- Nourishing
Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct
Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
by Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig PhD.ISBN: 0967089735
- An Excellent Read &
Cookbook, May 18, 2002
Reviewer: Stephen Byrnes (see more about me) from Honolulu, HI
United States
This book is much more than a cookbook--it is a nutritional handbook
and virtual encyclopedia of food history and food facts. The
first 80 pages of the book concern themselves with nutrition
basics. The sections on fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are
accurate, well-referenced, and needed in today's fat-phobic world.
Fallon and Enig (who is a well-known lipid biochemist) dispel
the many myths about saturated fats and animal foods.
- Recipes for every imaginable
dish and drink are given, from appetizers and sauces to fermented
fruits/vegetables and beverages. And it was SO nice to see a
chapter on preparing wild game and organ meats--nutritious foods
that have virtually disappeared from our modern diets (to our
decided detriment). The substantial section on vegetables provides
detailed nutritional info on each entry, as well as 2-3 tasty
recipes.
- One caveat: some of the
recipes take a lot of work if you want to do them the way Fallon
and Enig recommend. For example, they suggest soaking and then
drying and grinding your own grains to make flour. Obviously,
not everyone has time to do this. I wish there was more emphasis
on alternatives for busy people such as myself. Nevertheless,
there are still lots of simpler recipes to make and they are
tasty and delicious.
- The Resources section
in the back is excellent and handy for people wanting to get
started.
- A word to the detractors
below:
(1) Indians DO have very high rates of coronary artery disease,
even the vegetarian ones, so vegetarianism is NOT a protection
against this condition (J Indian Med Assoc 2000 Nov;98(11):694-5,
697-702).
(2) The claims that vegetarians live longer than omnivores (on
a healthy diet) are also not supported by available data (R Smith
and E Pinckney. Diet, Blood Cholesterol, and Coronary Heart Disease:
A Critical Review of the Literature--vol. 2. (Vector Enterprises;
CA)., 1991).
(3) The idea that eating animal protein causes calcium loss has
been disproven many times over ((a) J Nutr, 1986, 116:316-319;
(b) Amer J Clin Nutr, 1983, 924-929; c) J Nutr, 1988, 118(6):657-60;
(d) Amer J Clin Nutr, 1999, 69:1:147-52; (e) J Bone & Min
Res, 2000, 15:2504-2512; (f) Calcif Tiss Int, 1996, 58:320-5.
(4) The idea that eating a lot of butter or ghee (or other animal
fats) contributes to or causes heart disease is false ( Lancet,
1994, 344:1195; (b) Science 2001 Mar 30 291:5513 2536-45).
(5) The idea that eating meat or animal fats contributes or causes
various cancers is a popular idea that is not supported by available
evidence (The Lancet, 1999, 353:686-7; (b) Aust J Nutr Diet,
1997, 54(4):S1-S44.
- I'm wondering if these
acrid reviewers bothered to read the book or check its many references.
- Also, a few reviewers
commented feeling sick after eating some of the recipes. This
is usually indicative of digestive weakness and may call for
digestive enzymes or fermented foods before a meal to stimulate
digestive juice flow. The book does suggest eating some fermented
food either right before or with with a meal to facilitate digestion.
Again, I'm wondering if the critics have bothered to read the
book in any detail. Nausea shortly after eating can also mean
that the meal has too much fat in it. Either the people made
the recipe wrong or they cannot tolerate higher amounts of fats
at one time and need to cut back.
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