How to Use This Book
This is a comprehensive in-home guide that will help you achieve and maintain the highest level of health and fi tness through careful dietary planning and nutritional supplementation. Even if you are healthy, you will benefit from this book because it gives advice on how to achieve and maintain optimum health, build up your immune system, and increase your energy level. Written by a certified nutritionist, this book blends the latest scientific research with traditional treatments. It provides all the information you need to design your own personal nutritional program. In addition, the author offers traditional and up-to-date home remedies, and suggests healthful modifications in diet and lifestyle.
It is important to stress that the suggestions offered in this book are not intended to replace appropriate medical investigation and treatment. The supplements and medications recommended for a particular disorder should be approved and monitored by your medical doctor or trained health care professional. If surgery or other conventional medical interventions are crucial and cannot be avoided, the nutritional supplements can shorten healing time.
The book is divided into three parts. Part One discusses the basic principles of nutrition and health, and lists and explains the various types of nutrients, food supplements, enzymes, antioxidants, and herbs found in health food shops and drugstores. Part Two is divided into sections on common disorders, from acne to cancer to yeast infection, arranged in alphabetical order. Each section discusses how to identify the symptoms and suggests ways to correct or treat the disorder through dietary guidelines and a supplementation program. Some contain helpful diagnostic selftests to help you determine whether or not you have the condition in question. Part Three offers descriptions and explanations of traditional therapies and conventional treatments that can be used in conjunction with a nutritional program. Also discussed in Part Three are a number of alternative therapy approaches, such as acupressure and acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, color therapy, fasting, glandular therapy, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, light therapy, magnet therapy, massage therapy, and music/sound therapy. In addition, there are insets throughout the book providing in-depth coverage of important topics. The ramifications of different drug therapies are discussed and the latest medical updates are provided.
Also included, in an appendix, is information on how to find some of the products recommended in this book, along with a recommended reading list and a list of health organizations and the addresses and/or phone numbers at which they can be reached for information. In a nod to current technology, website addresses are given as well. A glossary is provided for easy reference.
Although a healthy diet is the backbone of any nutritional program, we believe that most if not all people should supplement their diets with the proper nutrients to achieve wellness. Nutritional deficiency diseases such as scurvy are rare, but these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems a lack of adequate nutrition can cause. Nutritional deficiencies can cause a variety of symptoms, in addition to weakening the body's defenses against serious illness. Moreover, nutritional requirements can be influenced by many factors. People who are heavy alcohol drinkers, cigarette smokers, prescription or recreational drug users, and/or dieters are at a greater than normal risk for deficiencies, as are adolescents, elderly people, pregnant and nursing women, women who take oral contraceptives, people with certain genetic disorders, people who eat poor diets, and people with diabetes or other chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the population fits into one or more of these categories.
The supplementation programs recommended in this book should be followed for three to twelve months, depending upon your individual needs and the recommendations of your health care provider. Start by taking nutrients classified “essential” and “very important” for the relevant disorder. Many times, the nutrients recommended for a particular disorder can be found in a single product. Before you start taking them on a regular basis, test the supplements one at a time to find out if you have a reaction to any of them. If you do not find relief within thirty days, add the supplements from the “helpful” list to your program. Each of us is unique; you may need all the nutrients listed, or you may be defi cient in only a few. If you still do not notice an improvement after a month, consult your health care provider. You may suffer from malabsorption.
Always take supplements with a full glass of water. Nutritional supplements are concentrated and can overburden the liver if not enough liquid is consumed with the supplements. Water enhances absorption and is needed to aid in carrying the nutrients to the cells.
If you follow a nutritional supplementation program for longer than a year, change brands periodically so that you do not develop an intolerance or build up a resistance to one or more of the ingredients in one supplement. You can become intolerant to the ingredients in vitamins and other supplements just as you can to foods. Learn to listen to your body. Given time, you will notice changes in your body and be able to identify their cause. After the supplementation period for a certain disorder is completed, decrease supplement dosages gradually so that your body has a chance to adjust. Keep in mind, though, that virtually all of us need to supplement our diets with the basic nutrients for optimum wellness and illness prevention.
