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Essential Reading List

With education, we can make better choices. This is a good place to start. Below are some of my favorite books – books that have inspired me in the past, and provide me motivation to move forward. I understand that the messages out there about healthy eating can be confusing and I seek to help my clients understand what helps and what hurt them. I find that in the absence of one-on-one coaching, these books provide valuable resources on well-being, cooking and spirituality. I hope you enjoy them.

The Stress of LIfe
by: Hans Selye

Defined as the rate of wear and tear caused by life, stress is a new concept of mental and physical illness. Dr. Selye here explains how to overcome the harmful effects of stress and how to use stress to your own advantage. He explores both biochemical and environmental facets of stress, stress and interpersonal relations, and offers readers a better understanding of their own bodies.

This is also a dependable personal guide that tells you how to combat both physical and mental stress, how to handle yourself during the stress of everyday life, and how your bodily changes can help you adapt to a wide variety of situations.

Hypo-Thyroidism: The Unexpected illness
by: Broda Barns

Hypothyroidism — low thyroid function — is one of the gland disturbances that many people suffer from without even realizing it. It can be the cause of low energy or constant fatigue that is one of the most common complaints brought to doctors.  Even more frightening, it can be a major factor in heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema.  Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness explains low thyroid function in easy, understandable language. It tells how it may be affecting your health and your life.

Bitter Pill:How Safe Is the ‘perfect Contraceptive’?
by:Ellen Grant

A searing indictment of the Pill written by a British doctor who was hired in the early 1960s to work in a London clinic and test varying combinations of dosages of birth control pills. She took the job with optimism, believing birth control represent a new kind of freedom for women. But as time went by, Dr. Grand saw serious, often life-threatening side effects occur with the Pill.

The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth
byBarbara Seaman

With the ardent tone of a close friend, Barbara Seaman draws on forty years of journalistic research to expose the “menopause industry” and shows how estrogen therapy often causes more problems—including breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke—than it cures. The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women tracks the well-intentioned discovery of synthetic estrogen through the unconscionable and misleading promotion of a dangerous drug.

Tender Grassfed Meat
by Stanley A. Fishman

Grassfed meat is leaner, denser, less watery, and far more flavorful than other meat. It must be cooked differently. All the recipes in this book have been specifically created and designed for grassfed meat, using only the best natural ingredients. The step-by-step recipes are detailed and easy to use.

Nourishing Traditions
by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig

This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Sally Fallon dispels the myths of the current low-fat fad in this practical, entertaining guide to a can-do diet that is both nutritious and delicious.

Dangerous Grains
by James Braly, MD

Dangerous Grains turns the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid upside down by exposing the myriad health risks posed by gluten grains (wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and triticale). The authors, leading experts in the field of food allergies, and celiac disease, present compelling evidence that our grain-centered diet is to blame for a host of chronic illnesses. Largely misunderstood and frequently misdiagnosed, these disorders can be prevented and reversed by the useful program outlined in this important new book.

Please Meditate It’s Good for You
By Olivia Rosewood

Please Meditate: It’s Good for You is a 10 week meditation experience, workbook, and journal. It is a guide to a variety (38 in total) of non-religious meditation techniques and their many scientifically documented benefits, along with a journal to help the reader find a perfect and enjoyable meditation practice.

A New Earth
by eckhart Tolle

With his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived “in the now.” In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.

The Untethered Soul
by Michael A Singer

Who are you? When you start to explore this question, you find out how elusive it really is. Are you a physical body? A collection of experiences and memories? A partner to relationships? Each time you consider these aspects of yourself, you realize that there is much more to you than any of these can define. The Untethered Soul, spiritual teacher Michael Singer explores the question of who we are and arrives at the conclusion that our identity is to be found in our consciousness, the fact of our ability to observe ourselves, and the world around us. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

The Biology of Belief
by Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information. It shows that genes and DNA do not control our biology, that instead DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic messages emanating from our thoughts. Using simple language, illustrations, humor, and everyday examples, he demonstrates how the new science of Epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter and the profound effects it has on our personal lives and the collective life of our species.

Savor – Mindful eating, Mindful Life
By Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung

With the scientific expertise of Dr. Lilian Cheung in nutrition and Thich Nhat Hanh’s experience in teaching mindfulness the world over, Savor not only helps us achieve the healthy weight and well-being we seek, but also brings to the surface the rich abundance of life available to us in every moment.

Tao Te Ching
by Stephen Mitchell

Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, is the classic manual on the art of living, and one of the wonders of the world. In eighty-one brief chapters, the Tao Te Ching looks at the basic predicament of being alive and gives advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit. This book is about wisdom in action. It teaches how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao (the basic principle of the universe) and applies equally to good government and sexual love; to child rearing, business, and ecology.

Happy Yoga
by Steve Ross

After studying yoga in India and traveling all over the world with traditional Vedantic masters, Steve Ross returned to his hometown of Los Angeles with a broadened point of view of what yoga could be. He was surprised to find that yoga classes at home were missing the humor, joy, and celebration that fueled his Eastern studies. Instead of expanding and enhancing the joy of being, Western yoga classes focused obsessively on correcting body positions and developing a picture-perfect physique. Determined to keep his yoga practice true to cultivating bliss and inner radiance, Ross started his own yoga studio and has created a yoga movement in Los Angeles that is, to put it simply, revolutionary.

Be Love Now

by Ram Dass

Love is a state of being. One of America’s most beloved teachers, Ram Dass guides us through the pitfalls and perils of our own spiritual journey.

Cooking with Coconut flour
by Bruce Fife

Coconut flour is a delicious, healthy alternative to wheat. It is high in fibre, low in digestible carbohydrate, and a good source of protein. These coconut flour recipes are designed with your health in mind. Every recipe is completely free of wheat, gluten, soy, fats, and artificial sweeteners. Coconut is naturally low in carbohydrate and recipes include both regular and reduced sugar versions. Coconut flour provides many health benefits. It can improve digestion, help regulate blood sugar, protect against diabetes, help prevent heart disease and cancer, and aid in weight loss.

Going Against the grain
by Melissa Diane Smith

Diets high in grains can lead to a host of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, fatigue, and more. Going Against the Grain outlines the disadvantages and potential dangers of eating various types of grains and provides practical, realistic advice on implementing a plan to cut back or eliminate grains on a daily basis. This book also includes easy-to-follow grain-free recipes and helpful suggestions for dining out.

The Food- Mood Connection
by Gary Null, Phd

Now, at a time when the effects of nutrition on mental health are becoming increasingly recognized and accepted by the general public, comes a completely revised tome from an early advocate of the subject: The Food-Mood Connection, by bestselling health and nutrition expert Gary Null, who was affectionately dubbed “the new Mister Natural” by Time magazine. Drawing from up-to-the-minute research and patient testimonials, Null reveals how alternative, nutrition-based approaches can effectively treat many mental disorders, chronic conditions, and a variety of commonly misdiagnosed organic conditions. With participation from more than sixty-five alternative practitioners, this edition includes new chapters, protocols for health, updates on topics ranging from alcoholism and depression to food allergies and PMS, plus revised supplementary sections on Prozac and autism.

The Coconut Oil Miracle
by Bruce Fife

Natural coconut oil-not the hydrogenated version often found in processed foods-is a saturated fat, but not the kind your doctor has warned you about. Studies have shown that this uniquely curative oil actually has innumerable health benefits ranging from disease prevention to anti-aging. Now, in his revised edition of the first book to describe the therapeutic properties of coconut oil, Bruce Fife offers a nutrition plan with dozens of tasty recipes that will allow anyone to experience the healing miracles of what he deems the “perfect food.”

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
by Weston A Price

Dr. Price was a Cleveland dentist, who has been called the Charles Darwin of Nutrition. Searching for the causes of dental decay and physical degeneration he observed daily in his dental practice, he turned from test tubes and microscopes to study people with fine teeth the isolated primitives.

Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well
by Pellegrino Artusi

Artusi’s book stands with Manzoni’s great novel, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), and the music of Verdi as works that not only are great unto themselves but represented a sense of identity and self-worth to a nascent country with no nationalistic feeling … Artusi chose to give Italians their definition by telling them how they ate … Anyone who seeks to know Italian food avoids Artusi at his or her peril. He is the fountainhead of modern Italian cookery.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking
by Julia Child

Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food and long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic cuisine, from the historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. This beautiful book, with more than 100 instructive illustrations, is revolutionary in its approach.

The Art of Simple Food
by Alice Waters

With an essential repertoire of timeless, approachable recipes chosen to enhance and showcase great ingredients, The Art of Simple Food is an indispensable resource for home cooks. Here you will find Alice’s philosophy on everything from stocking your kitchen, to mastering fundamentals and preparing delicious, seasonal inspired meals all year long. Always true to her philosophy that a perfect meal is one that’s balanced in texture, color, and flavor, Waters helps us embrace the seasons’ bounty and make the best choices when selecting ingredients. Fill your market basket with pristine produce, healthful grains, and responsibly raised meat, poultry, and seafood, then embark on a voyage of culinary rediscovery that reminds us that the most gratifying dish is often the least complex.

The Power of Intention
by Dr. Wayne Dyer

Intention is generally viewed as a pit-bull kind of determination propelling one to succeed at all costs by never giving up on an inner picture. In this view, an attitude that combines hard work with an indefatigable drive toward excellence is the way to succeed. However, intention is viewed very differently in this book. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. This book explores intention—not as something you do—but as an energy you’re a part of. We’re all intended here through the invisible power of intention. This is the first book to look at intention as a field of energy that you can access to begin co-creating your life with the power of intention.

Video:Mindfulness for Urban Depression

Thoughtful, instructional, and empowering, this unique video takes you on an exquisite journey to Paris, London, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago where the fast-paced pressures of daily life can be stressful. Psychotherapist Ira Israel reframes the different types of depression that effect urban dwellers and provides practical tools

Video: Yoga for Depression and Anxiety

Yoga for Depression and Anxiety with Ira Israel is a unique wellness and fitness DVD that contains a 75 minute all-level vinyasa flow yoga class specifically designed to cultivate peace of mind. The DVD also contains a discussion of how our minds function and how yoga helps treat depression and anxiety. Ira Israel is a Psychotherapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Registered Yoga Teacher E-RYT500.

The Food and Feelings Workbook: A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health
By Karen R. Koenig

An extraordinary, powerful connection exists between feeling and feeding that, if damaged, may lead to one relying on food for emotional support, rather than seeking authentic happiness. This unique workbook takes on the seven emotions that plague problem eaters — guilt, shame, helplessness, anxiety, disappointment, confusion, and loneliness — and shows readers how to embrace and learn from their feelings. Written with honesty and humor, the book explains how to identify and label a specific emotion, the function of that emotion, and why the emotion drives food and eating problems. Each chapter has two sets of exercises: experiential exercises that relate to emotions and eating, and questionnaires that provoke thinking about and understanding feelings and their purpose. Supplemental pages help readers identify emotions and chart emotional development. The final part of the workbook focuses on strategies for disconnecting feeling from food, discovering emotional triggers, and using one’s feelings to get what one wants out of life.

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
By Thich Nhat Hanh

In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness–being awake and fully aware. From washing the dishes to answering the phone to peeling an orange, he reminds us that each moment holds within it an opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness.