While I do not consider myself a beginner in the area of nutrition and health, I did appreciate several aspects of this book. Chapter One "Nutritional Basics" addressed sugar and how sugar in its various forms affects our bodies. I learned much about what glucose is and how sugar can cause the whole body to become imbalanced. My husband and I quit eating and/or drinking sugar a year ago, and so I really appreciated the author explaining the alternatives to pure sugar. Having kicked the sugar habit, I no longer crave sweets and if I attempt to drink a sip of soda, I get a belly ache. So, I know getting healthier and losing weight can truly begin with cutting sugar out of your diet. For that reason, I applauded the inclusion of the sugar discussion in Chapter One.
While this book heeded the mandate to treat your body as a temple, ( this is the official book of The Focus on the Family Physician's Resource Council, USA) it was not a book only for the Christian market. No doubt, this book would easily be embraced by the secular market.
This book is a gentle approach to a healthier lifestyle. I appreciated the easy way the author summarized raw food diets, Biblical diets, and paleolithic diets. I do adopt many aspects of raw food diets and Biblical diets. I believe a healthy lifestyle begins with balance. God gives us a sound mind to make the best decisions for our health. I have experienced better health as a result of taking ideas from the different buffets of diets. I enjoyed this book because the author did not ditch any of the three but mentioned highlights and low lights of each, thus allowing the reader an intro into each and the opportunity to become a diet Berean.
I had a few criticisms of this book. I understood this book to be an intro to better health and a great place for someone seeking better nutrition. I felt it would be more beneficial if the book were more substantial in length as I feel having a dictionary of sorts or a manual to pull off a shelf as needed would make this book more necessary. Also, the cover led me to believe I may receive recipes as well, thus causing this book to earn a space in my kitchen bookshelf next to my cookbooks. An additional chapter could have included modern new kitchen gadgets with a sampling of easy recipes for these kitchen gadgets addressed to a Mom or Dad on the go.
This 186 page book may be a one time read just because the reader gleans everything in one read and then does not need to refer to it again. Possibly the author did intend this book to be passed along as opposed to shelved and referenced. I just felt the reader reading it and keeping it might cause the reader to be accountable. For me personally, my most important books become dog-eared and highlighted. I also write in notes, in pen for good measure. Those books worthy of my scribbles remain a long time in my library. They become necessary spokes on my good health wheel. I consider these books to be long-time friends. I had hoped that this book could be more of a nutritional primer that would be passed through the generations.
This book I will happily pass along to a friend who is a busy Mom and a person who needs to start at the ground floor to better health. A "been there and done that" dieter who needs a fresh approach - - my friend will no doubt glean much from Busy Mom's Guide to Family Nutrition.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their
