Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health: 100 Recipes that Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders [Paperback]

Tracy Olgeaty Gensler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

The first cookbook on this hot health topic

Trillions of bacteria naturally occur in the intestines, and most help protect the body from disease. These protective bacteria are called probiotics. Foods that nourish these "good" bacteria are called prebiotics. A number of factors can upset the balance between the levels of "good" and "bad" bacteria. There is evidence that consuming foods that are rich in "good" bacteria as well as foods that nourish these bacteria may help maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in the intestines and help improve health and fight certain diseases, like heart disease and cancer. This cookbook is organized by prebiotic and probiotic food recipes. Each of the 100 tasty recipes include instructions for properly cooking and storing food to preserve optimal levels of good bacteria.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tracy Olgeaty Gensler M.S., R.D. (Chevy Chase, MD) is a health writer, speaker, and registered dietitian. She is the co-author of The Anti-Aging Fitness Prescription and a Best Life Nutrition Expert for the website for Bob Greene's The Best Life. Gensler was nutrition spokesperson for the South Beach Diet campaign. Her clients include Marriott International Headquarters, National Institutes of Health, The Washington Hospital Center, and Fitness First Health Clubs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592333214
• ISBN-13: 978-1592333219
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Candida

More About the Author

I'm lucky enough to love what I do for a living. I work as a nutrition expert for The Flat Belly Diet! website and for Bob Greene's The Best Life website. I have collaborated on over a dozen books, written for Good Housekeeping website and magazines. A kid's music group called The Imagination Movers contacted me to say that my article in Nick Junior Magazine inspired one of their songs, Healthy Snacks. They sent me a complimentary CD, which my kids thought was pretty cool.
I also do radio and television interviews on a variety of nutrition topics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, May 14, 2008

By 

Z (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health: 100 Recipes that Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders (Paperback)

Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health is an excellent book to read if you are looking to improve your digestive system and health with practical tips, guidelines and recipes. They say your digestion is the engine that drives your bodies overall health, immune system, daily energy levels and protection against illness. Since I have food allergies and food intolerances, I found this book loaded with easy-to-read information that I am using to improve my own allergies. Now I'm not confused about all the differences and health benefits of yogurt, kefir, and the other varieties of fruits and vegetable for improving digestion. As a physical therapist, I will highly recommend this book to my patients who are suffering with digestive problems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One star for the kefir and kimichi recipes only, July 20, 2011

By 

Jodi-Hummingbird - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health: 100 Recipes that Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders (Paperback)

When I read this book, I just thought 'wow' - and not in a good way. This book is very unlike most books on this topic.

There are so many good health books out there which go against the conventional wisdom and offer valuable information that is not in the mainstream.

This is not one of those books. The information in this book is of the quality you would see in any lightweight news story on health on television or in the Sunday papers health sections.

Readers are warned about the immense 'dangers' of taking any type of probiotic supplements in pill form, despite their long safety record as one of the safest supplements there is. Readers are also warned that they may cause gas and bloating but the author seems to be unaware that these symptoms are to be expected when taking probiotics and are actually a sign you want to see, as it is a sign they are working!

Yet the book also recommends the hugely dangerous statin drugs and many, many other drugs and doesn't so much as mention the huge problems associated with them which occur in a very high percentage of users. For information on the huge risk of statin drugs and why the saturated fat/cholesterol = heart disease hypothesis is dead, see books such as Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) andThe Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It and Cholesterol: The Real Truth.

The book warns against saturated fat and recommends a low fat diet, and even such heavily processed and problematic items such as egg substitutes and no-fat milk. (No fat milk contains dry milk power which contains oxidised cholesterol, and also possibly whey protein. This makes this type of milk a very poor choice for health and especially so for anyone that has allergies.)

According to this book, sugar-filled fruit yogurts (which feed the bad bugs) full of chemicals are a good healthy choice while probiotic supplements which have been used with success by a vast number of practitioners, are not. The book also cautions about listening to anyone who says that HFCS is bad for you and says there is no need to avoid products which contain it.

The treatments for Candida the book recommends are anti-fungal creams and suppositories. This book lacks the most basic understanding of treating the cause of disease and not just suppressing the symptoms with drugs. We can get this same low quality and biased information from the media each day, why write a book on it?

It is claimed that non-prescription niacin can cause liver failure, but there is no evidence for this claim whatsoever. (See books by Abram Hoffer for the facts about niacin.) Readers are warned that only prescription niacin is safe.

The book is ultra-conservative with anything that isn't drug based, and super permissive with the acceptance of all drugs. Sources quoted in this book are the USDA, the Mayo Clinic and the CDC which says a lot, I think.

The basic diet advice is also poor. High carb foods feed the bad bugs and to advise those with bowel problems to avoid fats and meats just makes no sense, as genuine books on restoring gut health such as Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Internal Bliss-GAPS Cookbook (2 Books) and Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet explain.

If you think fruit flavoured low fat yogurts with lots of sugar in, egg substitutes, graham crackers, margarine, pasta and oat bran muffins and the like are health foods, and that the RDAs for each of the vitamins are more than adequate, and you can survive on a low fat and low protein diet that is very high in carbs, then this might be the book for you.

If not I would recommend any of the books listed above or the book Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. These are real health books that are full of recipes containing real food ingredients that are genuinely good for you. Making your own 24 hour yogurt will do so much more for you than buying store-bought sugary yogurts with minuscule amounts of good bugs in. You can feel the difference after just a few days. The two products are like chalk and cheese!

The one star rating is for the recipes this book contained to make your own kefir and kimichi, and also for the recommendation to eat foods such as these as this is also good advice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful life-changing book!, March 6, 2011

By 

Catherine Rosalia (Chevy Chase, MD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health: 100 Recipes that Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders (Paperback)

This is very insightful about how what we eat effects our digestive system and hence our energy level and overall well being. I have tried a few of the recipes - really easy and good. I definitely feel better since adhering to Tracy's advice. This book is a definite keeper.