You can also join the virtual book launch event on Facebook on 7 May to meet celebrity guests and enter free giveaways.
Description
Are you sick?
Are you plagued by chronic health problems with no cure or remedy in sight?
Are you tired of spending thousands on medications that only seem to make you worse?
Think that your drugs are a sham that are just managing symptoms and never dealing with the root cause? You’re not alone!
Millions suffer from similar ailments and health struggles just like you, only to be prescribed more medications that can actually cause harm, and in some cases, even kill you. The medical industry has it all backward!
Chronic health conditions and mental health disorders are increasing at an alarming rate, and yet we are still trying to use the same old ineffective drugs that can have very serious side effects.
We’re the blind leading the blind in the hopes that the next great pill will solve all of our problems. Meanwhile, the health of the majority of Canadians and Americans is deteriorating - fast!
But there is a growing understanding in the community that there’s a bigger beast at the heart of the health epidemic …
It’s called the microbiome. And it’s intimately connected to your brain.
Microbiome health is brain health.
In Biology of the Brain, Kent MacLeod, pharmacist, founder and CEO of NutriChem Compounding Pharmacy and Clinic, breaks down why modern medicine is killing people instead of healing them. Instead of leaving the problem as it stands, he provides you with clear, actionable steps to not only heal your microbiome, but to restore your brain health and get your life back.
Book Video
Excerpt
I’ll never forget this 63-year-old woman who’d come into my clinic. We’ll call her Susie. Susie had type two diabetes, suffered from obesity, and from severe high blood sugar. She tried diets and to exercise to lose the weight, but nothing worked.
She even resorted to medication to stimulate normal blood sugar levels and weight loss. This only made matters worse for her. By the time she came to me, she was desperate (it’s unfortunate I was seen as the last resort, but I’m glad she came to me).
We evaluated her lifestyle, her food intake, her diet, her regimen, her medications. We went over her prior tests, then did our own full-body analysis to determine the culprit of her health issues and inability to lose weight.
Can you guess what it was?
You’re right. Her gut microbiome was all out of whack and needed a drastic recovery if she had any hope of living an abundant life without worry, stress, and chronic health failure. After I went over the test results with her and explained her situation, she became noticeably distraught.
She had been struggling with her weight for years and she had made it her identity. She was never going to lose weight and would always have diabetes and health problems. There was no hope for her. As she wiped the tears from her eyes and lifted her head to me, I asked her one question, “Susie, do you want to get well?”
In this book, the author explains what the body’s microbiome is and its link to different diseases. He also discusses the connection between the gut and the brain and how the gut microbiome affects mental health. We learn about the importance of a good diet, the ill effects of alcohol and drugs (legal and illegal), and the beneficial effects of probiotics and prebiotics on the microbiome. He concludes by presenting seven case studies and how these patients were treated in his clinic.
The book contains a wealth of information on the gut-brain connection and provides dietary solutions to both physical and mental illnesses. While the author includes details of his clinic’s practices, a lot of the dietary advice can be implemented by readers on their own.
A fascinating look at the importance of diet on both physical and mental health.
About the Author
Kent MacLeod is an international thought leader and award-winning pharmacist, with over 35 years of clinical experience delivering patient-centered health care. He’s globally recognized as a hormone health and nutrition expert, and he has lectured at health conferences, published research, and developed course material for many professional clinics based on NutriChem’s success.
He lectures throughout North America and Europe on the gut microbiome, hormones, mental health, Down Syndrome, pediatrics, pain management, as well as pharmacology. His philosophy is to work with every patient - individually - to ensure they receive the best combination of conventional and natural therapies for health maintenance and disease management.
If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, it’s time you learn why your body is hurting and correct it the right way.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $10 Amazon/B&N gift card.
Fill Your Mind Before You Fill Your Plate offers practical advice so you can create and maintain a healthy lifestyle, amidst the fast-paced and stressful world we live in. If you are confused about where to start in your health journey or looking for ways to live a healthy lifestyle consistently, then this book is for you!
