Book Reviews

Beauty 2.0: A Holistic Guide to Natural Skin Care
by Kristen Ma
Pure + Simple Communications
Toronto, ON 2009

In mid-June, multiple dozens of people crammed into Pure + Simple’s King St. location to enjoy finger foods tailored towards the three doshas, experiment with forms of natural healing such as acupuncture and reflexology, test out some mineral make up, and most importantly, celebrate the launch of spa co-owner Kristen Ma’s new book, Beauty 2.0: A Holistic Guide to Natural Skin Care.

Ma, an Ayurvedic practitioner, has based her book on these ancient principles, while incorporating modern-day knowledge of skin and beauty and her work as an esthetician, in order to publish the best all-natural holistic skin care treatments.

As someone who suffered from acne for years with no relief, Ma spent much of her adolescence researching various skin care products and the multitude of causes behind acne, hoping to reach a solution for her own skin. While on this journey, Ma came to realize that her true passion in life was holistic beauty. She spent years abroad in India and Australia, to name a few destinations, learning how climate, ethnicity and other factors work within the body to create reactions. Throughout the years, Ma has built up a large repertoire of knowledge on these subjects, which is obvious when reading her works or speaking with her at one of her spas.

Ma’s latest book exudes a deep, natural and authentic understanding of the body and its relation to beauty. Her holistic approach is raw and thought provoking, and encourages the reader to think of her body as one complete organism: if you have dry skin on your face, moisturizing your entire body is beneficial as your skin is one organ. The body as one entire entity is taken into account when looking at treatments for rosacea, acne, eczema and other skin ailments.

Beauty 2.0 is written as if you are sitting in one of Pure + Simple’s four locations and are having a personal, one-on-one conversation with the natural beauty expert herself. The book’s several sections are broken down into further sub-sections, making it easy to read and easy to locate the information that pertains to each individual’s needs. However, all wisdom shared in this big beauty book is interesting and applicable, so while not all sections may apply your specific needs, you will still certainly come away having learned many things new.

As with all holistic approaches, Ma begins her book with the proper foundation. Based on her strong personal background in Ayurvedic philosophy, she provides explanations of this ancient theory as well as a questionnaire to help the reader identify her own dosha. According to Ma, your dosha has much to do with how your skin looks and feels, and how it should be treated.

It is refreshing to see a beauty book take the body as a whole into account when diagnosing and treating facial imperfections. It is also satisfying to learn that there are methods which will heal your imperfections long-term without the use of expensive and potentially harmful drugs.

Beauty 2.0: A Holistic Guide to Natural Skin Care is in touch with where we are and what we need in the 21st Century.                
           
Review by Michelle Singerman

Anatomy of Exercise
by Pat Manocchia
Firefly Books
Richmond Hill, ON; 2009

When I teach fitness, I often tell my class that they should try to put their minds to their muscles — coaching them on how their muscles work before the participants actually work those muscles. Pat Manocchia’s Anatomy of Exercise fits perfectly with this concept. Manocchia, the founder of La Palestra Center for Preventive Medicine in New York City, is touted as a pioneer in the integration of exercise and medicine. He has also been a contributing editor for Women’s Sports and Fitness and Allure magazines, and a fitness consultant on Good Morning America.

In Anatomy of Exercise, Manocchia takes a complex subject and makes it both reader friendly for the general fitness enthusiast, and of practical use to the fitness expert. His intent was to make information on the anatomy of exercise “accessible and useful to anyone who exercises.” And he has succeeded.    

Many exercise books list physical activities that can strengthen a given muscle group, provide some instruction on how to execute them and then throw in some photos for good measure. You see a model doing a lunge or a bicep curl and you follow the steps to mimic that exercise yourself — but do you really know what you are doing? Are you aware that in order to achieve such movements, there has to be involvement of a whole host of other muscles, not just the ones taking on the major load? It is the excellent coverage of this significant aspect of physical activity that makes Anatomy of Exercise stand out. Manocchia provides clear and detailed descriptions of specific exercises, but also the interactions of these exercises with all adjacent muscles. For example, the reader learns that the hip and spine placement contribute to almost every major exercise and are integral not only to the “proper biomechanics of a given movement, but subsequent improvement of the targeted muscle.”

