Foods that Harm. Foods that Heal

Readers Digest 2013

389 pages     Nonfiction

The Short List

My daughter's mother-in-law is an herbalist and nutritionist. She knows all there is to know about herbal and nutritional healing. If you have something physical bothering you, you just call her and she tells you what to do. 

Not everyone can have Janice around to tell you what to do and what to eat. The next best thing is Reader's Digest Book's Foods that Harm; Foods that Heal: What to Eat to Beat Disease. It is a handy-dandy guide --very easy to follow with lots of good advice. This is a revised and updated version of a book that has been around for a long time. It is very colorful, very complete, and extremely useful as a family guide.

I did not read this book cover-to-cover. There is no need of that, although I think that a purist like Janice would find it fascinating. The best thing about Foods that Harm; Foods that Heal is I can just pick a topic that I am concerned about and I can find lots of good advice about what to do or eat. Yesterday we used it because my husband asked me what the nutritional difference was between head lettuce, which he prefers, to romaine, which I prefer. I got out Foods that Harm; Foods that Heal and read to him that romaine has five times as much beta-carotene and vitamin C as head lettuce. End of one family argument. The book contains an excellent guide to food-drug interactions; useful tips for cooking foods that you don't generally eat; and what foods to stay away from if you suffer from common ailments. Additionally, it is full of fun facts. For instance, did you know that most commercial chocolate has less caffeine than a cup of decaffeinated coffee? 

I think that most households that are concerned about the food that they eat will appreciate having a copy of Foods that Harm; Foods that Heal among their kitchen cookbooks. I received my copy from the publicist.