Ian specialises in functional nutrition and Rachel is a health food specialist. Together they have a business called The Nutritional Institute which aims to empower personal health through nutrition and lifestyle choices. They have written Wholesome Nutrition For You with the foreword written by Patrick Holford.

Chapters are divided into various topics as listed, together with my ‘take away’ from each one:
- Individuality with the emphasis that we are all different
- Beyond calories where it is detailed that the concept of calories in vs. calories out as an explanation of weight-management is archaic and should be flushed down the toilet.
- The facts about fats. Which are essential, good, bad and ugly.
- The cut on carbs. I’m in agreement with the statement in this chapter that you can enjoy red wine, whisky, coffee and chocolate.
- Powerful protein which includes examples of how to create complete proteins from vegan options and how much to eat to get 20g of protein.
- Food sensitivities. This includes a challenge test chart which doubles as a mild detox, but does not include sucrose in the list.
- From soil to plate: a review of farming practices. Notes how important it is for us to eat local and seasonal foods. Lists toxic chemicals found in common foods which includes refined sugar.
- A review of popular diets which includes pros and cons of each one. The Mediterranean diet is noted as having the best dietary principals. These diets include:
- low-fat/high-carb;
- low-carb/high-fat;
- low-GI;
- Mediterranean;
- paleo;
- vegetarian;
- vegan;
- acid-alkaline;
- food-combining;
- metabolic typing;
- biotyping;
- blood-typing;
- traditional medicine;
- nutrigenomics.
- Lifestyle and exercise where sitting is equated to being the new smoking.
- Mindful eating.
- Supplements.
- Putting it all together, which deals with principles of healthy food and gives a list of sample meals and snacks.
- Recipes
Recipes that caught my eye:
- Kefir (p135) which is vital to most of the rest of the recipes
- Sauerkraut (p138)
- Raw granola with kefir nut cream (p146)
- Super green juice (p151)
- Ginger biscuits (p155)
What I made:
I started off making the sauerkraut but it yielded very little liquid which is what I think led to the failure. It went off before it fermented. I then tried the ginger biscuits but they did not work out too well. The recipe did not state how much water to use and my biscuits were far too dry, even though I only baked them for half the time given. I am going to adapt this recipe as I loved the fresh ginger flavour.
What I liked about the book:
I found it an extremely interesting read and will be able to pass the book along to friends who have not studied nutrition but who are interested in lifestyle changes. The book includes resources for major cities which is really helpful.
My verdict:
Not all the food photographs are with the recipes and I felt there could have been more recipes that did not rely on kefir. I would not buy this book for the recipes but more as a guide on lifestyle choices.
Publishing information for Wholesome Nutrition For You:
Disclosure: I was sent the book to review by Penguin Books South Africa. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime October 12:
- 2015 – Rose Pink Biscuits
- 2012 – Freshline From Spar
- 2011 – Dandelion
- 2010 – Pasta With Bacon, Mushrooms And Tomato / Something Sweet Challenge: Biscuits
Looks nice!
Xx,
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Thanks Floortje 🙂
Nice to see a book debunling old diet myths! I agree I would want it more for the info, seems the recipe need more work
The recipes are more like an aside to the book
Sounds like an interesting book, a book to inspire healthy food choices.
It really is an interesting read 🙂
I like that it includes a review of popular “diets” and shows the pros and cons of them.
That was a great chapter IMO 🙂
This sounds like a wonderful book, Tnady.
It was an interesting read 🙂