printed in the Mendocino Beacon, June 19, 1997

BOOKMARK

by Tony Miksak

My wife sells Shaklee by the sea shore. She's become a self-educated nutritionist, an expert on facials, and has memorized the thousand-and-one uses for Basic H. She can recite the biography of old Doctor Shaklee and how he discovered vitamins in his bath tub before anyone thought to call them vitamins.

There's vitamin A for A Very Good Vitamin, B for Boy, What a Good Vitamin, C for C How Good a Vitamin?, D for Dang That's One Good Vitamin, E for Everyone Needs This Vitamin, and F for -- - well, I figure there must be 26 vitamins, but they haven't named them all yet.

Like anyone with a passion and the means to learn about it, Joselyn reads books on health and healing. One of her favorites is Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 2nd Edition, A Practical A-Z Reference to Drug-free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements by James and Phyllis Balch, M.D.'s. Another one is "Nutrition Almanac, 3rd Edition, the Bestselling Guide to Better Eating for Better Health" by Lavon J. Dunne.

"I like the Nutrition Almanac because you can look up any food you eat and find amounts for calories, fats, proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins and minerals in any type of food. So you can figure out what you are eating," she says. "In Prescription for Nutritional Healing in addition to defining elements of food at the beginning of the book, you can look up any condition or ailment and it will give you a brief description, followed by nutrients that are essential, very important, important or helpful to take. "Another one I like is the Complete Natural Health Encyclopedia by David Nyholt. Again, it gives 350 common ailments and beneficial remedies, treatments and nutrients. He discusses Western herbs, Chinese herbs and homeopathic remedies, as well as healing foods. "The way I use it is as a backup to the other books to verify suggested remedies and nutrients. I like to cross reference and double check. "A brand new book I think I'm going to use a lot is The Complete Book of Alternative Nutrition, Powerful New Ways to Use Foods, Supplements, Herbs and Special Diets to Prevent and Cure Disease by the editors of Prevention Magazine health books. They talk about mankind's diet from the start of history and how we got to where we are. "They describe different diets, and what they're made of and recipes in case you want to follow, say, a macrobiotic diet for a week." So this is a book for diet dilettantes? "Not necessarily. They're talking about 3,000 years of healing with food. They give good mail order food sources for all the diets, suggested books and organizations. They also talk about diets in relation to healing some of the degenerative diseases we suffer from nowadays.

"They talk about mental and emotional conditions and ‘eating for what's eating you.' One thing I like about this book is its arranged in small bits you can absorb easily.

Other good reference books, according to my wife: The Complete Home Health Advisor by Rita Elkins and The Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies by Louise Tenney. She also uses a basic university text, Understanding Nutrition, by Eleanor Noss Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes.

Joselyn says, "I think this all started with Adelle Davis. She's was the first person to talk to my generation about food and health."

I think it started with a book I brought home years ago, Managing Your Mind and Mood Through Food, by Judith Wurtman. It's a well-known concept now, but it was startling then — the idea that a sweet roll can make you sleepy and a high protein, low-fat meal can make you alert.

As soon as we read that we tested it. We got out a nice selection of carbos from the bread box and refrigerator and downed a few rolls and pieces of cake. Sure enough we were asleep in minutes.

We woke up pounds heavier and very well rested. Worked for me.

printed in the Mendocino Beacon, June 19, 1997

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