Book Reviews

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by John R. Lee M.D.

Women considering hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause symptoms and health benefits should read this controversial, provocative book first.

"Advertising and research dollars are spent trying to convince women that estrogen will cure everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's," writes John R. Lee, M.D., "but there is scant evidence for any of these claims and reams of evidence that synthetic estrogens are highly toxic and carcinogenic." Lee has studied the research and concludes that estrogen is not the magic bullet for protection against heart disease and osteoporosis, nor does it retard aging. Natural progesterone, instead, puts postmenopausal women's hormones in balance, says Lee. He cites study after study that indicates that natural progesterone, obtained in cream form, delivers what the usual HRT only promises."Menopause as a disease has been largely fabricated by physicians and the pharmaceutical industry," says this leader of a "quiet but powerful revolution" regarding HRT. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause covers the benefits of natural progesterone, the history and politics of the medical and drug establishment, the biochemistry and dynamics of hormones and how they get out of balance, and how to prevent hormone imbalance and stay healthy. Lee empowers you to ask hard questions of your doctor. Highly recommended. --Joan Price

No More Heartburn by Sherry Rogers M.D.

This book is awesome! Very important information for anyone interested in the gut & the variety of symptoms it exhibits in today's Western society. She discusses pharmaceuticals & their side effects, but more importantly, deals with the positives - which foods to eat, how to substitute, how to CURE candida (recurrent candida sufferers rejoice!). She informs us about H.pylori (60% of the elderly have this bacterium, & it WILL cause stomach cancer) and how to treat it holistically. Dysbiosis, leaky gut, constipation, GERD, reflux esophagitis, hiatal hernia, dyspepsia, gall bladder disease, diverticulitis, Crohn's, colitis, ileitis & parasites are covered in an easy to read format that doesn't just inform you, it GIVES YOU THE PROTOCOL! I've used this book extensively as a reference when preparing for lectures on the gut & digestive system. Very valuable, very helpful.

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause John Lee, M.D.

Are you a woman between 35 and 50 experiencing PMS, migraine headaches, sudden weight gain, fatigue, irritability, tender or lumpy breasts, memory loss, fibroids, or cold hands and feet? If so, you may be experiencing symptoms of premenopause. Even if you're a decade or more away from menopause, your hormones may already be out of balance, usually caused by an excess of estrogen and a deficiency of progesterone, say the authors of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause.

John Lee, M.D., is a well-known advocate of the benefits of natural progesterone and the author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause Jesse Hanley, M.D., adds sensitivity to the emotional and spiritual aspects of premenopause. The authors recommend natural progesterone cream to balance your hormones, eliminate premenopausal symptoms, and make you feel better. They also discuss the dangers of xenohormones--substances not found in nature that have hormonal effects--frequently found in pesticides, solvents, plastics, and hormone-treated meat. The book presents common symptoms of premenopause with suggested natural treatments (progesterone cream, diet, vitamins, and herbs) and substances to avoid, plus additional chapters on diet and exercise. Many case studies help to bring the information into perspective. If you are premenopausal (or close to someone who is), this is a valuable resource.

The Fat Flush Diet Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman

The Fat Flush Diet Plan is a revolutionary diet program from one of the Top 10 Nutritionists in the United States, according to Selfmagazine. Based on a satisfying, healthful, and cleansing combination of essential fats, balanced proteins, and quality carbohydrates, Ann Louise Gittleman's Fat Flush was first popularized on iVillage.com, The Women's Network, and quickly embraced by millions of women across America. Thousands of dramatic testimonials later, the Fat Flush message board has become one of the most popular diet and fitness boards in the history of iVillage.

Now, widely known nutrition specialist and bestselling author Ann Louise Gittleman shares this program with readers. Simple, safe, and highly effective, The Fat Flush Diet Plan works via a process of detoxifying the liver, thereby increasing metabolism­­an excellent way to begin dieting as well to continue weight loss. This is also the only diet program that can successfully break through the weight loss plateau every dieter faces and "flush out" pockets of stubborn fat. In addition, the program provides an array of other quality of life benefits such as: Increased energy Sounder sleep Improved skin texture and stronger nails Decreases in depression and anxiety And much more This phenomenal diet program is worth its weight (loss) in gold to the growing number of women across America taking stock in their health and well-being.

Hormone Heresy by Sherrill Sellman

Hormone Heresy is a book that examines and questions the use of the most widely used treatment of menopausal symptoms in the world. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). It's author Sherrill Sellman, while researching menopause and what was happening to her own body, discovered a number of truths that have been disguised for decades. It was simply the changes she experienced in her own body that led her to investigate menopause and its various treatments. What she found was that the pharmaceutical industry has for years, down played the dramatic physical, psychological and emotional effects of HRT on women. Sellman recognises that there is a major change happening in society, where women are able to obtain more information about the subject ... Hormone Heresy is ... designed to empower and inform women to make the best choices for their bodies and their greater health.

Hormone Heresy is a comprehensively researched book that explains how the use of conventional hormone replacement therapies have put women at great risk and shows the suffering they have endured. It provides women of all ages the vital information necessary for making informed choices; such as the scientific research that shows that synthetic hormones used in HRT and The Pill contribute to breast, ovarian and uterine cancers and further, how longer term use contributes to CFS, liver disease, impaired thyroid function and reduced or complete deletion of a woman's sex drive.Beginning with an explanation of how the medicalization of women's reproductive cycles has brought about the enslavement of modern woman into a cycle of chemical entrapment and it concludes with practical and natural alternatives to safely and effectively handle peri-menopausal and menopausal symptoms. Women from around the world have commented on its easy readability, it's sensible approach to the changing times that each woman will experience during her lifetime.

This invaluable volume contains the most optimal, safe and effective solutions to hormonal imbalance at whatever age it occurs. With the knowledge and understanding held within this book women are inspired to create a "hormonal balancing" program for their long term health.

Living Well with Hypothyroidism by Mary Shomon

As many as one in eight women have a thyroid condition. In Living Well with Hypothyroidism, Mary Shomon outlines the most common of these--too little thyroid hormones in the body. Weight gain, depression, fatigue, and what patients call "brain fog, Brillo hair, and prune skin" result. Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism mimic so many other conditions--chronic fatigue, PMS, clinical depression--it can be very tricky to diagnose, especially since patients with HMOs may not get the thorough testing they need.

Shomon knows of what she speaks: she's a health writer and thyroid patient herself. She also manages a thyroid Web site and writes a newsletter on hypothyroidism. In Living Well, she offers an extensively researched guide to this complex condition. She covers conventional, alternative, and late-breaking approaches to treatment--such as challenging the gold standard of Synthroid as the thyroid replacement therapy of choice. (Synthroid replaces T4, the less active of the two thyroid hormones, and Shomon features new research on adding T3--the more potent thyroid hormone--to treatment.)

With her down-to-earth, patient-centered approach, Shomon explains everything from how to choose a thyroid specialist to how calcium, antidepressants, and a high-fiber diet affect thyroid hormone absorption. The book includes a chapter on depression, which is a typical misdiagnosis of hypothyroidism--as well as a symptom that often persists even after treatment. She also covers infertility (women who are hypothyroid don't ovulate as regularly and miscarry more frequently) and thyroid cancer, one of the less common causes of hypothyroidism. She explains how to spot hypothyroidism in kids, and ends with a glossary, international resources, and journal references.