Excerpt
At a Glance
Faisal Alshawa is a nutritional expert consulting to athletes and busy working professionals worldwide. His clients are typically successful people who recognise the need to make their health and living a healthier lifestyle a priority.
His first book, Fill Your Mind Before You Fill Your Plate is both a primer and impeccable gear change as well as a practical reference guide to creating and managing a healthy lifestyle … starting with mindset.
Faisal Alshawa transformed his own health using the exact Five Pillars For Living A Healthier Lifestyle method outlined in this book, starting with a detailed exploration of the mindset required to making living a healthier lifestyle a life-long habit.
What makes this a highly readable reference is Alshawa candidly shares his own journey including the setbacks and struggles.
The Five Pillars For Living A Healthier Lifestyle are:
•Mindset
•Belief
•Mindfulness
•Sacrifice
•Habits
What makes Fill Your Mind Before You Fill Your Plate such an accessible read for anyone contemplating transforming their health, or for those looking for a mental edge to maintain a healthy lifestyle, is certainly the qualified insights, but also the open and conversational narrative.
Alshawa carefully describes his first exposure to a fitness culture as a Kuwaiti exchange student studying in the US. He then explains how he created a mental regime to stay on track.
That said, Alshawa is candid about the roadblocks, obstacles and setbacks he encountered and the ones you will encounter … and should expect.
The chapters are clear and concise and this will drive your understanding, insights, application and momentum towards a healthier lifestyle.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“I honestly found this book very helpful in framing my mindset. Faisal's insights presented in this book showed me the guidelines on how to effectively lead a healthy and mindful way of life. To me, his philosophy on ‘The Healthy Life’ starts and ends with the mind.” ~ Aziz
“Fill Your Mind Before You Fill Your Plate is a book you will read again and again. An informative and insightful read that is full of useful information, tips, and tricks.” ~ Truly
“A very easy read with lots of great tips and advice shared. Highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to hack those bad eating habits and is eager to find a way to live in a healthier way!” ~ Ghazal
“I like how the books uses a storytelling approach with life changing events to embrace the five pillars for a healthy lifestyle. Really good read.” ~ Adel Alansari
“Real Talk!! Straight to the point!! Real encouraging talk from the author. Recommended read.” ~ Amazon Customer
About the Author
Faisal Alshawa has always been passionate about health and fitness. As a child, he stayed active and played various sports. In 2008, Faisal moved to the US to study Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, College Park. After completing his undergraduate degree, he went on to attain a Masters’ degree in Sports and Exercise Science at Loughborough University in the UK. Faisal moved to Doha, Qatar after graduation and was designated as a sports nutritionist for the U23 Qatar National Olympic Football team. During this time, he was also assigned to administer sports nutrition services to athletes in track and field, squash, and table tennis. His experience working in various sports, as well as competitive and recreational athletes, led Faisal to start Believe Nutrition consultancy in June of 2017.
His intention behind Believe Nutrition is to help individuals and all levels of athletes, from beginner to pro, to believe in the power of nutrition. As the founder of Believe Nutrition, Faisal wants to instill a positive change in peoples’ lives through a holistic approach, which focuses on the mind, body and soul. Faisal does not want to help people for the short-term; rather, he strives to impart a passion for health on anyone he works with to ensure they become the best and healthiest version of themselves, for the long-term.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card (or $5 PayPal cash) or an ebook copy of Fill Your Mind Before You Fill Your Plate by Faisal Alshawa.
Author Charlotte Snow stops by today to share an excerpt from her new book, 47 Healthy Habits You Can Start Now. Sounds like something we could all use!
Description
Hеаlth іѕ not ѕоmеthіng thаt соmеѕ easy to аnуоnе. Thеrе аrе mаnу people thаt hаvе made it easy for them but оnlу аftеr mаnу уеаrѕ оf hаrd wоrk аnd рrасtісе. It mау look еаѕу fоr them now, but they had to build thоѕе habits. Thеу hаd tо wоrk thеіr wау tо whеrе they аrе now. Whеn уоu ѕее them іn action, іt looks еаѕу. It mау even bе еаѕу fоr thеm now, but truѕt mе, іt was nоt еаѕу to start аnd thеrе аrе ѕtіll dіffісult tіmеѕ fоr thеm whеn іt соmеѕ to sticking wіth the routine.
