Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig

OK, now.  Onto the next book.  It's called Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig.  Same ones who wrote Nourishing Traditions also.  Lots of great info on what makes fats good or bad (kind of boring) and then what the good fats do for you (amazing!)  I can't think that coconut oil is really that good for you (all good, no bad, a miracle basically), but I think that incorporating it into your diet is beneficial in so many ways. (as seen in this post)  Mary Enig is a Lipidologist (a doctor of fats, since the 1960's) and she knows her stuff.  She's one of the brave ones that went up against companies like Frito Lay to get bad fats labeled on their packaging (since obviously they weren't going to eliminate them!)

They answer these questions:

"-Have you relied on fat-free foods and counted fat grams to lose weight only to find that your weight has plateaued and you always feel hungry?

-Do you avoid red meats, butter and eggs to lower your cholesterol but lack sufficient energy to make it through the day?

-Do you eat margarine because of a family history of heart disease, but feel listless and depressed?

-Do you eat so-called healthy meals (like a salad with no-fat dressing), only to be overtaken by cravings that drive you to eat fatty foods, such as chips, french fries, doughnuts or ice cream?

Or perhaps you have these symptoms:

-Has your weight been slowly creeping up?

-Is it impossible to lose that last 10 lbs no matter how hard you try?

-Have your energy and enthusiasm drooped?

-Do you still feel hungry after you've finished a meal?

-Do you crave fried foods, sweets and sugary snacks?

-Do you experience a mid-afternoon energy crash and need caffeine or sweets to get you through the rest of the day?

-Do sharp cravings for fattening foods overwhelm your best intentions to eat healthy, wholesome foods?

-Do you feel too fatigued to exercise, though you know you should?

- Do you blame yourself for your lack of "willpower"?

-Are you resigned to weight gain and fatigue?

-Do you suffer from a chronic disease such as depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypothyroidism, digestive problems, or hormonal imbalances?

Every one of those symptoms can signify a dietary fat deficiency...Because we believe that fats are bad, we're afraid to listen to our bodies."  She goes on to add that most obese people are nutrient starved, rather than just uncontrolled eaters, like society would like us to believe.  By giving our bodies good fats, the cravings for bad fats will go away.

So, they answer these questions and tell how to solve those problems.  The book highly promotes coconut oil, but also cod liver oil too.  With these two oils, pretty much all health problems will be solved over time (along with eating the fats from our meats as well).

Anyhow, there it is in a nutshell!  For more information, go to:

http://www.eatfatlosefat.com/

I also read The Coconut Oil Miracle by Dr. Bruce Fife.  Alot of the same information, but from a different slant.  I won't write a whole review, but here's his website with all it's informational goodness!
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/index.htm

Book Review- Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski (4th Edition)

Due to my recent acquisition of a library card, I've been ordering all the books that I've wanted to read for quite some time without one.  I had put them on my Amazon wish list, in hopes of buying them someday but then ended up being able to get quite a few of them through our local library system.  I'm a nutrition junkie who is always so curious about how the body works and what makes things better and worse, that sometimes I wear myself out.  (I also wore out my nursing school instructor with my millions of questions of how's and why's.  She'd say, "You don't need to know that, Rachel.  You'll have to stay after class if you want to learn more."  So I did.  Almost every day.)   Anyhow, I am going to try to share the wealth that I'm learning in case some of it may be of help or interest to you too.  These books are available in the Fort Vancouver system, for you locals.

Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski (4th Edition)

"Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion" is the motto on the front of the book.  That sums it up, but I'll add my favorite information too!

She starts out by explaining how your gut is at the center of all body functions, and if it isn't working properly, you'll end up with a host of different problems.  From allergies, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, weight loss struggles, these all can be traced back to digestive roots, even if you have never had digestive complaints.   The saying that the gut is the second brain of the body holds true.

She starts at your mouth and goes through the digestive system to the other end, explaining all the nutrients extracted at each point, and then what happens if that piece isn't working properly, and how to fix it (most of the things you can do at home).  She talks about pre- and probiotics and how essential they are to all diets (due to our increase in "dead" foods), how we need to eat real food (quit reading labels so much and just eat meat, veggies, fruit, good fats).  Her idea is to eat 90% nourishing food and then let the last 10% be "fun" food.  If the food isn't nourishing your body, then what is the point of eating it?  And she explains that cravings are your body telling you of a lack, so listen up.  If you are craving fatty foods, you likely need some good oils/fats (not the doughnut that you think you want!)

She explains what a "leaky gut" is and how people get them and what to do if you have one. (Most Americans do these days for various reasons)  She gives many ways to heal it too.

There is also a few page checklist to see where your digestion may be lacking, and then a section to find out how to heal and improve it.  She talks about pH too. (Acid/base balance) What is good for your body's pH and what is not.  One quote that I thought was interesting was about soda.  She says how a can of cola has a pH of 2.8-3.2 and our body cannot excrete urine more acidic than 5.0.  This means that our body has to bring the pH up to 5.0 and it would take 33 litres of urine to do this (to dilute the cola).  Since nobody drinks that much water to do so, our body then has to pull alkalizing mineral stores from our cells (potassium and magnesium).  If there aren't enough there (which there rarely is in the standard diet) then our body will pull calcium from our bones and teeth (hence the dental epidemic these days).  Sugar has the same effect as cola in that our body has to use it's precious minerals to break it down, thus depleting our body of essential minerals.

I guess the sum would be how we can all improve our digestion since most of us are probably lacking in some way or another.  She follows an algorithm for healing the gut which is pretty straight forward and easy to do as well.  If you go to her website you can find out more, since I can't write too much due to copyright issues.   A very informative, educational read for a nutrition geek like myself!

http://www.digestivewellnessbook.com/  

Under "extras" she has her 10 food/diet guidelines and some quizzes to see what direction you should take with your own digestion.  Also look up "functional medicine" which is in that same section.  She explains how to find a good practitioner and what the differences are between it and conventional medicine (which is what most of us are used to).  She likes them to all work together, rather than in separate entities for overall good health.