Deirdre's GRATE book "Food That Helps Win the Battle Against Fibromyalgia"

I was so pleased to have my copy of Deirdre Rawlings' outstanding book Food that Helps Win the Battle Against Fibromyalgia with me recently when my sister said "I need to get out my cookbooks and get some inspiration."   This was brought on because our dad, who is in what I call 'the home stretch of life' was trying to figure out what he might eat differently to get better results for what is 'paining him' and making his joints malfunction.  I believe he had undiagnosed / misdiagnosed  fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue issues basically his whole life, much as I have (though it took until adulthood to fully manifest); he had the symptoms of low blood sugar, migraine headache and chronic pain and fatigue 'on and on' as far back as I can remember. 

In the mid 1990's, when I was learning to find my way around investigating and pursuing alternative treatments for chronic fatigue and pain which was finally later diagnosed as 'fibromyalgia', I was fortunate enough to find progressive providers who could tell me about common foods I was eating that was contributing to the process of symptoms.  So over the years I've read a LOT of books on the subject and find Deirdre's truly 'as good as it gets'!  I would recommend it be one of the first books purchased if someone knew or suspected they had fibromyalgia, but since I joke and say that 'fibromyalgia is a bad case of what most everyone else has going on in their bodies', I have to say that I'd recommend her book to ANYONE interested in food and nutrition and being their healthiest. 

Our family is quite an interesting mix and makes meals 'interesting' to cook for when we're all together: my sister and her husband do not eat meat or fish and our dad at about age 80 took a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse which resolved when he eliminated gluten and wheat from his diet.  By then, she and I both knew about our sensitivity/allergy to wheat (and in my case dairy and eggs as well).  Dad's noticed in the past that he has more difficulties with joints when he eats too much meat, so when he recently started asking about foods and the body/joints (aches and pains), I said 'I have a great book JUST about that'. 

My sister immediately looked at the book and starting planning to make two recipes that day for dinner; she commented on the beautiful photographs of each dish, the quick guide on each recipe that is for "Health Facilitators" (Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate, Enzymes, Antioxidants, Fiber) which allow you to rapidly assess what components of diet can be addressed by that particular recipe.  I like that the first half of the book explains in simple yet complete terms what each of those components are and their role and interplay within the body. 

"Food That Helps Win the Battle Against Fibromyalgia; Ease Everyday Pain and Fight Fatigue" by Deirdre Rawlings, ND, PhD, with foreward by Jacob Teitelbaum, MD is 304 of the best pages about fibromyalgia overview and nutrition/recipes I have ever seen, and it is a pleasure to read in the way it is presented.  I highly recommend people obtain a copy (available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com)

Another suggestion: if this is a book you are interested in and feel your community could benefit, get the link to this page to your library's purchasing agent.  But I hope that everyone who can benefit from this 'information saturated book' has access to it, and it's definitely worth the $19.95 US in my book!  (yes, puns included intentionally ) ~~ Mardy

Also, the book's "About the Author" routes you to visiting her at her website about health coaching and wellness generally which is www.nutri-living.com [1] BUT I know Deirdre also has a facebook presence on a page titled Foods for Fibromyalgia and likely has developed a separate website after the publication of this book just about fibromyalgia.  Again, I suggest her information and expertise for anyone intersted in wellness, and in particular those with fibromyalgia or who are at risk or potentially developing it.  Those links:

http://www.foodsforfibromyalgia.com [2]

http://www.nutri-living.com [3]

The information on the book: ISBN-13:978-1-59233-320-2;

Publisher: Fair Winds Press - www.fairwindspress.com [5]