Thе difference bеtwееn hеаlthу people аnd unhеаlthу people іѕ nоthіng mоrе thаn thе hаbіtѕ аnd rоutіnеѕ thаt thеу have worked on for a lоng tіmе. In this book, 47 healthy habits that you can start right now are listed and discussed.
Excerpt
Thе difference bеtwееn hеаlthу people аnd unhеаlthу people іѕ nоthіng mоrе thаn thе hаbіtѕ аnd rоutіnеѕ thаt thеу have worked on for a lоng tіmе. Evеn wіth nеw habits, thе рrосеѕѕ is thе same for hеаlthу реорlе. They knоw whаt іt will take to make something stick, so thеу do іt аnd dо іt untіl іt is раrt оf thеіr routine.
Unhеаlthу people lооk аt thеѕе реорlе and think thаt thе рrосеѕѕ іѕ easy fоr thеm. They thіnk that it is hаrd for themselves, but easy fоr thе hеаlthу реорlе аnd thеу thіnk thаt thе difference bеtwееn thеm аnd thе healthy people іѕ thе ease. Thаt іѕ not true. No matter hоw muсh you struggle with hеаlth, there іѕ a way tо do it. You can bе ѕuссеѕѕful.
Yоu can also fail. Thіѕ іѕ nоt whаt уоu wаnt to hеаr, but failure іѕ аlwауѕ a possibility. If уоu аrе trуіng ѕоmеthіng new, you саn fail. If you are wоrkіng to include new habits іntо уоur routine, you can fаіl.
Nоw thаt wе hаvе thаt out оf the way, we саn dіѕсuѕѕ ѕоmе rеаl ѕоlutіоnѕ. Here are ѕоmе ѕоlutіоnѕ tо hеlр уоu realize thаt уоu can:
Stор fеаrіng fаіlurе
If you асknоwlеdgе thаt failure іѕ an option, уоu саn gеt over thе fеаr оf fаіlurе. Thе fear of fаіlurе іѕ worse thаn fаіlurе itself. Thе dіffеrеnсе between successful аnd unѕuссеѕѕful реорlе is that successful реорlе аrе able to fаіl аnd keep going, try аgаіn оr ѕіmрlу find a better way tо dо ѕоmеthіng. Thеrе is аlwауѕ another wау tо dо ѕоmеthіng, so if уоu fail, ѕіmрlу trу again, trу ѕоmеthіng different and you wіll eventually ѕuссееd.
Determine рlаn B
If уоu hаvе another орtіоn, fаіlurе wіll bе pretty ѕhоrt. Thе problem with falling ѕhоrt оf a gоаl іѕ thаt іt leaves you fееlіng lіkе уоu mіѕѕеd thе mаrk. Wеll, іt'ѕ true. Yоu dіd mіѕѕ thе mаrk, but thаt dоеѕn't mеаn thаt you can't trу again. If уоu have a plan for gеttіng bасk оn trасk or a secondary gоаl thаt will аllоw уоu another option, уоu can succeed оr ѕіmрlу limit thе impact оf a small fаіlurе.
Don't еxресt іt tо be еаѕу
Hеаlth is nоt еаѕу. If уоu expect it tо bе easy, уоu wіll be disappointed. Thе mоѕt соmmоn reason fоr failure іѕ рооrlу mаnаgеd expectations. Wе'vе all been there. Yоu set оut tо trу ѕоmеthіng new and еxресt іt tо bе еаѕу. Whеn we run іntо оnе little іѕѕuе, іt is еnоugh tо derail us. We dіdn't see іt coming bесаuѕе wе expected іt tо bе еаѕу. Suссеѕѕ is nоt easy аnd often takes a lоt оf рrасtісе. If уоu gо іntо it knоwіng thіѕ, уоu саn rеасh іt. If уоu go into it wіth the fаntаѕу thаt іt will bе еаѕу, reality wіll ԛuісklу catch uр tо уоu аnd fаіlurе wіll nоt bе far bеhіnd.
