The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

 

The Healer's War

by

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

For my birthday gift this year my brother gave me a kindle book to read.  It took me a while to get to it because I was reading another book at the time but once I got into it I have done little else but read it.  The Healer's War is the story of a nurse in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam conflict.  It is a fiction book but is loosely based on the experiences of several nurses, including the author.  It has a science fiction or fantasy slant to it which makes it a really good October read for Halloween.  But it also gives the reader an understanding of how complicated the conflict was.  I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in fiction books about nursing or military history.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  And watch the video that follows about a real nurse who served in Viet Nam in a field hospital on the orthopedic ward just as Kitty, the main character of the Healer's War, did.  

Wheat Belly by William Davis

 

Wheat Belly 

by

William Davis

This is the book that started the gluten free craze a few years ago.  I have always been curious about it so I decided to listen to it on audio and see for myself what it is all about.  Gluten free diets avoid wheat, rye and barley while Paleo diets avoid grains, dairy and legumes.  There are also the low carb keto diets where people keep their carb micro nutrients to a minimum.  These three approaches have been popular in recent years as ways to manage health.  Many doctors will recommend Paleo as a healthy way to eat.  William Davis, the author of Wheat Belly, is a cardiologist.  And those that follow the low carb way of eating have strong beliefs that it is the healthiest way to eat.  While listening to Wheat Belly I was struck by how this is a very important book for those with Celiac Disease or those who are gluten sensitive to read in order to understand how important it is for them to avoid gluten.  I am not convinced the rest of us should limit our intake of gluten to the degree recommended in the book.  Often when limiting carbohydrates one eats a lot more proteins.  This is very hard on a person's kidneys.  I am concerned about kidney disease as the proponents of these diets age.  As a whole, Americans eat too much protein any way.  In addition there is no doubt that Americans consume way too much wheat. We also consume way too much sugar.  As far as the changes in the wheat crops that allowed us to get a handle on world hunger I recommend reading this PDF on the USDA website.  In my opinion the Wheat Belly book is controversial. I agree that it is wise to limit our portions of all the food groups and after listening to this book will probably select my carbs from rice and potatoes and other starchy vegetables other than wheat when possible.  But eating the occasional noodle isn't going to freak me out.  Clean eating is consuming smaller portions of a balanced diet.  It is always a good idea to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh protein.  We need all the food groups to get the nutrients we require.  Most of us do need less than what we consume.  If a person chooses to cut out one of the food groups from their diet then I recommend them investigating if adding supplements to replace the nutrients they are not consuming would be a good idea.  In closing I am glad I listened to this book.  It has made me even more aware of the dangers of over doing it with consumption of  grains.   Please click on the book title and authors name above to follow the links to more information and there is one link to follow in the body of this text.  Also enjoy the video that follows.