Book Review: The Unhealthy Truth
>> Friday, December 4, 2009
I literally just finished The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O'Brien and cannot emphasize what a blessing it is to the state of health for anyone who may read it. The book follows the discoveries of a woman who can easily be described as a very typical working mom.
Her first awakening came with an unexpected allergic reaction of her youngest child to some eggs, and this discovery eventually leads her to the revelation that the people and organizations she thought were looking out for her health were more concerned about how much money they could fit in their bank accounts.
Her search first began with allergens, since that's what immediately affected her family. She was so passionate about it that she set up the website http://www.allergykids.com/ to help educators and caregivers keep allergens away from children who are sensitive to them. You can listen to Robyn's words about that right here:
That's just the beginning of her tale - the tip of the iceberg as she puts it. What she was to learn next brought her sleepless nights due to shock and amazement, as her investigative nature drove her to study all that had been done to the methods of food production in America. This is the message of the book that really felt driven home: the people and organizations that Robyn originally felt were there to protect her were actively working against her - and everyone's - health.
She learns - and explains - how the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO) into our food supply was done, both literally and in the political realm. She learns how GMO is part of a gross majority of all processed foods, and how it has been proven to induce allergic reactions in our children and ourselves. She explains all these things in a very personal way that allows you to relate to her situation while still gaining the alarming facts for long-term retention. You can really feel the motivation grow in you as you progress through the book.
At the end of the book you are left with the idea that although the world may seem stacked against you, and if your friends and even family disagree with you, you still can keep up the fight for good health and stay strong because you're doing the right thing, and you're doing it for the right reasons, and they will be able to look you in the eye when they grow up and thank you.
If I have any criticism for the book, I would say there are two issues outstanding: First, as a father it felt a little weird when she talked to the mothers reading the book. I don't have any mama bear instincts, but I certainly can do the papa bear act! But that's a really minor criticism, and I actually support her choice to word it that way. Other than that, I feel there are still steps that can be made beyond the suggestions that she supplies; for example, while she details the addition of growth hormones in milk, she doesn't talk about the amazingly negative aspects of pasteurization and homogenization of that milk, especially in how these techniques affect milk digestion (and therefore allergies). But again, I think I may just be looking for something to criticize because everything else in the book really drives home the fact that you should be trying to feed your family the least-processed foods possible.
Do yourself and your children, if you have them, a favor by reading this book.
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Her first awakening came with an unexpected allergic reaction of her youngest child to some eggs, and this discovery eventually leads her to the revelation that the people and organizations she thought were looking out for her health were more concerned about how much money they could fit in their bank accounts.
Her search first began with allergens, since that's what immediately affected her family. She was so passionate about it that she set up the website http://www.allergykids.com/ to help educators and caregivers keep allergens away from children who are sensitive to them. You can listen to Robyn's words about that right here:
That's just the beginning of her tale - the tip of the iceberg as she puts it. What she was to learn next brought her sleepless nights due to shock and amazement, as her investigative nature drove her to study all that had been done to the methods of food production in America. This is the message of the book that really felt driven home: the people and organizations that Robyn originally felt were there to protect her were actively working against her - and everyone's - health.
She learns - and explains - how the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO) into our food supply was done, both literally and in the political realm. She learns how GMO is part of a gross majority of all processed foods, and how it has been proven to induce allergic reactions in our children and ourselves. She explains all these things in a very personal way that allows you to relate to her situation while still gaining the alarming facts for long-term retention. You can really feel the motivation grow in you as you progress through the book.
If I have any criticism for the book, I would say there are two issues outstanding: First, as a father it felt a little weird when she talked to the mothers reading the book. I don't have any mama bear instincts, but I certainly can do the papa bear act! But that's a really minor criticism, and I actually support her choice to word it that way. Other than that, I feel there are still steps that can be made beyond the suggestions that she supplies; for example, while she details the addition of growth hormones in milk, she doesn't talk about the amazingly negative aspects of pasteurization and homogenization of that milk, especially in how these techniques affect milk digestion (and therefore allergies). But again, I think I may just be looking for something to criticize because everything else in the book really drives home the fact that you should be trying to feed your family the least-processed foods possible.
Do yourself and your children, if you have them, a favor by reading this book.
1 comments:
Thanks for the review - I'm always on the lookout for a new book to read!
I'm currently working on a review of Greens for Life - w/ the research I'm doing to flush my ideas out it is taking much longer than planned :)
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