Customer Reviews

Primal Body-Primal Mind: Empower Your Total Health The Way Evolution Intended (...And Didn't)

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Primal Body--Primal Mind: Empower Your Total Health The Way Evolution Intended by Nora Gedgaudas;


All the other five-star reviewers have covered what's in this book, but I want my 3 minutes to sing praises too!

This book is off the charts, I'd give it 10 stars if I could. I only just got Primal Body a few weeks ago and have barely started to implement some changes here and there in my already fairly excellent diet. Still, I am already sleeping better, feeling far fewer fluctuations from normal in the digestive, circulatory and nervous systems. My skin is smoother, too. And, I know, without a doubt, the guidance and resources provided by Nora's book will extend my life and provide for a much higher quality of life as well. When I got to page 88 I quit reading and ordered a case of books, one for each family member and various best friends and neighbors.

I'm a health nut from way back, always telling my friends the latest about Omega-3's, the horrors of trans-fats, the crucial need for Vitamin D and more. I learned most of it first from my sister, I admit, but I found Barry Sears by myself. My sis actually has a 1938 publication by Weston Price, and first got going with Adele Davis. I've read countless books, magazine articles, newsletters, and manuals trying to understand what's what. I'd trade all I've ever read about diet, nutrition, and health food for this book. This is a reference book that I will be leaning on for years to come.

I almost did not order this book when I first heard about. First, I couldn't find it in a local bookstore, then when I found it here on Amazon, a couple of reviewers had concerns that gave me pause, and I passed on it. A few weeks later I spent the weekend with my friend, Phyllis, who had recommended the book to me in an email. Phyllis is one of the clearest thinkers and analysts I know, and after telling me more she said, "Everyone needs to read this book." So I ordered it. I am so glad!!

Nora has the most delightful personality, her writing reflects it wonderfully. Her narrative is funny, engaging, and easy to read even when she is talking about some fairly complicated bio-chemical situations. She makes complex and confusing things understandable. Yes, sometimes I did have to read some sections a couple of times to get it, but making extremely complex things clear is one of Nora's great gifts. A couple of minor typos are not a problem for me, unlike for a couple of reviewers who marked down for them. (He who is without grammar or spelling issues may caste the first stone, I certainly will not.)

I am a sixty-one year old mom who has read enough about nutrition to know that Nora did an astonishing amount of reading, analyzing, and synthesizing to sift the truth from the incomplete, false, intentionally misleading, and otherwise wrong information. There are so many references in the back of the book, it makes my head hurt. It would have taken her twice as long to write this masterpiece if she had forced herself to cite all her reference to every statement made in this book. The richness of advice here is utterly mind-boggling, it is enough, for me, that Nora has tiny details referenced in her head. She CLEARLY understands the big picture. (Plus there are countless general references in the back of the book!)

We need nutrient rich foods to sustain us in these stressful times (which I think are only going to get more stressful in the near term, before getting better again). If we want to give our children and grand-children optimum potential we need to pay attention. We who are of retirement age do not want to be dealing with cancer, memory loss, heart disease, immobility, or any of the other myriad of syndromes that nutrition can either eliminate or mediate.

Young or old, I honestly don't think there is a better book to use as your guide to maintaining your physical or mental health.

I even love the book's cover; I am always in awe of beautiful art that is thousands of years old!

Nora's great gift is to synthesize information as a generalist while having tremendous in-depth understanding of so many specialties. She has walked the walk. Her website is absolutely terrific too.

Amazon readers are always told "If you liked this book, you will like _______" I didn't think it was possible to have another book out there as good as this one, but Catherine and Luke Shanahan (she's an MD) wrote one: Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food. These two books are joined at the hip. They fit together perfectly with minimal duplication. They both give jaw-dropping insights into who we are bio-chemically, and what we can do to survive in a world where profits drive food production and medical care.

If you don't have heath care (I mean "sick care"), BUY these books. You'll be fine, unless lightening strikes.

The best money you will ever spend on your health (or on any two books) is the money you will spend when you right this minute order both these books. You will not regret it and you will be wondering why no one else has told you about them. (They are new books, and you are the trail-blazers on this.) I have already thanked my friend Phyllis four times for telling me about them, and I've only owned them for three weeks.

