Review of "Undiet", by Meghan Telpner
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I am always interested in hearing about other people's experience with IBD, especially regarding coping methods they may have found to be effective. Meghan Telpner was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and, after refusing "treatment options that were scarier than the disease itself", gradually developed the UnDiet lifestyle. While this approach helped her with her condition, it is a great general guide to eating, living and feeling better.
To say Meghan is bubbly would be a massive understatement! At first I worried that my in-built cynicism and dry humour would find her upbeat approach annoying. But I have to say, she won me over! The woman is just plain happy and excited to share what has worked so very well for her, and this friendly approach to the various issues she touches on makes for far easier reading than could have been the case. And don't let the bubblyness fool you - she really knows her stuff! So much so that I was inspired to sign up for, and am currently following, her Academy of Culinary Nutrition's 'Culinary Nutrition Expert' programme, and I'm loving every minute of it.
This book is chock-a-block full of solid information and practical advice for being your healthiest self. Everything is presented in as non-intimidating a way as possible: she does not promote any extreme regimes or changes, and is all about the baby steps. To quote her: "[m]y approach is to make healthy living as fun as possible: take what you can, leave what you're not ready for, and maybe you'll come back later and give it a try." As someone who has been faced with so many drastic dietary and lifestyle change recommendations over the years, I have to say I found Meghan's approach to be very refreshing. And it feels completely doable.
In a nutshell, this book promotes the conscious eating of "real food", as well as low-impact living and is full of all the essential information you could wish for: how the body works, the steps of digestion, macro and micro nutrients, addictive empty-calorie foods, blood sugar and stress hormone rollercoasters, the dangers of plastics, living in an environmentally-conscious way, reducing waste, and nixing harmful substances (in the kitchen, on the plate, in our home, on the body). The end of each chapter is peppered with great recipes, from the simple and basic to the more adventurous. There are also simple (but very helpful when you get right down to it) tips on menu planning, shopping, kitchen organisation, food preparation and storage. Combine this with the concise chapter summaries, clear action-steps and an 8-week programme to get you started on your path to healthier living, and you have a truly great starting point that also happens to be a fun read.
I cannot recommend this book enough, nor can I rave enough about Meghan's Culinary Nutrition Expert programme. In both instances, the combination of her happy approach with the incredible amount of information and real-life insights, is pure gold.
Buy it here: