emmeyer's review against another edition
4.0
While this book has an obvious audience in mind, the information provided is for overall wellness and can be helpful to anyone. The book focuses on nutrition, sleep patterns, nutritional supplements, and eliminating harmful chemicals from your home. I think it is very useful for increasing good habits to improve health. It also provides a lot of information about menstrual cycles and how to use them to monitor health concerns.
booktrovertreader's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
invormation's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I didn't know anything about the author before reading - I'm just desperate for period symptom and pain relief. But I think knowing the author can help see their perspective and bring light to anything maybe overlooked can be helpful to read an informative book like this. I was left with a sour taste in my mouth after looking up this author on social media.
Despite saying she's fine with plant-based eating in the book, on Insta her account is very against vegans, she recommends following frankly trash accounts who share debunked "facts" about meat and veganism, and is flippant in the comments, pinning only those who agree with a high-meat diet. Alone, I would not care at all, but when you're writing a book like this, claiming that plant-based diets are fine if they "work for you", it's not a good look.
For instance, on the topic of soy, she glosses over it by saying that you shouldn't consume soy milk or tofu because they're GMO. (Something I gave the benefit of the doubt of, because I already buy non-GMO soy as there are no other options, and maybe she was just keeping her info concise.) No info on why GMO is bad, first of all. But if she shared any actual research, you would know that most consumer soy IS non-GMO, and that most soy grown is for livestock feed, which is where those high GMO numbers come from. It's misleading, and worse, it doesn't tell us actually good information - what other research is there to say soy is bad, besides just, "GMO"? It doesn't really say, but it feels like she just wrote it off because of her bias against veganism.
This is one example of why I don't feel like I can trust her as a health writer -- which is devastating as someone who's truly looking for non-biased evidence-based help with medical issues doctors refuse to look into. Just disappointing.
I'm going to keep reading and working through this book, however, because it does bring attention to so many issues in a way I haven't seen before, and I really want to get help! Just take the information with a heaping grain of salt.
Despite saying she's fine with plant-based eating in the book, on Insta her account is very against vegans, she recommends following frankly trash accounts who share debunked "facts" about meat and veganism, and is flippant in the comments, pinning only those who agree with a high-meat diet. Alone, I would not care at all, but when you're writing a book like this, claiming that plant-based diets are fine if they "work for you", it's not a good look.
For instance, on the topic of soy, she glosses over it by saying that you shouldn't consume soy milk or tofu because they're GMO. (Something I gave the benefit of the doubt of, because I already buy non-GMO soy as there are no other options, and maybe she was just keeping her info concise.) No info on why GMO is bad, first of all. But if she shared any actual research, you would know that most consumer soy IS non-GMO, and that most soy grown is for livestock feed, which is where those high GMO numbers come from. It's misleading, and worse, it doesn't tell us actually good information - what other research is there to say soy is bad, besides just, "GMO"? It doesn't really say, but it feels like she just wrote it off because of her bias against veganism.
This is one example of why I don't feel like I can trust her as a health writer -- which is devastating as someone who's truly looking for non-biased evidence-based help with medical issues doctors refuse to look into. Just disappointing.
I'm going to keep reading and working through this book, however, because it does bring attention to so many issues in a way I haven't seen before, and I really want to get help! Just take the information with a heaping grain of salt.
_inge_'s review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Well, I probably got this book for the same reason that many of its readers do: because of period related problems. For the last couple of years, I've been having increasing aches and pains which have come to a point that I had to do something. It had gotten to twice a month (ovulation and period) pain and headaches which required medication and made me feel like crap for 4-5 days a month. As I'm likely approaching perimenopause it seemed like a good time to learn more about hormones as they will probably fluctuate quite a bit more for the next decade or so.
So, did this six week programme help? I've followed the advice from week one (adding a bunch of veggies to my diet), week two (stabilising blood sugar without testing). I have not done week 3 (elimination diet) because I wanted to see if the changes from week one and two would have an effect without this step. Not changed anything from week 4 as I was already doing the things advised. Might switch to another deodorant when it runs out as it's one of the final possible toxin sources. Not done week 5 specifically, but am going to keep watching stress levels. And not done week 6 as I don't show the symptoms mentioned, but will make some more changes to the diet to support the thyroid.
After five weeks, I've had only a couple of hours of headache during my period (only one ibuprofen killed it). No pain in my breasts. Ovulation was just two weeks into the programme, but I had no ovulation pain and one day of headache instead of two. So I'd say it seems to be working.
I'll go ahead and follow the tips for each phase of the period, tweaking what to eat in which week. I might try a dairy elimination in the summer to see if it clears my skin, if it hasn't already. And I have also changed the veggies I will grow in my garden to match what is good to eat - since my grocery bill has gone up with all these nutritious foods that have been added to the weekly shop.
So, did this six week programme help? I've followed the advice from week one (adding a bunch of veggies to my diet), week two (stabilising blood sugar without testing). I have not done week 3 (elimination diet) because I wanted to see if the changes from week one and two would have an effect without this step. Not changed anything from week 4 as I was already doing the things advised. Might switch to another deodorant when it runs out as it's one of the final possible toxin sources. Not done week 5 specifically, but am going to keep watching stress levels. And not done week 6 as I don't show the symptoms mentioned, but will make some more changes to the diet to support the thyroid.
After five weeks, I've had only a couple of hours of headache during my period (only one ibuprofen killed it). No pain in my breasts. Ovulation was just two weeks into the programme, but I had no ovulation pain and one day of headache instead of two. So I'd say it seems to be working.
I'll go ahead and follow the tips for each phase of the period, tweaking what to eat in which week. I might try a dairy elimination in the summer to see if it clears my skin, if it hasn't already. And I have also changed the veggies I will grow in my garden to match what is good to eat - since my grocery bill has gone up with all these nutritious foods that have been added to the weekly shop.
xosarahirene's review against another edition
4.0
As a woman who suffers from irregularities in PMS and menstruating symptoms, I was eager to read this text. I learned more in depth of the actual process of the cycle, rather than the usual "skirting over" education from middle school health class. I especially appreciated the inclusion of food lists and recipes to aid with easing bloating and other unwanted factors. Thank you for the opportunity to access this ARC, Netgalley.
christinaaangelina's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.5
There was a lot of helpful info in here. Also a lot of info that conflicts with things I’ve read in other health books. I think this is a good book to read if you have period/repro issues because I did get something out of it, but definitely in conjunction with other books because there are a lot of opinions and healing isn’t one size fits all.
library_of_alexandra's review
3.0
Some decent advice mixed with some woo (vaginal steaming?? that’s some Goop bullshit). Honestly, I think the mix of unproven claims with tried-and-true advice is pretty common these days, so I suggest reading a variety of books and as many studies + papers that you can. Anyway, main takeaways: eat enough and eat well, exercise thoughtfully, find ways to relax, and listen to your body’s signals. We all deserve to live happily in these bodies of ours!