Sо, what аrе уоur gоаlѕ? What is thе new hаbіt you wаnt tо mаkе part of уоur rоutіnе? Nо mаttеr whаt іt іѕ, you саn dо it. How dо I know thаt wіthоut knowing whаt уоur hаbіt іѕ or whаt your rоutіnе lооkѕ like? I knоw thаt you саn bесаuѕе it іѕn't аѕ hаrd as уоu thіnk іt is. If уоu саn mоvе fоrwаrd without fеаr оf fаіlіng, hаvе a plan B in рlасе bесаuѕе you know thаt fаіlurе іѕ роѕѕіblе аnd еxресt a fеw сhаllеngеѕ аlоng the wау, уоu can dо іt.
It's nоt rосkеt ѕсіеnсе. It'ѕ nоt brаіn ѕurgеrу. Hеаlth іѕ hard, but іt'ѕ nоt thаt hаrd. We can аll dо іt. Yоu dоn't have tо run mаrаthоnѕ оr lоѕе a hundrеd роundѕ іn a wееk. All you hаvе to dо іѕ come uр with a ѕіmрlе рlаn thаt wоrkѕ for уоu. Dеtеrmіnе whаt hаbіt you want tо improve and go іmрrоvе it. Notice I said іmрrоvе аnd not change, еlіmіnаtе оr create. Wе аlrеаdу hаvе mаnу hаbіtѕ. If уоu can improve juѕt оnе habit grаduаllу, you саn mаkе a ѕіgnіfісаnt іmрасt оn your health.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
About the Author
Charlotte Snow’s dream is to make it as a full-time author, so she never has to go back to her 8-5 job ever again. Currently, she writes whenever she has free time.
This book is for anyone with chronic pain looking for answers. It will give you a place to start. You don't have to resign yourself to a life of pain and pills.
In this book you will learn:
·What is causing your pain and how to eliminate it.
·How to find a practitioner that will help you gain back your health.
·What's in your food? Organic, conventional, GMOs processed, fast, canned, dairy, factory farmed meat, soy, water. Identify your sensitivities and heal your leaky gut.
·Identify the toxins in your life. in your cosmetics, over the counter drugs, in your kitchen, in your body. Learn how to purge them.
·34 stress busting ideas, and four simple exercises to reduce your stress.
·32 suggestions from leading functional experts on how to get a good night's sleep.
·How to recognize a toxic relationship and make it work or walk away.
·How to tame Anxious Negative Thoughts "ANTs".
·The importance of movement, even for people who don't like to move.
·How to take control of your health, reduce your inflammation and feel great again!
Book Video
Excerpt
Before we begin, the most important thing you can do for your body, your skin, your teeth, your nails and your hair is to heal your gut. Go back to my chapter on autoimmune disease to learn how to do that. Healing your gut will clear your acne, eliminate eczema, psoriasis, and it will help you have healthy hair, healthy nails, a healthy attitude (which is part of beauty). There is no beauty product that can substitute for overall good health, and good health depends on a healthy biome. Remember, you are what you eat!
Go back to my chapter on Food to understand more about how to do this. But each chapter in this book has to do with creating health, and doing that allows your beauty to shine through.
There are an incredible amount of toxins lurking in your cosmetics and personal care products. Who knew? It doesn’t matter if they are from the drug store (almost all toxic synthetic ingredients) or very expensive brands (still often loaded with toxins). Cosmetics are not regulated, and since our skin is our largest organ, what we are putting on our skin can be very detrimental to our health.
Cosmetics have never particularly been regulated.
Until recently, The Cosmetic Act of 1938 was the only guideline for the FDA. This law came about because mascara sold before 1938 had rat poison in it and blinded the consumer. According to Wikipedia, “Under the Act, the FDA does not approve cosmetic products, but because the Act prohibits the marketing of adulterated or misbranded cosmetics in interstate commerce, it can remove cosmetics from the market that contain unsafe ingredients or that are mislabeled. The FDA can and does inspect cosmetics manufacturing facilities to ensure that cosmetics are not adulterated.” It counted heavily on the Cosmetic industry to monitor itself. Yikes.
