HEALTH AND WELLNESS

The Diabetes Diet, Richard Bernstein, MD

If you have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or any kind of diabetic predisposition, I think this is one of the best and most comprehensive sources for how to control your blood sugar.

Hidden Messages in Water, Masaru Emoto

Water is called the universal solvent, it has the capacity to imprint the energy of things around it including thought patterns. This is an amazing book that helps you to realize the power of your thoughts and how you can use water for healing

How to Grow More Vegetables, John Jeavons

If you only get one book on organic gardening, this is it. A step by step guide in how to grow vegetables in the smallest area possible. How to build your soil, create a compost pile and plan your garden. You will also learn about companion planting and how to deal with pests naturally. I have used the technology in this book for years, it is all here, I love this book.

Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing, Barbara Ann Brennan

I like the drawings in this book that outline how the energy body looks and works.

This is a good introduction and overview for understanding the subtle energy body and how to work with it in a healing way

Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, Candace Pert

When I got this book, I devoured it cover to cover. It is what you always knew, but now it is perfectly written down. How we think and feel effects our health. Candace gives us the data of how the chemicals in our body form networks to connect our mind and body. Great food for understanding the depth of the healing process

The Relaxation Response, Herbert Benson, MD

Mindfulness meditation techniques that are useful in helping with a broad range of diseases. This book provides valuable tools for mind/body health

Restoring your Digestive Health, Rubin and Brasco

Learn primary lifestyle practices to restore and maintain your digestive health. Full of information about good nutrition, fermented goods, supplements and how to prepare delicious meals that support your digestive healing.

Beating the Food Giants, Paul Stitt

This book is part of the required reading list for my year long course in herbal medicine. Paul Stitt worked for several large food corporations. He has the inside story of why our food supply is in the mess it is. Even if you are already knowledgeable about food issues, the truth exposed in this book will take you to a whole new level of understanding. Paul is very passionate in his writing and this book is easy to read.

The Crazy Makers, Carol Simontacchi

This book has been a long time coming, and its information is both timely and badly needed by all parents and non-parents alike. You will learn which foods contain ingredients or chemicals that can greatly affect and harm the emotional and physiological health of your children. If you know a day care provider or any body that feeds children, give them this book. We have got to stop feeding our children poison.

Empty Harvest, Bernard Jensen & Mark Anderson

Do you ever wonder why we have such a prolific cancer epidemic? Why there is so much arthritis, allergies, and other chronic disease? Take a look at the link between our food, our immunity and our planet. Empty Harvest discusses the demineralization of the soil, the declining nutritional values of our food supply, as well as the resulting weakening of our bodies' immune systems and much more. This book contains information that every one needs to know

Excitotoxins: the Taste that Kills, Russel Blaylock, MD

Excitotoxins are chemical agents added to our food under the guise of natural flavors, spice, hydrolyzed protein and more. These all too common additives disrupt brain function and contribute to headaches, ADD, depression, insomnia, Alzheimer's and more. Be informed and learn about the dangers of what is in most packaged foods.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, Eric Schlosser

Use this book for discussion/study groups for high school students. It is a MUST read for anyone that eats fast food. American fast food is indicted as a crime against humanity. Take a look at how fast food is manufactured and all the chemicals that are added to fool your brain into thinking that you are eating something that tastes good.

Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture, Andrew Kimbrell

Agriculture for profit at the expense of people and the environment and all of the illness that entails. Full of amazing photographs and in depth research, this book also looks at how we can create a better future with different farming practices. I have the hard back edition and keep it on the coffee table. Even people that could care less about organic food are surprised by the facts and photos in this great piece of work

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus

Everything you ever wanted to know about oils and fats and their effects on your health. Our food is riddled with poor quality filler fats, be informed, save your health.

Imperial Secrets of Health and Longevity: Dietary Wisdom according to Chinese Medicine, Bob Flaws

This book focuses on oriental principles of health preservation. The search for longevity is an integral part of Chinese medicine and this easy to read book outlines lifestyle practices that promote increased health and wellbeing

Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon and Pat Connolly

This book is dog-eared, torn and tattered on my kitchen shelf. I have favorite recipes, I try new ones often and while I am cooking I can read for a few minutes about some great nutritional tip or fact. Find out how toxic boxed cereal is, even the organic ones. Find out how to feed your immune system. I love this book and use it all the time. It has healthy snacks for kids, yummy fermented foods and good recipes for every meal of the day

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Weston A, Price

This is the detailed research of Dr. Weston Price a dentist who worked to discover why Americans had such bad teeth and ailing health. Traveling the world he found people with strong bodies and healthy teeth that ate diets traditional to their ancestors. He chronicles the degeneration of health in the modern world in association to the food we eat. This is a classis work that provides us with the foundation of how to apply the ancient wisdom of indigenous cultures to our modern day life

Nutritional Herbology, Mark Pederson

This is an easy to read resource book that I use to look up vitamins and mineral contents in herbs.

One Bite at a Time, Rebecca Katz

This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. Delicious and easy to prepare soups, deserts, main dishes and drinks. Healthy recipes for anyone but especially useful if you have a health challenge

Our Stolen Future, Theo Colburn

Synthetic chemicals that mimic natural hormones cause birth defects and reproductive failure. This is valuable scientific information that needs to be at the center of our discussion about what how we are to proceed living on this planet

The Permaculture Book of Ferment and Human Nutrition, Bill Mollison

This book is a compilation of traditional food preparation techniques that have been used for thousands of years to preserve and enhance the nutritional value of food. Recipes and food processing methods have been collected from cultures all over the world and put in to this easy to follow. Anyone interested in health and nutrition will be amazed at this body of work

Safe Shoppers Bible: A Consumers Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food, Steinman and Epstein

As the toxic chemical burden in our body increases, the path to health and healing includes getting the carcinogenic substances out of your life as much as you possibly can. This bible rates thousands of household, food and personal products based on their toxicity factor. Which hair products contain cancer causing ingredients? Also you will find information on the safest products for your everyday use.

The Simple Path to Health: A Guide to Oriental Nutrition and Well-Being, Kim Le

Learn how to apply Chinese medicine principles to your everyday food preparation and consumption. This is a great recipe book full of remedies and dishes for seasonal wellness and supporting a balanced lifestyle. How to eat when you are sick, diet plans for rejuvenation and how to assess the energetics of which foods are best for you at which time of year

Sprout Garden, Mark Braunstein

Learn the easy art of sprouting. Add nutrition and enzymes to your diet and feel better!

The Tao of Healthy Eating, Bob Flaws

Learn to understand your food from an energetic approach, not just what vitamins and minerals it contains. In this excellent little book, 150 commonly eaten foods are described giving you the basis of understanding what foods are cooling or create heat or dampness in the body. Go beyond eating organic, learn to select foods that build and restore balance based on your seasonal and constitutional needs. Gain a deeper understanding of food allergies, raw foods and when to eat foods cold or hot

Traditional Foods are Your Best Medicine: Improving Health and Longevity With Native Nutrition, Ronald Schmid

This book is a good synopsis of the work of Dr. Weston Price and his research with traditional diets around the world. This book is easier to read than Dr. Prices original works and is a very good book for anyone interested in nutrition and health

Wild Fermentation, Sandor Katz

Fermented foods are integral to our digestive health and overall well being. Most Americans do not integrate fermented foods into their diet. Learn about the nutritional and health benefits of the miracle of fermented foods and how to make them. Fermented vegetables, beans, dairy, breads, wine, vinegars and more are given to you in this groundbreaking recipe book

Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing our Children from Birth to Seven, Patterson and Bradley

This is one of the first books I read when my son was born. How to create healthy rhythms, creative discipline, and learning through play. Today's children are over stimulated; this book focuses on protecting the senses of the young child. From age one to seven a child absorbs everything in their environment, understanding their developmental needs is critical to establishing healthy habits. I think this is a very good parenting book

Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health, Aviva Jill Romm

I love this book. Aviva is a midwife, herbalist and mother of four. This is a body of knowledge that she has definitely lived! Full of great herbal remedies and resources. Different ailments are categorized in an easy to use format. I had been using herbs for 20 years before I had my son, but that didn't mean that I knew how to use them with a small child. I refer to this book often!

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child, Janet Zand and Robert Roundtree

In this book you can look up just about anything that you could be worried about with your child. It provides an overview of conventional treatment, herbal treatment, homeopathy, nutrition and holistic tips for ailments listed in alphabetical order. This is a good book to have on hand. I like the herbal treatments and the homeopathic selections

The Truth About Children's Health: The Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Preventing, and Reversing Disease, Robert Bernardini

This comprehensive work offers invaluable information on how to raise a healthy child. I highly recommend this book for any new parents

Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How to Make Safe, Sensible Decisions about the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives, Aviva Jill Romm

Inform yourself before following current childhood vaccination schedules. This book sifts through the current research on vaccine safety and efficacy and offers a balanced discussion on the pros and cons of childhood vaccination

The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults, Randall Neustaedter, OMD

Each childhood vaccination needs to be a conscious and informed decision. This book discusses childhood diseases and evaluates vaccines and their effectiveness

Your Amazing Newborn, Klaus and Klaus

How does your newborn find its way to the nipple sometimes within minutes?

Newborns are extraordinary beings, with innate abilities far beyond what is commonly believed. This is a beautiful book for parents in understanding their newborn baby