The subtitle of Joyous Health is Eat and Live Well Without Dieting and Joy herself states in her opening of chapter one that, “Diets are not sustainable, period.” (McCarthy, Pg. 1) I found myself smiling at this and began thinking just how much I loathe the term “gluten free diet” like it is some kind of fad meant to be embraced by celebrities and their fan base and then discarded when something comes along that is bigger and better leaving those of us with Celiac’s Disease and Gluten Intolerance looking like we are just picky eaters without a legitimate reason because celebrities and social media have made a mockery of our lifestyle. I tell people straight up that I am gluten free, period. It is not a diet; it is a complete lifestyle overhaul which has left me with a lot of anxiety when it comes to eating out, both in restaurants and in the homes of friends and family. I have managed to bury some of the anxiety, but like all things it eventually makes its way to surface and it is not pretty when it does.
Joy
McCarthy is a CNP (Certified Nutritional Practitioner) and an RNCP (Registered
Nutritional Consulting Practitioner). She is also the Holistic Nutrition &
Health Expert to Global TV’s The Morning Show, and she is co-creator
of Eat
Well Feel Well, Toronto’s first integrated nutrition and yoga program.
She makes herself relatable as an author and as a nutritionist by detailing her
own struggles with health and nutrition. I found myself nodding in agreement
quite often through chapter one as she gives hints about her philosophy and
beliefs surrounding food and nutrition and the fact that it is not just
physical nourishment that we need but emotional nourishment in the good sense
as well. It is the emotional nourishment that we need in order to make the
strong, healthy choices that will guide our physical nourishment throughout our
lives.
Joy does
not give herself the air of standing on a pulpit, preaching to the masses about
how to live their lives. Her approach is more of a genuine, heartfelt,
nurturing approach with most of what she talks about in chapter one being more
along the lines of old-fashioned common sense; the kind we use to hear and
follow before the days of convenience took over our lives in the forms of fast,
cheap, and plentiful food that resembles and tastes like the cardboard it comes
in. She gently guides us through her reasoning for her suggestions and has the
proof to back up her claims. The book is laid out in an orderly fashion and
goes step by step for the reader and tackles one problem and suggestion at a
time. Joy herself says, “Ideally it should take you six weeks to work through
this book. However, you can take as long as you wish. Go at your own
comfortable pace.” (McCarthy, Pg.5) She includes numerous recipes to try and I
really appreciated the fact that they are colour coded just below the title so
that I can quickly scan to see if it is a gluten free recipe and make any
adjustments accordingly, by quickly scanning for offending ingredients if it is
not.
I am glad
that I was given the chance to review this book, as I am not sure that it is
one that I would have bothered to peruse or purchase otherwise. I am looking
forward to my six week or longer journey, eventually reorganizing my kitchen
and discarding any gluten free items that do not serve their purpose or are
little better than “healthy” junk. I have been on a journey for the last three plus
years and I am looking forward to the one that will lead me on the path to joy
and joyous health.
Anyone who
wishes to find their way to health or their way back to health then this is the
book. With an entire section of recipes, detailed explanations of how to select
foods for joy and health and how to practice mindful eating, it is like having
a nutritionist on hand, complete with an example of how to keep a food and
wellness journal. I think I would much rather have a consultation with Joy
herself, but until the day that that dream comes true, this will have to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment