The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones and Recipe

The book, The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach, is full of tasty tips and recipes for strong bones! The book contains 85 delicious, healthy recipes. Below I included one recipe that I'm using this Holiday Season so I've linked it in my Holiday Recipe Exchange. Do you have a healthy recipe for this holiday season? If so please link it  at the top of my Holiday Recipe exchange!

Coconut Cream p. 235

A healthier, bone optimal cream to try on hot cocoa!

1 (14.5 oz) can organic full-fat coconut milk (don't use low-fat milk if you do you won't get the right texture)

1 Tbsp agave nectar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Place coconut milk in the freezer for 5-6 hours to allow the cream to rise to the top.  Gently, without shaking the can, remove it from the freezer and carefully open it.  Scoop the thicker coconut milk off th etop and place it in a glass or stainless steel bowl.  Scoop carefully; the thick part should go down about 2/3s of the way to the bottom of the can.  Reserve the leftover coconut water for another use (use it in a soup or stew)

2) Whip the coconut milk with a whisk or a hand mixer until thick, then stir in the agave nectar and vanilla.  Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep well for several days!  

Makes about 1 cup.

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Everyone wants to know how you can maintain strong bones.  We keep hearing that an active lifestyle and calcium supplements are two key ingredients.  The author, Annemarie Colbin, PH.D., has put together a program to help you create stronger bones.  Just when you learned that there are foods to strengthen and build bone mass you also find out there are foods that will weaken them, too!  The book is divided into three parts:


Part 1

Understanding Your Bones
The book takes on a well thought out Holistic Approach, whole body healing.  The author clearly list her experience in the area of bone health.  She also suffered with a broken wrist and sprained hand joints.  She clearly has  first "hand" experience on this topic.  She was able to change her behavior and eating habits to help her heal.


Part 2 
Caring for Your Bones
She covers whole foods, a diet to promote healthy bones, exercise and movement, strength from within and how to regain lost bone.


Part 3
Recipes for Healthy Bones! Yummy! Click to read article listing best foods and a recipe!

My Take on the book: This book is great for anyone wanting to know more about osteoporosis or fractures. There is a great deal of information here on causes and risk.  She made a great point that are bones are made to last.  According to science data and under certain conditions some bones have lasted tens of thousands of years.  They have been used to make tools.  They were made to not fall apart while the body is living. 

This is such a healthy book!  After reading it I really felt like I have some control on my bone health.  It isn't as easy as constantly popping Calcium chewable, it  is better! Do you need a medical degree to understand this book? No,  I found that she wrote this book for the every day person! She explained and went into details just enough to get you to understand how food, exercise, nutrients, etc all  work together to get you to have optimal healthy bones!

Here are just a few things that I learned from this book:

1) In adults, about 5 to 10 percent of bone is replaced yearly and most of our entire skeleton is replaced about every ten years. (pg 27)



2) The major sources of calcium are found in the foods we eat.  These plants offer twice as much calcium as an ounce of milk does: cauliflower, watercress, parsley, brussels sprouts, rutabaga, kale, mustard greens, bok choy, brocolli and turnip greens.  Other great sources are almonds, sesame seeds, pinto beans, sweet potatoes and seaweeds (often eaten in sushi rolls and miso soup), mineral water, oysters, soft-shell crabs, sardines, anchovies and mineral-rich stock made from bones. (pg 31)


3) A really great point was made that if your meal consists of many sources of calcium, then you will get enough calcium.


4) You need to do more than ingest  a high amount of calcium  for bone health and fracture prevention. (pg.31)


5) Aside from calcium, our body needs other nutrients and activities.  The author goes into great detail of these other nutrients and activities. 


6) Vitamin D is fat soluble so it needs fat  to be stored in the body.  This is a great example on how low-fat diets are not healthy for the body.  It does not help support healthy bones. (pg. 33)  This entire section on Vitamin D was an eye-opener for me.  Including the use of sun screen and how it interferes with the production of Vitamin D. 


7) Best fats to cook with are olive oil, unrefined sesame and sunflower oils, cold-pressed flaxseed oil, unrefined coconut and palm oils and butter or cream. (pg. 44)


8) Are you confused on HDL & LDL? She really explains the difference and that they shouldn't be called good or bad cholesterol.  (pg. 44)


9) Water is very important for optimal bone health? (pg 50)



10) This is where I could list at least 100 more things!  You'll have to read it!

Part 3 gives you some really great recipes!  What surprised me the most was the Dessert section!  She really did a wonderful job putting together recipes that where for optimal health for someone with a sweet tooth!




Author Bio
Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., author of The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach, is a health educator and award-winning writer, consultant, and lecturer. She is the founder and CEO of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City. She is author of several books including Food and Healing and writes a column, "Food and Your Health," for New York Spirit magazine.
For more information please visit www.FoodAndHealing.com.
Thanks to Julie at FSB Associates for this book to review.