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Super Immunity - giveaway


Full disclosure: I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours. They asked for my honest opinion and I'm giving it. The scientific evidence is from the book, the opinions are all mine.


Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free is written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D. and on the cover it says "no shots" "no drugs" "no sick days" ... ok I'm listening... I'd like to be healthy without taking any wacky drugs, wouldn't you?


I'm a nerd and always read the introduction as opposed to skipping right on to chapter one. If I had been in a book store and just read the intro to get an idea of the book I would have put it down and walked away. In all truth it reads like an infomercial and made me on guard to not listen to anything the author had to say. (apparently I'm experiencing a defiant teenager point of view lately)

Since I already said I would read and review the book I knew stopping here wasn't an option, so I went on, still very skeptical, and continued reading. (I'm glad I did)

The first part of the book is teaching the reader about macronutrients vs micronutrients. Macronutrients are the things we all learn about in school, carbohydrates, fat and protein. These are also the things we should be less worried about. The things we should be worried about are micronutrients, which are things like vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and enzymes.

He then goes into talking about how void most of our diets are of micronutrient rich foods which leads to a poor immune system, thus leading us to getting sick. He even sites examples of people curing illnesses and even cancer by simply changing their diet. (this part got me a little skeptical again). In theory it made sense what he was saying... but it's still hard to think eating greens would cure every cancer patient. I mean if it did.. wouldn't we be serving up greens instead of chemo? At the same time maybe that's the whole point of this book, getting people to reevaluate what "medicine" they should be taking?

Next Dr. Fuhrman talks about what foods we really should be eating. To make it super simple for you my main take away was to eat mushrooms, onions, and leafy greens like kale/spinach every day. He has a full list explaining what foods are the most filled with micronutrients and essential to staying healthy AKA giving you super immunity. The book also has 60 or so pages in the back dedicated to immune boosting recipes that I will for sure be trying and posting about.

In the end I'm not going to totally change the way I eat. Dr. Fuhrman equated a piece of chicken breast to being equally void of micronutrients as a cookie. (I can't say I'm totally down with that logic). But I will say that the book got me thinking more about including greens into my diet daily, along with more beans, seeds, and nuts. Am I going vegan or flexitarian anytime soon? Nope. Will I be making John and myself eat more leafy greens and beans. Yes :)

TLC Tours wanted me to also tell you to text “SUPERIMMUNITY” to READIT (732348) for bonus content not included in the book.


GIVEAWAY
Hey you made it all the way to the end! You should get a prize! Want to win a copy of the book!? Leave a comment here answering any of these questions for a chance to win:
What's your take on all of this? Do you think you eat healthy? Do you think you have to eat raw greens daily to be healthy? Do you think your diet and your immune system are closely linked?
For bonus entries, FB or tweet about the book/giveaway and then comment here.
Example: Learn more about Super Immunity and win a copy of the book http://stephchows.blogspot.com #giveaway @steph_chows @drfuhrman


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14 chews:

Jeanne said...

Cancer? I'm not so sure... But doctors definitely don't approach nutrition like they should. It plays such a huge part in our lives. Put cr$* in, that's what you are probably going to feel like. Right? 
Go leafy greens! Try some kale. It's yummy! Really. Promise. 

Nicole said...

I have to admit, over the past couple of years, I have completely changed my diet. Processed foods are gone and my kitchen is always stocked with as much fresh, whole, clean food as possible. I have been sick in over a year and I completely attribute that to my healthier ways. I'm working on increasing the greens even more, too! I believe in what this book has to say!

I just made beans and greens using kale the other night! Delicious :)

I agree what you put in your body is going to have a major effect on the way you feel and the way your body can react to various viruses and bacteria. I'm hoping to stay away from colds this winter :) We'll see if it works for me!

Neena Gulley said...

Sometimes the best gauge is how you FEEL after you eat something.  I always FEEL better, lighter, healthier when I'm eating a lot of greens, beans, fruits and other veggies in my diet.  And I always feel heavier and bloated and just gross when I eat processed and packaged convenience foods.  I certainly agree that greens are healthy and should be incorporated into a daily diet, but I'm not sold on the argument that our focus should be on micro and not macronutrients.... yet.

I definitely feel that I eat a well balanced healthy diet and that eating wholesome, nutritious foods is directly linked to a strong immune system. At the same time, we are human, and even those who strive to follow the healthiest of diets fall victim to the occasional cold/flu virus. I would love to learn more about micro vs macro nutrients!

I tweeted! :)

jc said...

i think i eat healthy because i feel great in and out

Oh I TOTALLY agree with that! And I think it's different for every person, and it's important to do what YOUR body needs, not what everyone else is telling you to do. My husband and I were talking about the macro vs. micro and what's more important. He thinks you should look at them as equally important since things like fat and calories are just as important as vitamins for keeping your body going and performing.

Totally agree with you on the fact that even healthy people get sick. I'm interested to see if I get less colds or if they last a shorter amount of time once I'm upping my veggies more.

Love this answer :)

I'm glad you stuck with it - sounds like you ended up getting some useful info out of it by the end!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

Very happy I kept with it! TONS of great information!

Louise said...

Hello, I thought I eat healthy, but then if I look closer I do eat a lot of processe foods. I do believe we should eat each day raw greens, but there must be an easier way and I think jucing is one answer. As far a my diet as it relates to my immune system, I feel I am healthy in many ways, but I do have depression and I am overwieght. Today I cooked one of Dr. Fuhrman's reciepe of Brussel Sprouts and Garbanzo Suace it is was satisfying and filled the gap in my hungry (and I am not a big fan of brussels!). I am willing to give his view of healthy dieting a chance.

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