Practical, important

Reviewed by Kelley Anderson for Reader Views (4/06)
"Take Back Your Health: A Total Wellness Guide for You and Your Family" is a well organized guide to overcoming common illnesses and conditions for the whole family. It gives you alternatives to doctor prescribed antibiotics and drugs and instead suggests nutrition and relaxation techniques to take control of your health. The language is simple and easy for the average person to understand, with an organized glossary for some of the less common clinical terms used. Although it is a total wellness guide for the entire family, I found the book to be geared more toward women and how to take care of their families. Most men I know that suffer from these health problems don't really consider them more of a nuisance than a problem.

The author has a lot of useful suggestions on how to eat more natural, whole foods as a part of the healthy lifestyle process. She also helped me to understand the difference between food allergies and food intolerance. Although I can see the point of most of what she wrote, there are a lot of suggestions on supplements to take and foods to eliminate and reintroduce into your diet if you feel you may have a food intolerance. I don't think that an ordinary family living paycheck to paycheck can afford to buy these supplements or switch to a different type of food (organic, soy, etc). In addition, I live in a small town, rural area and most of these things are not readily available to buy. I agree that people with some of the conditions covered (ADHD, autism, menopausal symptoms) may benefit from the switch, but it is not very practical in real life.

However, if you are someone who is having frequent health issues that have become unbearable, this is a good book for you to read and try. I also think that more emphasis should be placed on running any nutritional or exercise programs by your doctor first. Also, the section on stress and disease was interesting and some of the relaxation suggestions were a good reminder. I had been forgetting to take time for myself and my making sure to effectively cope with stress now, I will be helping myself out in the long run.

"Take Back Your Health" was easy to read, well organized and had many good suggestions not only for those suffering from an illness, but also anyone hoping to prevent future illness. If you are interested in using the improved diet, exercise and stress management techniques or would like to learn more about nutritional testing and supplementation, you can find practical tips to improve your health and that of your family.


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A Great Practical and Educational Book for Everyone

"Take Back Your Health", is a practical, thorough and easy to read book that addresses many common health issues. Renee Simon, promotes healthy living by giving us insight on her personal health battles and real case studies. I especially like the "total wellness makeover" approach where she lists the symptoms of her patients before and after her treatment plan. The last section of the book "Anti- Aging Program for Energy and Vitality" is a wonderful step by step guide to a healthy mind and body. The resource section provides great information on supplement companies, diagnostic laboratories, websites, organizations and special diets. As a Nutritionist, I found this book to be very handy, educational, and resourceful. I highly recommend it to my friends and patients.

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Very helpful guide and resource for the whole family!

I purchased this book 4 months ago and both my husband and I have used it on several occasions to gather additional information on how to treat and respond to various health questions. My husband wanted to know more about fish oil and it's affects on cholesteral so I pointed to the book. He was very happy with the information he found. I wanted to research childhood Asthma for my brother's son and I found helpful case studies on the topic. I found this book useful and informative, I especially liked reading case studies they were more helpful than reading an experts opinion. I will keep this book as both a tool and a reference in our family library for years to come.

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