Forget the Fear of Food, The Essential Guide, by Dr Chris Finn

Forget the Fear of Food The Essential Guide by Dr Chris Finn is an interesting book.

Nutritional consultant Dr Finn covers a wide variety of topics in her book. She asks, and answers a number of questions such as:-

Why can low fat foods make you fat? How can 'dieting'  make you put on weight? And how do you stop food controlling you?

The book contains much good advice and information on what happens when we eat, why some people eat more than they really should, the psychology of eating and dieting and how we can learn to control what we eat and not let what we eat control us.

However, a point of caution. The book seems to point out problems but fails to address them adequately. Dr Finn seems to imply that exercise will not help to reduce weight, and that sugar is the food of the devil.

She bases this on the fact that in 1972 John Yudkin published a book called 'Pure, White and Deadly' in which he roundly attacks sugar as being responsible for much of the ills besetting mankind. Although doubt has been placed on the results of his research. ("What's that professor? You fed a rat the equivalent of a human eating 100 pounds a day and it fell ill? Remarkable!" is a parody of the arguments raised, but there is a fair point. Rats aren't people and deal with sugar in a different way to people. )

I feel that the book would have worked better with an index, but it is a worthwhile book, even so.

It is published by Need to Know Books in paperback at £9.99.

Weight Loss, the Essential Guide

This is another of the highly approachable and easy to use Need 2 Know books. It is written by Sara Kirkham who is not a guru of a weird fads celeb diet. Sara is a genuine nutritionist who lectures and writes on nutrition, so her book is a breath of very fresh air.

No fads, no fantasies, no fallacies, this book is the real deal if you really do want to lose weight in a sensible, structured and safe way.

She provides commonsense ways to reduce your calorific intake, tells you why control of portion size is so vital, tells you how to get past or beyond the weight loss plateau and how to measure your progress.

The book contains some enticing recipes that will help you reduce your weight as part of a calorie controlled diet, which is, of course, exactly where this book comes in!

Sara also provides tips on how to create shopping lists that will help you in your battle of the bulge, how to keep a food diary and why this can be so important.


The book also has a wealth of hints, tips and information and also some references to some other books that might be of help for the aspiring dieter and some information on some groups that could  be useful. There's also a wealth of websites for you to browse at your leisure.


The book is in paperback and costs £9.99, the ISBN is 978-1-86144-090-7

New diet book, endorsed by Jessica Biel, promotes probiotic nutrition for weight loss and optimal health

Fatigue, headaches, mood swings, weight gain, allergies, joint and muscle pain, inflammation: these are just some of the signs that indicate you may unknowingly be suffering from a ‘silent invader’ –Yeast/Candida.

The resulting imbalance can be a key factor in numerous health problems including chronic fatigue, food allergies, skin disorders, obesity, depression, digestive disorders, and other immune-related diseases. In The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity (Hay House, 1st Aug 2011/£12.99), author Donna Gates reveals a groundbreaking programme for recovering your health with probiotic nutrition and simple dietary transitions that can profoundly impact your well-being.

“Health begins in the digestive tract, rampant use of antibiotics and sugar addiction has led to an epidemic known as Candidiasis or an overgrowth of yeast in the body,” explains Gates. “My program is designed to support imbalances in the system with a probiotic rich diet and supplements to improve your inner ecology.” Body Ecology™ emphasises food and detoxification as the foundation for wellness. The resulting benefits are: greater energy, improved digestion, greater focus, a stronger immune system, weight loss and much more.”

Donna Gates is a leading expert in digestive health and has helped hundreds of thousands heal and improve their health. Dealing with her own health issues and frustrated with conventional medicine, she embarked on a long course of study into many different healing concepts, including ancient Chinese medicine, macrobiotics, raw foods, and mega-supplement therapy. Incorporating the most beneficial components of each concept resulted in the Body Ecology system of healing.

In the book, Donna reveals how to restore and maintain the ‘inner ecology’ your body needs to function properly, and eliminate or control the symptoms that rob you of the joy of living. She emphasises simple yet important dietary transitions that can profoundly impact how you feel such as:

• Drastically reducing your intake of carbohydrates and sugars
• The addition of cultured/fermented foods, such as kefir, to your diet
• Changing the quality of fats and oils you consume

The Body Ecology Diet is endorsed by many doctors, nutrition experts and even celebrities tout the benefits. According to actress Jessica Biel, “Body Ecology emphasizes the importance of what we put into our bodies and teaches a way of eating that makes me feel like I am in control of my health and in tune with my body’s intuitive needs. Cultured vegetables and coconut kefir have become essentials, not only in my home, but whenever I travel.”

In her book, Gates shows you, step-by-step, how to eat your way to better health and well-being deliciously, easily, and inexpensively. In this book, you will learn:

• Basic eating principles to help you gain mastery over every health challenge you may encounter
• How to create ideal digestive balance
• Effective cleansing and detoxification methods to restore your system's harmony and support your liver
• How to conquer sugar cravings
• Tips for strengthening your immune system
• Easy meal planning with dozens of delectable recipes, an array of menus, and detailed shopping lists
• Strategies for dining out

The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity
Published by Hay House, 1st August 2011, £12.99 pb and as an e-book.

In October 2011, Donna Gates will release The Baby Boomer Diet (Hay House) which incorporates the main principles of the Body Ecology philosophy for anti-aging and longevity.