Customer Reviews

Performance without Pain: A Step-by-Step Nutritional Program for Healing Pain, Inflammation and Chronic Ailments in Musicians, Athletes, Dancers. . . and Everyone Else

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This is a great new addition to the Weston A, Price/Nourishing Traditions literature. "Performance Without Pain: A Step-by-Step Program for Healing Pain, Inflammation and Chronic Ailments in Musicians, Athletes, Dancers...and Everyone Else" is a long title for a book that is a modest 132 pages, but it lives up to its billing. The author is Kathryn Pirtle, who is a clarinetist with the respected Orion Ensemble, and has a long list of professional credits. Co-authors of the book are Sally Fallon, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Dr. John D. Turner, DC, CCSP, DIBCN and former National Qualifying Gymnast.
The author tells her story of increasing pain and physical disability related to her profession as a musician, and her search for answers. As her very successful musical career unfolds, she develops pain in many areas of her body, stiffness, nausea and other digestive disturbances, as well as something called "embouchure shaking" (shaking in the area of the mouth) which is apparently quite a serious condition, especially for a clarinetist. Ms. Pirtle seeks help from all sorts of alternative and medical professionals. Finally, someone identifies that she has celiac disease, and extreme sensitivity or intolerance to grains.
What's interesting in her tale is that all along the way, she seems to be doing all the `right' things, such as including supplements, massage, lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains, but it wasn't until she discovered the Weston A. Price (WAP) approach to nutrition that things really began to turn around for her. After this quite compelling true story, most of the book is a very succinct, clear explanation of the basic principles of the WAP diet, its relation to people who use their bodies in the special ways of dancers, athletes and musicians, and the extra problems of those with grain sensitivity.
There are good recipes, suggested readings and helpful ways to "make it practical". This book would make an excellent gift for anyone as an introduction to WAP principles and especially to any musician, dancer or athlete. As a university dance teacher and former ballet dancer, this book came along at a great time. I will be teaching a course in Dance Alignment, in which I try to cover many topics related to basic body care for dancers. I always try to include information about Weston A. Price, and the Nourishing Traditions approach to eating, but I feel that having this book available to show my students will make the information that much more credible. (I know they'll like the testimonial in the front of the book by Daniel Duell, a former New York City Ballet soloist.)
I also know that this approach to eating (it's not a 'diet' per se) works, as it has, over the past five years, changed my life dramatically for the better also. You can do yourself a wonderful favor by reading this book, and trying it!

Performance Without Pain is a remarkable book about surviving prevailing medical "wisdoms", dogmas, and devastating ailments caused not by bad genes or bad lack, but by foods which are, amazingly, considered "wholesome" and "healthy".

If you are a concerned parent, promising professional, aspiring artist, successful executive, or simply a health-conscious and responsible individual, you must read this book to assure yourself and your children productive and disease-free future.

Unlike most books about health and nutrition, Performance Without Pain is beautifully written and edited, concise, honest, and up-to-the point. And it is also inspirational: if the author had been able to overcome her career-breaking illnesses with, literally, a right menu, so can you!

At the end, it all boils down to this: food can kill and food will heal. Kathy Pirtle had suffered a great deal to tell which food does what. Get to know her story, so you too can eat without fear, live without disease, and perform without pain!

This book is a life saver! Two weeks after beginning Ms. Pyrtle's food plan, my debilitating, chronic knee pain improved 80%. Today I am pain free and in the best shape of my life.

As a physical therapist, I had tried everything I knew: physical therapy, osteopathy, homeopathy, prolotherapy, supplementation, anti-inflammatories, etc. A doctor suspected rheumatoid arthritis because of all the inflammation in the joint. RA - no; inflammation - yes.

It's no secret that many of today's chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer's and asthma have been linked to systemic inflammation, and musculoskeletal pain is no exception.

While not every element of a program may fit everybody, the premise of this program is unquestionably sound and the advice excellent. Musculoskeletal pain and systemic inflammation are by-products of our vitamin D deficient society. Ms. Pyrtle's plan outlines a program rich in vitamin D and other nutritional factors that heal systemic inflammation.

I agree with Joanne Hay's review that '"Performance Without Pain" belongs with the growing record of experiences of those who turn their backs on modern nutritional dogma and follow the food ways of our ancestors.'

Some examples are: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

Such information is vital for us as a society as we continue to explore lifestyle factors that contribute to health and healing. I believe the field of nutritional medicine is in its infancy, and 10, 20, 100 years from now, people will look back on texts such as these as the foundation of modern nutrition.

Most disease and health problems start with the wrong food, bad quality of the food, bad digestion and trouble with a leaky gut, leading to inflammation and pain. Kathryn Pirtle presents this on the background of her own experience in an easily understandable way, helping the reader to a full understanding of the basic facts. This will free the reader from symptom treatment with potentially dangerous drugs ad lead the way to remove the causes of inflammation and pain.

"The proof is in the pudding," as the saying goes. My wife and I both follow Ms. Pirtle's dietary suggestions with excellent results. Well, actually my wife suffers with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and has to eat much less dairy food than I do. But, there are many things about Pirtle's suggestions that are working for her, too.

The main point to grasp is that each person must experiment to find what works for his or her metabolic type. Ratios, portions, how often per week, etc. are also as important as what one digests. Anyone who balks at giving this diet the "college try" has obviously not suffered enough - yet. That person may also have a spouse who enjoys so large an annual income, and therefore does not need to be concerned about being physically non-functional. You show me a person who makes a living, and supports a family, as a musician, typist, computer operator, seamstress, tailor, and anyone who works with his or her hands, and who has debilitating (or chronically annoying) pain in his or her hands, arms, elbows, shoulders or back, and I'll show you a person is willing to try this - and anything else.

When one eventually tires of going to a doctor, getting another prescription that is frightening for its acknowledged, potential damage to ones liver, kidneys, gut and heart, Pirtle's suggestions may look a lot more promising and appealing.

To those who fear that they will develop a high bad cholesterol count, on a diet such as she suggests, I offer the following personal anecdote. Someone would have to explain to me why it is that, years ago, when I went on the extreme first two week regimen of the Dr. Atkins diet, my bad cholesterol level dropped like a rock. It was so low, that my physician laughed with glee over my lab report. He, who for so long was dead set against the Atkins diet, finally read Atkins' books. When he called, to give me the lab report, he said, "You are obviously addicted and allergic to carbos. What you crave most is what you are allergic to." During the first two weeks, I ate 3 eggs and 3 sausages every morning. For lunch and supper I ate double portions of red meat, lamb, pork, bacon, chicken, or fish. In between meals I ate lots of salami, prosciutto (Italian ham), and cheese. Water was my only beverage!. I ate and drank enough (water) to fill my stomach to satisfaction, and my cholesterol went way, way down into the "no risk at all" level. Following that two week period, if I were to introduce ANY grains, or even one slice of bread, my weight would increase and my bad cholesterol would increase. I could eat greens with no bad effect, even though they contain some carbohydrates. I know this for a fact because I was tested again. Now, some physician would have to explain why this is so. Meanwhile, I am not worried about Ms. Pirtle's dairy and meat-heavy dietary suggestions. I only suggest that one eat grass-fed beef , organically grown vegetables, and the dairy products as suggested by Ms. Pirtle.

Another side effect of my all protein diet was that I stopped snoring altogether, I needed about 2 hours less sleep, I felt like I was 18 years old again, and I lost all craving for pasta, raviolis, pierogis, lasagna, cake, bread and doughnuts. I could look at that stuff and turn away from it, whereas prior to that I had a "monkey on my back" that made me feel as though "I must eat some starch RIGHT NOW, or else I will lose my mind." This is precisely why I am grateful to Ms. Pirtle for writing her book; I have much the same experience on her suggested diet.

As far as "leaky gut" is concerned, anyone who suffers from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) would do themselves a favor by reading A New IBS Solution, by author Mark Pimentel, MD. Its sub-title is Bacteria - the missing link in treating irritable bowel syndrome. Ms. Pirtle's suggestions center on this need for good bacteria; bacteria that has not been cooked and processed out of our food. We are still following the high-density, nutritional recipes that she suggests in her book can only say that we do very well on them. We are undaunted by the fact that the recipes are more time-consuming than those of the "normal" American diet; we base our convictions upon results that keep us working and playing (sports) without pain or discomfort.

This book is a blessing! It is easy to read and understand. It will show you how to heal your digestion using the principles of a nourishing traditions diet. While it may seem to be a lot of work, it really is not! While nuts soak and dehydrate, you can leave your house and go about your work. You can easily culture foods such as kefir with practically no work at all. These things sit on your kitchen counter while you are focused on other things. But mostly, this diet nearly instantly relieves gastric distress, it begins to re-implant the digestive tract with healthy live bacteria, and it soothes an inflamed gut. I highly recommend this for anyone suffering with digestive problems.

This book is exactly what I needed in my quest for an improved diet. I have Celiac disease (as does the author of the book) and I struggle with Osteoporosis. My 14 year old son also has Celiac disease and is slow to grow. My daughter is Autistic and has many gastrointestinal issues. The principles in this book allow me to maximize the nutrition of my family in a way that benefits all of us. Yes, it does require one to go back to the kitchen and put more effort into creating food from scratch but the benefits far outway the negatives. It makes me feel good that I am providing higher levels of vitamins and minerals to my kids in a more effective manner than simply popping a vitamin pill in their mouths.

I am convinced that the large food manufacturers in this country have totally impoverished our food supply. Dr Weston A Price first discovered this in the 1930's. As hard as it is going to be for the general public to understand "where we went wrong", I believe that, with the help of Kathryn Pirtles book, we must begin to teach the truth about what is healthy and what is not.

Last year, at the age of 39, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after a colonoscopy and several months of diarrhea. I lost a total of 30 pounds, and became so sick that I could not eat or get out of bed. Thank God for Katheryne Pirtle's book and all of her insight. I started with bone broth soups and little by little used the information from the chapters "Foods that Heal", as well as "Supplements" and "Making it Practical". The information in this book, as well as the Weston A. Price Foundation saved my life. I relish my cod liver oil everyday, my raw dairy and grass fed beef. I am med free and healthy, back to my normal weight.
I want to share with everyone I know the information I learned in her book. It is very straight forward, easy to read and life transforming. I highly recommend it to all who are suffering and in pain, and seeking optimal health.

Kathryn Pirtle's book literally saved my life. I felt as though I was at the "end of my rope". My story was very similar to Kathryn's in that I had searched for years and had done all the "right" things by eating healthy (I was a vegetarian for 10 years), had been in the care of many alternative practitioners and had consulted many books and methodologies for healthier eating and living. By the age of 45, I had serious acid reflux problems and as a singer had survived 4 vocal surgeries for varicose veins and pollups on my vocal cords. As a professional singer, it was a depressing reality to say the least. I happened upon Kathy's book and couldn't put it down. Because of the simplicity of the layout of the book and it's easy to follow ideas, I immediately began to incorporate the recipes suggested into my diet and found myself feeling better and better over time. I am now medication free and no longer have symptoms. I feel stronger than ever and am now able to work out without pain. At 50, I feel better than ever. I continue to follow the healthy eating principles laid out in the book.

Kathy's book is easy to read, easy to follow and gives you practical solutions that you can begin to implement into your life immediately. The information is succinct, to the point, is supported by years of research and it WORKS!! There are also many references at the end of the book for supplemental support in the way of companies that provide great health and food products.

This book is a must have for anyone who is serious about taking the responsibility of their health into their own hands. No doctor or health practitioner can live your life for you and tell you what to do each day. This book gives you a practical guide for healthy eating to do just that. And it is workable, feasible and delivers results. I highly recommend that if you are ready to take charge of your own health and ultimate destiny, this book is a must!

Nothing motivated me to achieve excellence in my own personal health and well-being as did Kathryne Pirtle's book "Performance without Pain." As a lifelong classical violinist dealing with various repetitive stress injuries and spinal scoliosis, I've been into the dietary healing wisdom of the Weston A. Price and Price-Pottenger Foundations for some time, but it was Kathryne Pirtle's book that cemented the pieces of my health puzzle together by exposing the profoundly simple connections between diet and chronic inflammation/chronic stress. The way Kathryne relates her own story is superb. Furthermore, "Performance without Pain" reigns supreme as THE #1 PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE for transitioning away from the toxic poisons of Standard American Diet (SAD) and into a totally new way of life based on the healing wisdom of nutrient-dense, traditional foods. If you perform--in everything ranging from figure skating to life itself--you need this book!