The Elimination Diet: Discover the Foods That Are Making You Sick and Tired--and Feel Better Fast Paperback – October 11, 2016

I will be honest, I dislike giving a bad review unless the company or product truly deserves it.However, this is the exception and indeed, others may have different options, which is where respecting our individuality comes into play. For at least a month, I had been coughing and faslely believing that it was allergies. I am a 63-year old woman. The combination of aging, the environment and the quality food has changed my body reactions. The coughing turned into a sore throat and for me a sore throat is a strong indication to STOP and pay attention. I rested for two days feeling better but not exactly. Then I called my doctor, who immediate said, she suspected that it was acid reflux. Needless to say, I rolled my eyes, saying what does my throat have to do with my stomach? Well, I took the prescribed meds and did not feel better, a week later, so I called her back.Then I thought, she suspected it was acid reflux and I retrieved this book I purchased off Amazon a while ago Digestive Wellness (5th Ed). Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Health Digestion by Elizabeth Lipski, PhD, CNS, FACN, IFMCP. I had read several chapters when it first arrived but took no action. I retrieved the book reading it from the beginning like I was the bionic woman; the book is over 500-pages but I read each and every one of them in several hours. Her book is good because while you are reading it, she assists you in self-diagnosing your problem as best as she can.What I can recall is that the first program she recommended was "The Elimination Diet." I checked to see if a local Barnes and Nobles had the book in the store and they did not then I ordered it on Kindle because I was distressed and wanted to start it immediately. I visited the website where additional support and resources are available. On the website there was a notice indicating that if you prove you purchased the book you can receive additional material, so I did that and WOW! The summary guide and recipes were so helpful because after reading Dr. Lipski's book my eyes were saying please not another book. But I will be honest, I did some of the things recommended and I did read on the Kindle, not my preferred way of reading I love holding the book in my hands. But because this was an emergency I read on the Kindle immediately at least 100-pages of The Elimination Diet.As I confessed I half assed applied the recommendations and felt the difference immediately. In all fairness my mother transitioned at during the same time and this was after I took care of her for the last 9-years, so I had not re-acclimated myself, so I was not focused on my self care.So, after a month of coughing up mucus and three rounds of taking meds to include antibiotics and cough syrup. I ordered the book, read it and applied everything it outlined.When I say immediately, I felt the difference, LET ME TO REEMPHASIZE, IMMEDIATELY!!! Allow me to warn you I was sorta doing most of the things recommended but I was not sticking to the strict detox routine. I was eating things that were be on the list but omitted during the detox phase. The coughing lessened, the mucus started dying up and I could feel my body coming back to me. My stomach deflated and my breathing became deeper. I want to believe that I felt my second attempt at the detox so profoundly because even though I was not following the detox to the letter, I had taken steps so eliminate the most of the things that were problematic and my system was clear after coughing up mucus for over 30-days along with taking prescribed meds. So, I said all of that to say that I had extra assistance with the prescribed meds along with all the supplement support identified in the Elimination program. I do not want to mislead anyone, so I am sharing my entire story. Could I have arrived here with only doing the diet, I am confident that I could. I say that because the meds focused on eliminating the systems not curing the root problem. The Elimination diet when followed as outlined heals the root problem. That is the difference and I can feel it within my stomach.I've read many things over the years, purchased a lot of books, cookbooks and information about digestion health.By far the book I am writing this recommendation for and the book listed above that referred this book - are the BEST because they SAVED My LIFE!!!Doctor's do their best but keep in mind they are trained to focus on the symptoms and reduce the discomfort; however, what Dr. Lipski author of Digestive Wellness along with Alissa Segertein and Tom Maltese, MS. CN. authors of The Elimination Diet have accomplished is life changing. Trust me you will see no review from me written with this detail.Honestly for all the books I have ordered over the years, I have not taken the time to write many reviews. With one exception the Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira books - read it, only if you can stomach - hint, hint the truth about your complicities and the real state of this world.Back to The Elimination Diet - I strongly recommend buying two copies just in case.Thank you reading all of this stuff... SLB

UPDATE: After referring this book to several friends, I thought it was time to report back with my results. I did the elimination diet, using the materials provided in the link below. I had already given up wheat with great results several years ago, but something was still bothering me. So the week before a three day weekend, I prepped for the cleanse - alerted my husband, shopped, etc. I do not have a juicer, but I do have a high powered blender, so I just halved the ingredients for a juice recipe and added coconut water or plain water and "juiced" in the blender.Then I began using the journal, which I printed out and put in a three ring binder. I journaled it all. I began to feel better almost within a matter of days. Inflammation went down, my sinuses began draining, lots of other good things I don't want to go into detail about publicly. Yes, it is a lot of food prep but you have to ask yourself if you are worth it. Some of the most valuable lessons I found were: (A) If a food causes me heartburn or indigestion - it is a sure sign that painful inflammation elsewhere in my body is going to happen; (B) my almost daily serving of fat free Greek yogurt was causing problems; (C) I am horribly allergic to eggs! Yes, I've been eating eggs all my life, how could I not know I was allergic? I think it's like living in the city, and you start to not notice the street noise outside. Now I have finally pinpointed additional allergies to my wheat allergy and feel so much better. By the way I'm writing this quite some time after my elimination diet. I had some outpatient surgery recently and had to go off my NSAIDS, herbs like turmeric, and fish oil for two weeks in advance. I thought I'd die without my NSAIDS, etc. - but had hardly any twinges whatsoever. That speaks volumes to me about the value of the information in this book - if the reader uses it. Try it - and good luck!ORIGINAL REVIEW:I highly recommend this book for help in finding foods you may be eating that are jeopardizing your health. Tom takes hard biochemical science and breaks it down for us in terms that a lay person can understand. The book is well edited and has a writing style that is comprehensible and plausible - no wild claims or false gimmicks here. Alissa rounds out the book with easy to prepare recipes. I haven't done the full elimination diet yet, but have been enjoying the recipes and the book. It is a valuable resource.Do yourself a favor and visit http://wholelifenutrition.net/ and sign up for their newsletters and take advantage of the free resources provided on the website (look for the red box with the link to "free resources" - I particularly love the shopping list and quick start guide. I keep a stack of shopping lists in the kitchen drawer and during the week, while I peruse recipes and run out of ingredients, I simply check them off of this handy list and bring it to the organic food co-op with me.My naturopathic physician "turned me on" to Tom and Alissa's first book, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, when I first consulted at her office. With my ND's guidance and the support from Tom and Alissa's cookbooks and blog - www.nourishingmeals.com - I have been able to turn my health around. With this latest offering, I am now ready to get to the root of some nagging problems and provide healthier meals for my husband and me.Thank you Tom and Alissa - this book is a gem and so are the supportive materials.