The book’s structure follows the progression of a typical workout. To begin, Manocchia provides options for warming up and stretching, emphasizing that both are mandatory for safety and optimum workout benefits. This is followed by detailed anatomical illustrations of exercises for a full-body workout. Along with three-dimensional drawings, there are also live model photos for additional visual aid. Each exercise depicted includes concise how-to instructions right from the starting position to action involved, the movement path, stabilizer movements, what the exercise is best for — and my two favourites — what to look for and what to avoid. I found these tips particularly valuable because our muscles are often at the mercy of improper training routines that can develop into strength imbalances, resulting in sub-optimal performance and injury.

A handy feature of this book is a visual index of exercises included at the back, which makes it easy for quick referencing. Also useful is the general glossary. Call me an exercise nerd, but I found the inclusion of a Latin glossary kind of fun, and an excellent learning tool, too. While it is fine to describe the muscles of the upper back, it is more impressive (and anatomically correct) to refer to them as the trapezius, from the Greek word trapezion, or small table; and the rhomboids, from the Greek word, rhembesthai, meaning to spin.

Anatomy of Exercise does not provide specific training guidelines, such as which weight to use, repetitions and sets or number of sessions per week. Because as Manocchia reasons — exercise programs should be determined by “your own capacities and goals.” He suggests the best and most effective way to determine these things is to consult a fitness professional. They will be able to provide a program that suits the individual’s unique abilities and objectives.

Manocchia’s intent is to provide a “reference manual for understanding both positioning and muscular involvement for the included exercises.” He offers information that will help us put some thought into our exercise — something that will assuredly enhance our body-mind health.

Review by Susannah Kent 

The Vegan Cook’s Bible
by Pat Crocker
Robert Rose Inc.
Toronto, ON; 2009

Veganism is a term that was introduced to society in the mid-1940s, and originally meant non-dairy vegetarians. In later years, the term grew to describe those who took a stand against the exploitation of animals for diet, entertainment or any other purpose. The term “vegan” has since become almost ever-present in a society that is quickly becoming centered on living a healthier and greener lifestyle. There are many people, including myself, who are not complete vegans — or even vegetarians — but who are interested in living a healthier lifestyle in general, and that starts by eating clean and whole foods. In The Vegan Cook’s Bible, Pat Crocker brings all the benefits of veganism to the forefront, in an easy, manageable and attainable way.

This book is more like a hybrid of health text and cook book combined, rather than just a cook book alone. Crocker begins this book — the next in her series of Cook’s Bibles — with an overview of what it means to be vegan. This includes the necessary dietary prerequisites needed to create a healthy and balanced menu, which in turn creates a healthy and balanced lifestyle. She even provides “Daily Vegan Guidelines” before delving into the book. This is a vital piece of information, since it takes more thoughtful planning for vegans to obtain their daily nutritional requirements. Many people have reacted to this increasingly-popular diet by falling ill, simply because they didn’t take the proper precautions to fulfill their complete nutritional needs.  

The book’s first major section is an explanation of “Healthy Body Systems,” which details the guidelines to proper health and eating well. Crocker introduces it clearly and effectively: “Today, the biggest killers in Western societies are the cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension, most of which are preventable by diet. Immunity and obesity play a role in either reducing or elevating the disease, and they are both affected by the foods we eat…to be healthy and prevent disease, a healthy lifestyle is essential.”

Crocker delves into the body’s seven systems, their corresponding health problems, table lists of the “best foods” for each system and how they affect the specific system, as well as the “Top 10 best bets” for each system, which explains the top food categories and why they are beneficial to the pertaining system.

What’s more, is the well-informed author has included a complete section on whole foods divided into the following segments: fruits; vegetables; legumes; whole and ancient grains; nuts and seeds; sea vegetables; soy foods; herbs; and whole food ingredients. She goes through each food, such as apples or coriander seeds, and explains the action, use, buying and storing, culinary uses and cautions for each, and even directs you to the pages with corresponding recipes.

It is not until after page 130 that we get into the recipes, but it’s not as if you will be in a rush to get there, either. The above sections are so informative and easy to read, it’s like a bonus of getting two books in one.

Now, onto the reason this book was written: the recipes. There is such a numerous variety of flavours and dishes described in this book, even the pickiest of eaters will find something to make for dinner. Crocker goes through every course of a meal, like a good cookbook should, and the variety of dishes and regions of the world that have influenced this compilation is admirable. The most thrilling aspect of each recipe is that the prep-time is truly kept to a minimum, so as not to intimidate the beginner cook. The number of steps per recipe averages about two to three. This is especially great for anyone who wants to cook a nutritious and fulfilling meal, but doesn’t have time to start cooking at 9 a.m. in order to have dinner ready by 6 p.m.

