Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Fat Girls Guide to Life or Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine

The Fat Girl's Guide to Life

Author: Wendy Shanker

Vibrant, vivacious, and gorgeous, Wendy Shanker is a fat girl who has simply had enough-enough of family, friends, co-workers, women's magazines, even strangers on the street all trying (and failing) to make her thin. Written in Wendy's wonderfully funny and candid voice, The Fat Girl's Guide to Life provides thought-provoking insights, statistics, and body-image resources intended to restore a realistic standard of beauty and self-acceptance to the 68 percent of American women who wear a size 12 or larger. The Fat Girl's Guide to Life invites you to step off the scale and weigh the issues for yourself.

Publishers Weekly

This send-up of the thin-is-in mentality is funny enough to make even diehard dieters consider replacing their baby carrots with Krispy Kremes. Shanker, one of Us Weekly's Fashion Police commentators and a self-proclaimed fat girl, estimates she's spent 16 years trying to lose weight: "I've met with seven weight loss specialists, worked with three nutritionists and three personal trainers, tried a dozen weight loss programs, taken thousands of pills, joined six gyms, read thirty-one books and spent enough money on weight loss to buy myself an Ivy League degree." Out of this context, Shanker takes on the media, corporate America and even the medical establishment, arguing with their belief that it's impossible to be both fit and fat. "Let's take the focus off `fat' and put it on health," she lectures. "Let's take the focus off `skinny' and put it on good common sense. Let's take the focus off body image and put it on education, women's rights, human rights, the economy, baseball cards, anything." Although Shanker's opinions on full-figured fashion and feminist philosophy are entertaining, she's at her best writing about her stint at Duke Diet and Fitness Center, one of the country's oldest and most successful weight management centers. As her optimism about the hardcore Duke University Medical School program flags, her diary of adventures becomes increasingly irreverent, refreshing and human. Anyone who has ever tried to lose a pound will gain confidence and a sense of humor from Shanker's story. (Apr. 17) Forecast: Shanker writes a humor column for Grace magazine, and her readers will probably want to buy her book. Author appearances in New York will further round out sales. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.



New interesting textbook: Understanding Addiction and Recovery Through a Childs Eye or The Senior Organizer

Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine: Treatments for Diabetes, Cholesterol, and the Immune System

Author: Ran Knishinsky

HEALTH

“A comprehensive and detailed review of the benefits of this remarkable plant and a compelling argument for its acceptance into modern herbalism.”
Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council and editor of HerbalGram

“An excellent blend of good science and real life applications.”
David Hoffmann, FNIMH, AHG, author of Medical Herbalism and The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal

“Ran Knishinsky has done a masterful job unearthing details on the use of the prickly pear cactus for food and for medicine. This book provides the spark to move the prickly pear from beyond ethnic use to mainstream acceptance.”
David Winston, AHG, dean of the Herbal Therapeutics School of Botanical Medicine

The prickly pear cactus--a plant that has the distinction of being a vegetable, fruit, and flower all in one--may be destined to be the next big herbal superstar, following in the footsteps of St. John’s wort and Echinacea. One of the driving forces behind its popularity is that each part of this plant functions as both food and medicine. It has been a staple in the diets of the people of the southwestern portion of the United States, the Middle East, parts of Europe and Africa, and Central and South America for hundreds of years.

Traditionally, the prickly pear cactus has been used as a panacea for over 100 different ailments. Its use in the treatment of diabetes is now gaining attention in scientific circles, and it has been the subject of blood cholesterol research trials sponsored by the American HeartAssociation. In addition to the results of recent scientific research, Knishinsky also includes ethnobotanical information on the use of prickly pear cactus in treating obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, and skin ailments. A resource section details the natural food companies that supply prickly pear cactus and a chapter of recipes offers twenty-four traditional and modern dishes using the pads and fruit of the cactus.

RAN KNISHINSKY is a professional health researcher and writer and is the founder of NutraConsulting, a consulting firm to the natural products industry. He frequently appears on radio and is the author of The Clay Cure and The Prozac Alternative.

Ran Knishinsky is a professional health researcher and writer and the founder of NutraConsulting, a consulting firm to the natural products industry. He is the author of The Clay Cure and The Prozac Alternative.

Visit the author's web site at cactusmedicine.com.



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