2 positives:

One: It's well researched and really digs deep into background information on health and how hormonal imbalances are the main cause for being unhealthy and getting fat. Lots of interesting information.

Two: Helps you to develop a new mindset for being healthy in a world that makes it profitable for you to be unhealthy. Then as you unlock a new healthier you, the weight will come off naturally without much effort.

2 negatives:

One: This is a big book. I felt it got a little long-winded with information we didn't necessarily need. But Nora wanted to cover all her bases, so that's not a big negative. I just prefer short books.

Two: The information on exercise was ho-hum. Nothing that I haven't seen before.

Pairing up the unique information from The 5-Second Flat Belly Secret - Lose 2-3 Inches from Your Belly in Less Than 1 Month with this would've taken this book to the next level since you need more than diet and supplements for total health and weight loss.

The gist: This is more than just a diet or weight loss book. This is a book that breaks things down so you have the foundation to build a new and improved you. That's more important than some magical diet.

I give this book 4 stars. It's worth buying.

Primal Body-Primal Mind is a fabulous compilation of FACTS not fads about the nutritional needs of the human body. By reading this book you will understand how our culture has gotten away from eating the foods we were meant to eat and learn what your body truly needs to not only exist, but to thrive. If you find yourself getting lost in the fodder the general media spews about food and nutrition, come back to Nora's book for a clear understanding about the physiology of the body and its nutritional needs. You can't help but wrap your mind around the information in this book and feel an intuitive desire to follow the words put forth. It is an inspiration. I keep Nora's book on the surface to lend to friends and clients when answers are needed about the fundamentals of proper nutrition. Check out her website for delicious recipes and more information.

This book was hard to read - needed editing - but is supported by good evidence that Nora knows her stuff.

I wanted to really love this book, I really did. I've read many of the other caveman / "paleo diet" types of books: Loren Cordain's "Paleo Diet," and "The Evolution Diet" and "Neanderthin" and lots of articles and blogs. When I read the reviews of this book, I was really excited about it, and wanted it to be my "bible" on the subject; and for sure it starts out with a bang--very thought provoking and exciting. I agree with the other 3-star reviewers, however: the book eventually morphs into a endless drumbeat of unsubstantiated assertions, claims, and "facts." Some of the assertions are simple enough, but when they just keep coming, they add up, and eventually one is left with a feeling of "this is getting too good to be true" or even "how can that be? How do I know that is really true?" Eventually, one gets the impression that the author threw in everything but the kitchen sink regarding her favorite or personal take on everything one should do to maximize health: Don't do long, slow aerobic activity--do Tabata sprints instead, or better yet, brief, high-intensity weight lifting; hey, better yet, follow Tatsouline's workout ideas. Don't drink this, don't eat this, but drink green tea. If you eat more than 2-3 ounces of protein with each meal, it's not good, but if you eat that amount your body will rejuvenate (which contradicts the whole paleo concept: how did primitive man know to stop eating after 2-3 measly ounces of mastadon meat? I mean--aren't we supposed to eat the way we evolved? Didn't primitive man habitually just eat as much meat until he was full?) etc. etc. You eventually get a feeling that the author compiled her own personal magnum opus filled with all her own ideas on what would make the perfectly healthy lifestyle, but so, so much of it is unsubstantiated. It's somewhat intriguing and, at times, exciting....but when you don't know what is true and what may not be, it sullies the entire book. (Example: She bashes Canola oil...why? Tell me why not to consume it....Loren Cordain recommends it, so I wanted to know how she backed up her claims that it might not be healthy).

Another problem I have with the book is that it is poorly edited. Even from the beginning, I could see glaring editing errors where I could see a word or words the author must have originally intended, but she changed her sentence or word choice, but forgot to take out the old word. There are punctuation errors, too, and the worst of all--a bad grammar / word error: at one point, she uses the word "themself" as in, "People consider themself...." (I don't recall the exact phrase...but she should have used "themselves.") It was very disappointing to see that. All of that got me wondering if this author perhaps self-published. She also seems to be a pretty fanatical adherent to the "Weston Price" school of thought, and belongs to that club. I was disappointed to find that she barely referred at all to the leading proponent / scientist / researcher / author promoting Paleolithic diets: Loren Cordain ("The Paleo Diet"). Oh sure, she quotes him once, and refers to his article in the bibliography. But c'mon--this guy is the point man in the whole Paleo Nutrition movement. Anyway, I notice that the book is published by "Primal Body-Primal Mind Publishing" or something like that, which is a DBA of the author's personal company she founded and by which she makes a living unrelated to Paleo concepts. It all became clear: she self-published the book (editing errors and all) with her own publishing company, promoted it, and is using it as her personal billboard or personal statement of what she considers her ideal diet / lifestyle. The problem is, while it is well-intentioned and with some science in it, I agree with other reviews that it doesn't go far enough in establishing itself as a serious, peer-accepted scientific basis for a caveman / paleo diet. Like one reviewer said, there's so much unjustified stuff thrown at you, you don't know what to believe. It's basically her 400-page advertisement for the Weston Price school of thought, which--as I understand from stuff I read on the net--is a little bit cultish and not quite in line with the more seriously-regarded Paleo / caveman researchers / proponents.

Substance, science and humor; what a great combination to put into a book on a subject that has the potential to touch so many in ways that, ironically, most people in our culture are not even remotely aware of. Being a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I have lots of books on my shelf that extol the value of eating nutrient dense foods, prepared properly for maximizing and enhancing the available nutrients. I also have scores of books and articles on how our physiology deals with these nutrients and what happens when good nutrition is lacking or absent. To date, none of what I have and what I've read comes close to comparing with Nora's excellent Primal Body - Primal Mind in terms of clearly explaining how what we take into our bodies affects our cells, our various systems and our whole being. This is a compendium of information, written in a very easily readable form that covers the gamut of what one needs to know to be truly healthy from the point of view of what we eat. Each chapter of her book could be a stand-alone reference guide on a particular aspect of good nutritional health. She has a way of telling a story and wrapping it up in deeply and clearly researched facts, data and information, and presenting it in a way that is readable, fun, poignant, eye opening and sometimes "catch-your-breath" scary. I'm reminded somewhat of one of the first science writers I was introduced to, many years ago, who put things together in a similar way - Isaac Asimov. This is a book that I will share with as many people as I can because I think it has the possibility to really change lives. If I had the skills, knowledge and experience that Nora has, this is the book I would want to write.

Finally a book I can unreservedly recommend! I've been very interested in books on diet for a while now, but this one really stood out. It doesn't miss out anything vital nor have anything in it that is so wrong that unreservedly recommending it is difficult. It's so well done and the most complete book on diet I have found so far.

This book is a pretty good summary/amalgamation of many of the very best books on diet I have found, such as Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Sally Fallon, Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Catherine Shanahan, Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck, Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol by Mary G. Enig, The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife, The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel, The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger by Nancy Deville....

Plus: Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride, Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine: Improving Health and Longevity with Native Nutrition by Ronald F. Schmid, The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy That Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease by Uffe Ravnskov and The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) by Mark Sisson.

What is also wonderful about this book is that it is also a book about health and treating illness. It deals with the topic of health in some depth and does NOT just tell you to eat well and as your ancestors did and everything will be fine. The author acknowledges, as many do not, that while yes following a diet as close to our ancestors as we can get is essential this is not all we need to do to stay healthy and to improve disease states.

In other words, having an optimal diet that suits your genes gets you at least 70% there and is the most important step for health, but there are other areas we need to look at as well. This book explains that we are facing far more assaults on our bodies than our ancestors did due to pollution and chemical exposures and so we need to raise the levels of antioxidants and other nutrients we take in accordingly. Supplements are essential.

We also need to do what we can, whether we have health issues yet or not, to get the chemicals that we couldn't avoid out of our bodies through nutrient supplements and also methods such as FIR sauna use, green drinks, body brushing and so on.

How much vitamin C we need, for example, isn't set in stone from one person to the next, nor even one day to the next. How much we need depends on how many chemicals our body has to detoxify. When our chemical load goes up, so too does our need for all sorts of nutrients and antioxidants, such as vitamin C. There is also significant biochemical individuality between people and some of us need far more of certain substances and nutrients than others.

The fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D and E, and also omega 3s from fish oil and fermented cod liver oil are so important, and low-fat diets are to be avoided, but some of us may also need coenzymated B vitamins, sublingual B12, B1 as benfotiamine, carnitine, ALC, RALA, CoQ10, iodine, magnesium and extra vitamin C, this book explains. Assessing whether or not you need betaine HCl, probiotics and digestive enzymes with meals is also key, as you are not what you eat, but what you can actually digest!

As the description of the book says, this book combines, `Your body's Paleolithic needs with modern nutritional and medical research for complete mind-body wellness.'

This book provides information on:

1. The basic principles and foods of the hunter-gatherer diet; meats, eggs (if tolerated), non-starchy vegetables, healthy oils, and small amounts of nuts, seeds and fruits. Avoid processed foods, trans fats and oxidised oils, plus anything you are allergic to, plus sugar and high-carbohydrate foods such as potatoes and fruit juices. A high-fat, moderate protein and green vegetable filled diet is the way to go!

2. Why we are not suited genetically to eat foods such as grains and legumes, and especially not in large amounts, and the many problems these foods can and do cause.

3. Why we are not suited genetically to eat dairy products. (Although the book does recommend fermented and raw dairy products to some extent, for those that can tolerate them.)

4. Why adrenal or thyroid problems cannot be fixed until you deal with your leptin problems, through following a non-high-carbohydrate diet.

5. Which supplements are most important and which we all need to take and why, and how to make sure you buy only good-quality supplements. Some basic information is included on dosages.

6. Why following a low-calorie diet wont extend your lifespan unless the diet helps keep insulin levels low and why supplementing individual hormones which test as low can be problematic.

7. Why there is little point treating a person for a psychological issue if they have significant nutritional deficits and these deficits are best treated first and then other psychologically-based assistance given, if it is still needed.

8. Hunter-gatherers did NOT die young, as is often stated and human health actually deteriorated when agriculture was introduced.

9. Grass-fed/pastured and organic meats and eggs are best, along with home-grown or organic fruits, nuts and vegetables.

10. Those facing serious illness and gut problem are advised to follow the GAPS diet program (which describes a low-fibre easy to digest diet with lots of stocks, unrefined sea salt, meat and vegetable soups, eggs, liver and good oils) and also recipes from Sally Fallon's excellent Nourishing Traditions book.

This book tells us that we need to stop being self indulgent and grow up, and eat what our bodies need for health. Not just what brings us superficial comfort. That isn't an easy thing to do, but that doesn't mean it is not worth striving for. It really is worth getting through those first few fairly awful days of switching over to a fat-burning metabolism (instead of a carb-burning one).

My only criticisms of this book are minor and are that I feel it could have highlighted the benefits of very nutrient rich foods such as bone broths and liver a bit more, been a bit more educated about the history of the beneficial use and complete safety of larger amounts of vitamin C and have at least mentioned the possibility of grounding or earthing as the best way (aside from avoidance) of improving problems caused by EMF radiation - as per the new book on grounding co-authored by Dr Sinatra (Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?).

Because this book does provide such a great summary of all the books listed above, it can also be a bit light-on for theory in some areas and so reading some of the books listed above may also be a good idea for anyone with a real interest in some of these topics - even though this book does in fact contain all the practical information on diet needed. For example, the information on fats is far more detailed in `Know Your Fats' and the book by Gary Taubes contains far more detailed information on why the saturated fat = heart disease hypothesis is wrong and how high insulin levels from high carbohydrate intake cause weight gain. So it just depends how much you want to read and in how much depth.

Having said that, this book also contains lots of information that isn't in any of the other books listed above, which is pretty impressive.

For those who need more information on health, supplements, extensive health testing, detoxification issues and want more specific information on FIR sauna use and how to safely go about it the book Detoxify or Die by Dr Sherry Rogers is essential extra reading. These two books would go very well together, for anyone facing serious illness (as I am). While `Primal Body, Primal Mind' contains all the practical information you need to change your diet, extra information about precautions and expected healing reactions is pretty important if you're seriously ill and about to start any type of detoxification or supplementation program and the aforementioned book by Sherry Rogers provides this.

'Primal Body, Primal Mind' is also surprisingly easy to read, thanks in part to all the short little chapters on each topic, and the author has a great writing style. The book is also very well referenced and the arguments given are convincing, logical and compelling.

