This is my Kirkus Review

T FEELS GOOD TO FEEL GOOD Learn To Eliminate Toxins, Reverse Inflammation and Feel Great Again Cheryl Meyer Illus. by Nicholas Patton Heavenly Tree Press (452 pp.)$19.99 paperback, $9.99 e-book ISBN: 978-0-578-56959-8February 24, 2020BOOK REVIEW Readers are all living in a toxic soup, but they can take steps to clean up their lives and heal the pain caused by unhealthy regimens, according to this guide.An updated edition of Meyer’s 2017 debut, this wide-ranging and at times alarmist manual promises to help readers understand the sources of pain and other chronic health problems, including, but not limited to,diabetes, heart disease, autism, and various autoimmune diseases. The author, a health coach and functional medicine advocate, singles out inflammation as the root cause of all these conditions. To feel better and regain control of their health, readers must fight “the fire of inflammation” by eliminating toxins in their lives.Meyer draws heavily on her own experience with pain and chronic illness, using examples from her life to illustrate how to go toxin-free. “Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, and Big Food are all loading our world with chemicals that are poisoning us,” she warns, and it’s up to readers to identify those unhealthy substances and eliminate them from their lives. Much of the book focuses on diet. Genetically modified items come in for particular attack, as do processed foods and sugar, which is likened to cocaine. Embracing a “clean” diet is a critical step on the path to wellness. But clearing out the pantry and forgoing McDonald’s are just among the first of many steps Meyer suggests. Toxins also lurk in cosmetics (especially fragrances) and cleaning products. Even relationships can be sources of damaging, toxic stress. Getting rid of all this nasty stuff is a years long project, the author admits, but making the effort is worth it. Despite the sometimes fear mongering tone, Meyer raises many valid concerns about the quality of the food many Americans eat and the possibly harmful chemicals hiding in everyday products. The book, which features Patton’s cartoonish line illustrations,also points to many sources for the author’s claims, not all of them equally reputable. Some valuable information comes from prestigious organizations such as Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic. But she also cites more controversial medical practitioners, like Dr. Joseph Mercola, an American physician who markets diet supplements. Makes an impassioned—if not always convincing—case for the benefits of toxin-free lives.

Authors note:

I debated whether or not to share the Kirkus review, (which is a very prestigious book review group) but decided it is an excellent example as to why we are so ill.  Although the reviewer can see the value of what I am writing about, they would prefer Harvard studies, which makes me wonder if they actually read the book. I was appalled that universities are often “owned” by big business;  big business is a huge contributor to their schools, and so if there is any independent study going on there, that person often gets closed down.  In other words, many university  studies are as fake as the synthetic food and the toxic products  that they are studying.  In other studies big Universities do more impartial studies.   I stated in my book that as a result of this, there is an often an absence of evidence from big universities, but the reality is there is evidence of absence for more natural solutions.   Do we really need a scientific  study to prove that real whole foods without herbicide and pesticides on them are good for us?

Harvard studies through the years were paid for by the companies like Coca Cola, and the Sugar industry and the Soy oil industry to give deceptive results and that’s part of the reason we are in the toxic soup that we are in.  The conventional medical community knows nothing about toxins, and therefore does not address them, and  yet these poisons in our every day products are making us sick. And there is too much money in Washington so our government is not protecting us.

Even the reviewers last comment, that I make an impassioned case, if not always convincing case, for the benefits of a toxin-free life.  Just using logic, in what world would living with toxins/poisons be good for the human body?  And yes, Dr. Mercola and other Naturopaths do sell supplements instead of pushing pharmaceuticals, but that does not make them wrong.

I actually address all of this at length in the book, because I was appalled at how much poison was in my life; that the conventional medical community knew nothing about food or toxins; and that I expected to be attacked.   I moved forward with caution and eliminated these toxins lowering my toxic load.   Yes it did take me 5 years to eliminate all these toxins but today I am pain free.  NO PAIN, and that’s HUGE.  I still have autoimmune disease but not the pain.

Had I accepted conventional medical wisdom I would be bed ridden today, unproductive and feeling sorry for myself.  I would probably be on multiple medications and I would probably have multiple symptom autoimmune diseases, yes diseases, because if not addressed the body breaks down further and gets additional syndromes.

The statistics prove me correct.

• We are 37th in the world in health. We spend more on healthcare than any other country in the world. And our system is broken.  Our healthcare system cannot keep up with the expense of the rapid rise of chronic illness in our country.
• 53% of our children are suffering from a chronic illness. 53%.  Yikes
  •  Newborns are being born with more than 287 toxins in their bodies, which they are inheriting from their mothers’ bodies through the umbilical cord. Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests.[i]
  • By the time a child is 5, they have eaten 7 pounds of toxins, according to Mark Hymen, MD, a leading functional practitioner. No wonder they are getting ill, their little bodies cannot handle all these toxins.
  • 16% have learning disabilities
  • 11% of our children have asthma
  • 10% of our children have ADHD
  • 8% of our children have food allergies. There are no statistics on how many of our children have food sensitivities
  • 5% of our children have seizures
  • 2% of our males have autism
  • 5% of all our children have autism
  • Childhood asthma rose 300% in 40 years (GMO’s exasperate allergies)
  • Childhood leukemia and brain cancer rose 40% in 40 years
• 30% of our population will have diabetes within 5 years.  That also makes those Americans much more susceptible to super viruses.
• Millennial’s health now peaks at 27 and then declines.
• A Gen X’er makes it all the way to 37. Still totally frightening.
• American couples dealing with fertility issues rose 20% in 10 years
• And Boomers, my generation, accept that they should live a life of pain and pills. And they are stuck; they don’t want to change or be “deprived” by giving up what is making them sick.   If they would take back their power over their health they would discover that they do not need to live a life of pain and pills.

The leading authority on toxins is Naturopath Dr. Joesph Pizzorno.  A naturopathic physician, educator, researcher and expert spokesman, Pizzorno is founding president of Bastyr University. Under his leadership, Bastyr became the first fully accredited, multidisciplinary university of natural medicine and the first NIH-funded center for alternative medicine research.  He has written a book called The Toxin Solution which I highly recommend.  What makes It Feels Good to Feel Good different, is that I give a layman’s explanation of what is going on, and a step by step solution to the issue  as a normal person.

I have always hated when someone tells me I need to do something with absolutely no explanation as to how to do it.  I wrote the second book Feeling Good Living Low Toxin in Community and Everyday Life to explain how I adopted sustainable lifestyle habits once I eliminated all the toxins I discussed in book 1.  How I eat out, at restaurants, at others homes, when traveling by car, domestically, internationally, by boat (Cruises) around the world.  I explain why its important to cook and what it means to your body to eat the rainbow.  I explain how cells have a shelf life and that we need to start eating to have healthy materials to rebuild our bodies with. I share how I save on healthy food.  I address the importance of doing stress exercises, practicing gratitude and new thoughts on self care.  And…..I address what needs to happen for parents to raise healthy children in the 21st Century and to create a healthy environment for our pets.  The statistics on pet health are just as appalling as the statistics on us and on our children and again, it all leads back to a root cause of toxins and poison.

So if you want to stay well, follow the findings of the Blue Zones which is my opening chapter in both books.  Clean up the toxins and ignore the people who aren’t convinced because you want to live to old age without disease and with your cognizance.  The rest of America does not.  If you already are ill, then take back your power and follow my recommendations to change your life and change your health.  Do you really care what conventional approaches are if you are sick?  Time to own it yourself and take control of your own body, your children’s bodies and your pets bodies.  You will feel the difference in a relatively short period of time, and it will be worth it.

[i] EWG  https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns