Page 66 - Spring2015

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Grain of Truth: fear the stealthy onset of some associated ill-
The Real Case for and against ness and reject the verboten foods as a means of
Wheat and Gluten prevention and, they believe, just good common
by Stephen Yafa sense.
Hudson Street Press, 2015 There is no question that wheat and gluten
sensitivities are very real and that a growing
Proponents of countless health-aspiring number of Americans suffer their effects, not
camps have joined the cacophony of condemna- only in the gastrointestinal system, but in many
tion of grains, and especially wheat, for nearly other unpleasant manifestations, including the
a decade now and the furor seems unlikely to function of the brain, the nervous system and
diminish anytime soon. In the tsunami of near the immune system. Books such as Wheat Belly
universal rejection of the once-venerated “staff and Grain Brain claim that wheat is poison and
of life,” yet one more voice seeking audience on the instigator of numerous ailments and de-
the subject might easily be ignored. After all, generative conditions—including the obesity
many are convinced that wheat and gluten are epidemic—that plague so many of us. The zeal
irrevocably proven the scourge of humankind. of this evangelism threatens to squelch any un-
Wheat and gluten sensitivities afflict many of orthodox viewpoint, yet Stephen Yafa manages
one’s friends, family and co-workers. Restau- to present some calm and refreshing insights
rants, food retailers, and any social event that amid the firestorm.
includes edibles these days all offer gluten-free Yafa, novelist, screenplay writer, and
or grain-free options. Those mortals with as yet California wine grower, is also the author of
no overt symptoms of wheat sensitivity nervously Cotton, his first non-fiction investigative work,

BOOK REVIEWS IN WISE TRADITIONS

The Weston A. Price Foundation receives two or three books per week, all of course seeking a Thumbs Up review.
What are the criteria we use for choosing a book to review, and for giving a Thumbs Up review?

• First and foremost, we are looking for books that add to the WAPF message. Dietary advice should incorporate the
WAPF guidelines while adding new insights, new discoveries and/or new therapies.

• We are especially interested in books on the fat-soluble vitamins, traditional food preparation methods and healing
protocols based on the WAPF dietary principles.

• We look for consistency. If you talk about toxins in vaccines in one part of your book, but say you are not against vac-
cines in another part of your book, we are unlikely to review it.

• We do not like to give Thumbs Down reviews. If we do not agree with the major tenets expounded in a book that is
sent to us, we will just not review it. However, we feel that we have an obligation to point out the problems in influential
or bestselling books that are peddling misinformation, and for these we will give a negative review. We also will give a
negative review to a book that misrepresents the findings of Weston A. Price.

• Please do not send us a book as an email attachment. Have the courtesy to send us a hard copy book or a print-out
of your ebook or manuscript in a coil binding.
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