That has been it for the last 80 years. Last year, a bill was finally passed to add some regulation to the cosmetic industry. The Personal Care Product Safety Act of 2015. "Strong provisions in the bill would advance the FDA's ability to protect Americans' health by improving current law in the following areas:
– Directing the FDA to assess the safety of a minimum of five cosmetics chemicals a year;
– Requiring companies to register their facilities, products and ingredients with the FDA;
– Requiring companies to comply with good manufacturing practices;
– Closing labeling loopholes by requiring full ingredient disclosure for professional salon products and web-based sales of cosmetics; and
– Giving the FDA mandatory recall authority to get unsafe products off the shelves.
Bottom line, it is a start, but it doesn’t do enough.
You have to take responsibility to do your own research for your own health, to keep the toxins out of your house and off of your skin. This government regulation is not going to protect you.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
This book has won the following awards to date:
·3rd place CIPA EVVY Health/Wellness
·2nd Place CIPA EVVY Illustrator in a non-children's book
·New Apple Summer Digital sole winner in Health/medical
·The Living Evergreen Award Gold winner for books that exemplify better living
·It is in the top 10 from Write your Own Dream Book, November 17, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
·TOP 12 Books on the Spirited Woman Fall Equinox 2017 book list
“It Feels Good to Feel Good, learn to eliminate toxins, reduce inflammation and feel great again” is written by Cheryl Meyer, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®, where she completed a cutting edge curriculum in nutrition and health coaching taught by the world’s leading experts in health and wellness. I recommend you read this book and be in touch with Cheryl (Cheryl M Health Muse) to see how she can help you successfully achieve your goals.” ~ Joshua Rosenthal, MScEd, Founder/Director, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
“If you want to truly feel better … clean up! Just one tip from Cheryl’s book will change your life. She has written the ultimate source for getting well through detoxification.” ~ Suzy Cohen, RPh, Author of Drug Muggers: Which Medications Are Robbing Your Body of Essential Nutrients and How to Restore Them
“You have taken putting soap in the mouth for naughty words … to a New Level! LOL Who knew we were surrounded by so many toxins. I’ve pretty much finished your book now working on giving sections to my family and friend that I think will especially appreciate certain chapters! YOU, my Dear, have found your calling, YOU make this rather ‘dull’ subject a Very Good, interesting read, with fun personal touches along the way. I LOVE your book; I hope people will embrace it. Why worry so much about health care if we keep killing ourselves with poison. We can all start with eliminating the toxins out of our lives.” ~ Val Peterson
“As a Functional Medicine Doctor who partners with patients to deal with the root causes of their symptoms, it was a pleasure to read a book that offers such a comprehensive yet simple approach to improve health, reduce inflammation and pain, lose weight and increase energy. This is a great reference to keep in reach on your own journey to optimal wellness. If you are struggling with chronic symptoms like digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disorders, this book may really help you. It lays out practical tools that you can use right away and at your own pace, everything from how to change your shopping choices to getting more comprehensive medical testing to reduce your toxic burden. Her simple to understand, well researched and easy-to-adopt tools can be helpful to even the busiest among us.” ~ Dr. Shilpa Sayana, Founder and Medical Director, Sayana Wellness Centers
“Cheryl has been not only been an exemplary patient, she has made it her mission to inspire and help others with her experience and knowledge!” ~ Susan Spizer, MTCM, L.Ac.
