Nutritionist Judy Stone says most chronic conditions can be prevented, improved, or even reversed through the proper diet, without taking medication. ''Even the Harvard Health Newsletter (April 2008) has come around to trumpeting the drug-free triumvirate of diet, exercise and lifestyle changes,'' says Stone, author of Take Two Apples and Call Me in the Morning: Using the Power of Food to Change Your Life (Hara, $21.95). 'Unfortunately, they avoid wholeheartedly advocating a change of course in healthcare, citing patients' lack of initiative, the convenience of taking a drug, and the forces of pharmaceutically driven medical care.''
Stone's book explains how to use diet and nutrition to address common ailments, such as diabetes, hormone imbalances, bone loss, depression, weight loss, inflammation leading to heart disease and many other problems.
In her nutrition practice, Stone sees many clients who have noticed their health erode slowly over time, not realizing that the primary causes are poor diet and medications. ''People tend to see each new symptom as a unique problem requiring treatment, instead of realizing that the body is an entire system suffering from nutritional deficiencies, many induced by drugs,'' she says. ``Our bodies are designed to repair and regenerate. Given the right nutrition, they can do this quite effectively.''
Take Two Apples gently guides readers from understanding their bodies to feeding them, with menus, shopping guides and more than over 100 recipes. Plans to address specific situations are included.
