Page 69 - Fall2020

All Thumbs Book Reviews

the differences, benefits and importance of meat stock and bone broth, various pre-digestion techniques, Corrado notes
describing how to make a meal on meat stock and how to make the best- that sprouting is better than soaking and ferment-
ever bone broth. The recipes sound delicious. ing works better than sprouting, but she also
Next Corrado focuses on the benefits of culturing dairy products: what asserts that a combination of these techniques
to look for, how to purchase these delicious, nourishing dairy products works best of all.
and why it’s good to make them yourself. For sensitive people, there’s The GAPS diet allows some beans and le-
a step-by-step guide to introducing dairy, beginning with lactose- and gumes at certain stages—if properly soaked or
casein-free ghee. The narrative then moves through a variety of healthy sprouted. Coconut, too, has a place, beginning
dairy products, ending with aged, hard cheese. People respond to dairy with the oil and moving on to the meat, milk,
in different ways, so it is important to pay attention. There are recipes cream, coconut butter and eventually coconut
and sections devoted to ghee, cultured butter, cultured cream, yogurt, flour. There are recipes for coconut milk, flour,
kefir and sour cream, with discussion of how these fit into the GAPS diet. breads, muffins and even pizza! The section
Beverages and cultured fruits and vegetables are covered in Section also offers a bonus chapter on how to introduce
9 on lacto-fermentation. The benefits are myriad: better digestion, greater grains after the gut is healed. The final section
immunity, a healthier liver and much more. This comprehensive section is delves further into what and how to eat after
a course in lacto-fermentation, canning and pickling, making homemade following the full GAPS diet, emphasizing high-
lacto-ferments, types of and differences in starters, lacto-fermented bever- quality foods, traditional cooking techniques and
ages and why we must begin with fermented juices. There’s a wealth of plenty of nourishing stocks and broths. This can
information about proper lacto-fermentation techniques and equipment. rightly be called a “well diet”—meaning the
Corrado also covers salting, brining and using whey, yogurt, kefir and time-tested, traditional, immune-supporting,
vegetable starters. nutrient-dense diet known to most of us as the
Nuts, seeds, beans and grains are Section 10’s focus. We learn that Wise Traditions diet. This book gets a double
seeds “would rather procreate than be eaten.” To keep from being eaten, thumbs-up. It’s thorough, interesting, informa-
“seeds evolved to be hard on our digestive system.” Corrado emphasizes, tive and provides a way to heal and return to a
therefore, the importance of soaking, sprouting and fermenting techniques normal, healthy life while enjoying a slew of
that neutralize anti-nutrients. Because anti-nutrients can further harm a delicious, nourishing foods. Good job, Monica
damaged gut, nuts and seeds should not be introduced until some healing Corrado!
has already occurred. Again it is important to go slowly and pay atten- Review by Alana Sugar
tion. Corrado teaches us which nuts and seeds are best, how to store them
properly and how to make nut and seed butters and flours. Describing the

Your Brain on Birth Control, Continued from page 65.
(including major depression) and even immune system malfunction. Dr. I wish I could have read it all those years ago,
Hill does not fully explore the link to autoimmunity in this book (nor instead of simply accepting what a man in a
does she address the pill’s effects on the gut microbiome), but she does white coat said as the ultimate be-all and end-all.
note that 78 percent of people suffering from autoimmune diseases are Every substance that we put in our mouth
women. It is not much of a stretch to see that the pills they commonly take can have an effect on our entire system, and
on a daily basis could be contributing to the prevalence of autoimmunity. therefore on our lives. In the age of information,
More information is always a good thing, and any woman who is on women have been encouraged to take control of
birth control or considering starting a regimen would benefit from reading their reproductive health, their well-being and
Dr. Hill’s well-researched book. While written in a warm and chatty style their future by accessing information like that
(Dr. Hill has no problem using humorously sarcastic footnotes, asterisk- contained in this book. Go forth, women of the
filled expletives or multiple exclamation marks to make a point), she also world, and read. Two thumbs up.
includes the science behind the “why” of it all, along with illustrations and Review by Jennifer Grafiada
charts. A high schooler could easily read this book and probably should.

FALL 2020 Wise Traditions 67