I also love that this book completely lacks the self-aggrandising tone (and comments) that some nutrition books have. The author's lack of a huge ego is also seen in the way she so wholeheartedly recommends other great groups, websites and books such as those run by the Weston A. Price Foundation and its members. The author also recommends not taking her word for it and reading as much of her reference material (and other relevant material) as possible. It is so clear that this author's only agenda is genuinely helping people by promoting the most accurate, unbiased and helpful health information.

I'd like to thank the author for writing this book. It is a huge achievement. I hope it is as widely read as it deserves to be, and gets lots of very positive reviews as well.

ps. I have a severe neurological and cardiovascular disease called M.E., but am slowly improving month by month (after more than a decade of slow worsening) through dietary, nutritional and detoxification interventions - as described in books such as this one.

Quotes from the book:

"The brain and body simply have to have certain raw materials to work with in order to function properly." Nora T. Gedgaudas.

"All of the structure and function of the human body are built from and run on nutrients. ALL of them." Janet Lang

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

I loved this book. If you've been following the fads in the world of diet and nutrition as I have my whole life, you've probably also been frustrated with the tired old advice to eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables. I got very sick on that diet (the version I followed was Macrobiotics). We evolved on animal foods and we need them for optimal brain and body health. Gedgaudas has put in the hours of research to understand the biochemistry of human nutrition informed by the perspective of evolutionary biology, yet she makes the concepts understandable to the layperson. Highly recommended.

The only reason I didn't give this five stars was the atrocious lack of copyediting, which I particularly noticed as I started reading a second time. Repetitious, sometimes trite wording, misuse of punctuation and various other gaffes got really tiresome very quickly. I hope she updates the book at some point, and if her publisher won't spring for the services of a good editor, I hope Gedgaudas will herself. I noticed a little of this the first time through the book, but the content was so engaging that it didn't trip me up until I started to reread the book out loud to my boyfriend.

I had already discovered the work of Weston A. Price and the basic concepts of the primal diet before encountering this book, but Gedgaudas really added to my understanding of the basic principles of human nutrition. We are hunter/gatherer omnivores that depend on fat and protein, primarily, for optimal nutrition. I still love my vegetables -- slathered in butter or fried/braised in ghee, coconut oil or lard -- but I have very little to do with grains anymore. I still eat some beans, long-soaked and cooked in nourishing bone stock for enhanced digestibility. I occasionally eat rice and quinoa, both soaked overnight in acidified water for, again, enhanced digestibility. I also eat lacto-fermented foods such as homemade sauerkraut, kimchi and beverages. We eat simply but well and my health and weight are at good levels now.

Primal Body-Primal Mind covers a wide range of health topics - nutrition, metabolism, exercise, weight loss, vitamins and supplements, depression and other emotional issues - but ties them all back to one central idea: physically, we are virtually identical to our Paleolithic ancestors. We may drive minivans and listen to modern jazz on iPods, but our bodies and brains haven't really evolved past the stone-tools era. Your great-grandfather to the 10th power thrived on particular foods and types of exercise (although he never called it that), and so will you.

Nora obviously ploughed through an enormous amount of research to write this book, and she summarizes it quite nicely. She explains biochemical concepts clearly, while managing to sneak in a bit of humor here and there - always a plus with me. I enjoy a book when the information is dense, but the writing style isn't.

The sections dealing depression and alcoholism are especially eye-opening. We've been told over and over that these are mental or spiritual conditions. Perhaps they are ... but perhaps they are caused or at least aggravated by the wrong diet as well.

Overall, an excellent read and an excellent resource.

'The USDA Food Pyramid should be renamed 'The Feedlot Pyramid.' It's nutrient profile is the same as swine fattening chow...'

If you're relying on your doctor, the media, etc. to give you accurate information on proper nutrition, be forewarned: much of their information is alarmingly and dangerously skewed, either out of ignorance or the not so surprising fact that certain 'powers that be' value profits over your health! You best bet by far is to educate yourself; take control of your own health; and this book, above all others I've read, is the best one to help you do that.

This book goes into (just enough) detail about human physiology; then clearly explains how the different types of macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbs) affect not only on our physical health, but also our mental health and the aging process. Then it gives clear steps on how to optimize your health in all 3 areas with a diet based on our biological history; which is a far cry from the 'typical' North American diet.

This book is written in such a 'condensed' fashion that you're likely to discover important, revealing, useful information on virtually every page. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.