Page 71 - Summer2009

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition: Self Care for ludes to the importance of zinc for male fertility,
Improved Cycles and Fertility. . . Naturally! thyroid health and prevention of birth defects,
Marilyn M. Shannon she doesn’t mention the fact that all those whole
The Couple to Couple League International grains she recommends block zinc uptake. Red
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Marilyn Shannon takes on the task of help- not listed in her “foods to emphasize.” Does
ing women (and men) improve their reproductive Shannon recommend lowfat or fullfat milk?
KHDOWK E\ RIIHULQJ DV KHU ¿UVW VXJJHVWLRQ ³(DW :H RQO\ ¿QG RXW RQ SDJH WKDW VKH ³IDYRUV´
plenty of whole plant foods: grains, beans, nuts, whole-fat dairy products over low-fat ones. (Raw
vegetables, seeds and fruits.” Never mind the milk is not even considered.) Shannon seems to
fact that this kind of diet has caused reproduc- WKLQN WKDW ÀD[ RLO LV WKH FXUH IRU HYHU\WKLQJ EXW
tive problems in a whole generation of educated soy oil (loaded with rancid omega-3 fatty acids)
health food enthusiasts. Shannon gives lip ser- LV DOVR ¿QH EHFDXVH ³IRU PDQ\ SHRSOH VR\ RLO LQ
vice to animal protein, milk, eggs and butter, and salad dressings is unfortunately the only source
ZDUQV DJDLQVW UH¿QHG VZHHWHQHUV VRIW GULQNV of omega-3 essential fatty acids. . .”
caffeine, margarine, shortening and soy foods, Shannon applies these contradictory and
but falls far short of advocating the kind of diet sketchy dietary principles to a list of reproductive
that can bestow fertility on the infertile, and problems—PMS. heavy periods, endometriosis,
good health on women suffering from hormonal infertility, thyroid problems, PCOS—each with
problems. Cold breakfast cereals, microwaved a slight tweak of the supplement regime. While
food, pasta, vegetarian diets, lots of goitrogenic avoiding sugar, sodas, soy foods and margarine
raw vegetables and millet, canola oil and yeasted will certainly help men and women improve
ZKROH ZKHDW EUHDG ZLWK DGGHG JOXWHQ DUH DOO ¿QH their reproductive health, the other side of the
with Shannon, while she offers nary a mention equation—replacing these so-called foods with
of the nutrient-dense foods so vital for good nutrient-dense superfoods—seems to have gone
health—raw milk, organ meats, grass-fed ani- over Shannon’s head. Maybe this is because she
mal products, cod liver oil, nourishing broths, relies heavily on the dietary advice of supplement
lacto-fermented foods and properly prepared pushers Guy Abraham and Julian Whitaker and
whole grains. Instead she recommends a ton of plant-based diet-advocate Jorge Chavarro.
supplements. In a book full of weaknesses, the section on
The overall impression of this book is one birth defects is the weakest of all. For Shannon,
of confusion. For example, Shannon recom- folic acid is the knight in shining armor for birth
PHQGV ¿VK OLYHU RLO QRW IRU YLWDPLQV $ DQG ' defect prevention—to take in supplement form.
but for essential fatty acids. Later she states that No mention of vitamins A, D and K, no empha-
³WUXH YLWDPLQ $ IURP ¿VK RLO KHOSV WKH WK\URLG sis at all on the importance of child spacing. In
gland.” But there is little if any vitamin A in IDFW 6KDQQRQ FRXQVHOV RQH ZRPDQ LQ KHU V
¿VK RLO²RQO\ LQ ¿VK liver oil. If oatmeal causes who already has many children to do whatever
digestive problems, Shannon recommends yo- possible to have more children in spite of recent The overall
gurt or a product called Beano, not overnight miscarriages—a sure message that it’s time to impression of
soaking. She dedicates a section of her book to stop having children. this book is
yeast overgrowth seemingly oblivious to the role A big thumbs down for this confusing,
played by improperly prepared whole grains in sloppy, contradictory book. one of
feeding yeast infections. An although she al- Review by Sally Fallon confusion.

SUMMER 2009 Wise Traditions 69