Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a frequent science writer and sustainable agriculture activist, I have seen the evidence that healthy soils contribute to healthier food and that pasteurization does little for dairy products except make way for anaerobic bacterial growth. However, Nourishing Traditions is a shoddy piece of work at best. Circular logic abounds from the very cover, where those who are critical of its contents can only be labeled as diet dictocrats. Sadly, many of Fallon's claims are based upon secondary research references, as well as references to flat out folklore and "unpublished studies." Just how far off the mark Fallon is, is highlighted by one of her references to an "unpublished study" concerning high egg consumption among pregnant Chinese women. For those who have never visited a country where people themselves don't have enough to eat, I can tell you that the livestock in these places typically fare far worse. The eggs in these countries are not like the orange-yolked pastured eggs available in many parts of the U.S. Instead, because the chickens in these countries live on scratch--usually garbage--they produce pale egg yolks that are low in several nutrients. A person living in one of these countries would have to consume larger quantities of these eggs just to get the same nutrients as a single pastured egg in the U.S. That Fallon takes this anecdotal observation out of context and uses it to justify high egg consumption for pregnant women in the U.S. is devious at best. The book does highlight some of the lesser known cautionary studies about unfermented soy products and questions the amount of unfermented soy actually in an Asian diet. That said, having seen the original studies, I can vouch that their conclusions were not to throw the baby out with the bath water as Fallon advises. Despite her reliance on research studies to dismiss certain foods, Fallon is more than willing to accept panaceas pushed by multi-level marketers without providing any scientific references whatsoever, e.g. noni juice. She further goes on to endorse blue green algae, with no mention that several studies have shown it to have toxic properties. There is no emphasis on exercise for weight maintenance and mineral absorption. No concession that her idol Price was visiting societies which performed large amounts of manual labor just to exist and could easily burn off the high amounts of calories they consumed. Curiously, there is no mention of molasses itself as a mineral-containing sweetener, but plenty of mentions of why sugars without it are bad, except for European ones that are $5/pound. That, and mail-order raw honey. Though Fallon encourages folks to seek out local dairy, she doesn't encourage them to seek out local honey, which is far more prevalent. As for the recipes, Fallon's "Asian" recipes are about as far away from traditional Asian cooking/processing techniques as you can get. Given this it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that despite her acknowledgement of pork's importance in several island cultures, she largely dismisses it as a protein source. Did her hero Price never visit any of the remote populations of China where pork is a traditional dietary component in both meat and fat forms? Not to mention that pork is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Gosh knows that pork consumption has held back China's population growth over the years....NOT!!! But, the one that really killed me was after suffering through several pages dismissing inferior sugars and soda, she appears to do a 180 and list Orangina as part of a breakfast menu!!! Any time someone starts labeling foods as good and evil, you should not just avoid buying their book, you should turn and run as far away as possible. Too bad more people didn't, especially this book's publisher.