. but the whole issue came up as a "what if", concerning if we were to have children, would i be feeding them weird stuff and not letting them go to doctors. Of course in a way he's right, I would not feed my children a typical american diet or routinely take them to doctors. My beliefs are strong, and I would not be willing to compromise on this. he thinks I'm way off the deep end and... well you know the rest. I know that my health is a journey and I am always learning. So I will keep being strong, and maybe eventually he will understand more.
I also sympathize with the absolute frustration with mainstream public health information. I hated my college course in nutrition too. Thats why I knew that even though health and real nutrition are my passions, I could never major in it in traditional college because it would just infuriate me and make me hate it. I would seriously consider changing your major or postponing your nutrition studies to post grad, in naturopathic school or something of that sort.
Thanks for the book suggestion too.
Anna

[shelley]

Oh dear me, that is a delimna!!! What if he wants your kids to get every single vaccine out there? I'm not against every single vaccine, the older ones are mostly okay, but those cocktails they're giving out nowadays.... brrrrrrr!

Sweetie, good luck with this. This is quite a challenge you're dealing with.