“She writes like she talks, straight and with passion. What you will read here will surprise you. A helpful read that you will refer back time and time again for reference.” ~ Scott Lee, Master, Body and Brain Yoga, Monrovia
“My friend, Cheryl Meyer has written a book that I recently finished called It Feels Good to Feel Good. It has a lot of common sense solutions (many that you would never think of) to healthy, toxin free living designed around the reduction of inflammation through what you put in and on your body. Most of this is from her personal experience. I know Cheryl to be one of the finest people you’ll ever know. Cheryl’s also a big proponent of ‘functional medicine’. If you are unfamiliar with this form of medical practice, you need to read her book. It will change the way you think”. ~ Frank Jones
“Cheryl’s book is as timely as it is informative. This is an excellent read for those seasoned in the holistic lifestyle as well as those just beginning. There is something for everyone. Her material covers everything from probiotics, house cleaning materials, and abdominal massages, to which teas to drink for better sleep. She has the latest information on metal detoxing and extensive research on the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Cheryl provides real solutions that can be implemented far beyond the basics with a bend toward functional medicine. I personally ordered three products within hours of reading her book. I’m especially thrilled with the depth of her research around relationships and those that can be toxic. Make sure to read this book and hold onto the ‘not to miss points’ at the beginning of each section.” ~ Shannon Eavenson, Author, & Physical Therapist/Health Coach
In her search to alleviate the pain caused by inflammation, the author
has conducted her own internet research over the last five years. As she
herself states: “There is nothing in this book that you could not find on your
own by researching online. But this information is scattered all over the
place. It has taken me five years to find all of this and to go through the
trial and error of finding what works for me. I wanted to give you a place to
start with all of the information that I have found by locating it all in one
spot.” I commend her for her efforts, however, while this book provides a good basic
start, it needs more in-depth information. It is extremely repetitive, and the
first 20% of the book is full of rhetoric but not much substance. It all just feels
like one big advertisement to hire the author as a health coach.
The basic take-aways:
·Eat a meal of three quarters organic fruit and vegetables and one quarter
pastured meat
·Do not eat genetically modified food, processed food, sugar, canned food,
soy products (with the exception of fermented soy), vegetable oils
·If you must have dairy products, only consume full fat organic dairy
products
·Eliminate toxic cosmetics, fragrances, cleaning products, heavy metals,
relationships
·Consume more water but make sure it's filtered
·Get moving
Editing problems include: punctuation, capitalization, misused words,
missing words, spelling, poor sentence structure, inconsistencies with bold and
italicized text.
Formatting problems include: the green text boxes are difficult to
navigate, there are numerous broken hyperlinks both in the text and endnotes,
any appearance of "ants" as part of any word is italicized (this may
be deliberate but is annoying and unnecessary), endnotes should be hyperlinked
for easy access, not all referenced articles are hyperlinked in the text, not
all articles have endnotes, there are no hyperlinks to the organizations we are
asked to support.
From my own reading in this area, I suggested you read the following
books instead:
Whatever your approach, there is no denying that “it feels good to feel
good.”
About the Author
Five years ago, Cheryl got sick, really sick. It was a perfect storm: she was working 24/7; her long-term relationship imploded; economic changes slowed her business; she got Type II diabetes; she was taking care of everyone else; her stress was out of control.
Then one morning … voila, Cheryl woke up in incredible pain that didn’t go away. Her doctor didn’t recognize what it was and thought it was in her head.
Cheryl didn’t want more pills, so she embarked on her own journey to find wellness. When she started, she didn’t even know what she was looking for. She was stunned to find toxins in every aspect of her life that were poisoning her. She discovered the Functional Medicine community. She was tested for food sensitivities.
This book shares everything that Cheryl learned to reverse her inflammation and put her autoimmune diseases at bay. This is the get well manual that she wishes had been available when she got sick. The book is about first identifying that toxins that were a significant cause of her leaky gut, then she identified what the toxins were and finally she shares what she replaced them with. She addresses the toxins in our food, in our cosmetics, our cleaning supplies, our kitchen utensils, our water, our over the counter drugs, and even in our heads, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, lack of movement and finally toxic relationships. She wants to help others find a path to wellness.
Cheryl is now relatively pain-free, but still considers herself a work in progress. She avoids the foods and spices on her specific, long list of problem foods. She has purged toxins. She has released stress and nagging worry. She has learned to find joy in movement. She has found love. She is grateful.
Cheryl believes that following her journey will help you live a long, happy and pain-free life.
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win paperback copy of It Feels Good to Feel Good by Cheryl Meyer OR a highlighter pen and bookmark OR a purse-size Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 card.