Though some of the ingredient lists do tend to get somewhat lengthy, upon closer inspection one realizes the length really isn’t too painful at all, with many of the ingredients being common pantry or produce items.

The photography in this book is outstanding and may even dictate meal decisions for you. I found it hard to stick with my potential choices because when flipping through the book, I tended to become easily distracted by the detailed photos and found myself following the images to their corresponding recipes.

And just when you thought the book couldn’t pack in anymore information, between the recipes and source listing is a sweet little glossary, detailing common and less common nutritional terms, which was also a joy to read through.

The Vegan Cook’s Bible truly is bible-like, whether you are vegan or not. Take your time reading through all the health information while your pot is simmering and you are deciding what great meal to make for tomorrow night’s dinner. You won’t be disappointed.

Review by Michelle Singerman

The Hormone Diet: Lose Fat. Gain Strength. Live Younger Longer.
Dr. Natasha Turner, Naturopathic Doctor
Random House Canada; 2009

Years ago Natasha Turner was 25 pounds heavier and found herself unable to lose weight, despite eating well and exercising regularly. She was sleeping 16 hours a day but still feeling fatigued and generally exhausted. She went on like this for 13 years before discovering that there was more than simply diet and exercise at play. She had a hormonal imbalance.

Hormones are the powerful chemical messengers in our body controlling many things from our moods to our appearance, but they can be set off balance by things such as sleep and stress. Because hormones manage so much in our bodies related to weight loss (metabolism, appetite and cravings), it is essentially impossible to achieve our weight loss goals and general wellness without healthy, balanced hormones.

Once Turner came to understand this, she was not only able to lose her excess weight, but her general health drastically improved. Today she is bright, energetic, and practices what she preaches. As one of Canada’s leading naturopathic doctors and natural health consultants, she has made it her mission to make sure that others don’t struggle with the same health issues that she did. Hence, The Hormone Diet.

This book is the very first to address the needs of both men and women. It targets hormonal imbalances at all ages and stages of life, making this an invaluable reference. Based on Turner’s successful clinical approach for creating hormonal balance to gain strength, lose fat and enjoy lasting health, this book offers the big picture and describes 16 different hormones in detail.

Turner says, “The mere mention of hormones can conjure images of menopausal women or nefarious food additives … But this book is definitely not only for those with hormonal issues. It is not even strictly directed at people seeking to lose weight. I have used the approach outlined in these pages to successfully treat thousands of patients with a broad spectrum of health goals. Some needed to gain much-needed muscle. Others wanted healthier-looking skin. Still others wanted to get rid of their headaches, improve sleep, ease digestion, increase energy, improve fertility or sharpen memory. The Hormone Diet offers a complete wellness plan that addresses every cause of obesity. It promotes healthy bodily function from head to toe, inside and out.”

Hormone imbalance symptoms often come as a surprise to most of us who have considered our hormones either normal or to be an effect of aging. Imbalances can include difficulty losing weight, feeling fatigued after eating, difficulty sleeping or not waking up refreshed.

Once Turner has helped her readers recognize the signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance, she helps them understand how that imbalance is impacting their ability to lose weight. She spells out the “3-Step Hormone Diet Program” to revitalize, replenish and restore health.

Step 1, Renew and Revitalize: This step is the first two weeks of the diet and includes an anti-inflammatory detox to set the stage for weight loss and balance. There are sleep rules that help optimize sleep’s fat-burning and hormone-enhancing benefits. It also includes recognizing and treating stress — a major cause of hormonal imbalance today.

Step 2, Replenish Your Body and Balance Your Hormones: This step includes a lifetime nutrition prescription. Here you will learn to chose the right foods at the right times. You will also learn about nutritional supplements that support hormonal balance and metabolism. You will take a Hormonal Health Profile and based on your personal results, you will be able to adjust The Hormone Diet prescription according to your specific signs and symptoms of imbalance. Lastly, you will learn about the latest about advanced supplements and bio-identical hormone therapy.

Step 3, Restore Strength, Vigour and Radiance: This step includes The Hormone Diet exercise prescription to build strength and lose fat. You will learn about the benefits of toxin-free skin care products and simple tips to keep you motivated.

As Turner discovered years ago, weight loss is not as easy as popping a pill or following a fad diet. In understanding our hormones and their natural functions, we can work with our bodies towards improving our general wellness, becoming more energetic, and living longer. As Turner puts it, the healthy lifestyle changes in this book “will benefit your body, mind and soul for life.”

Review by Vanessa Rodriguez

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