A few months ago, I posted messages to some internet chat groups for homeschoolers asking for recommendations for a unity study on the topic of nutrition. My princess has begun asking which foods are healthy and which ones are not, and when she shows an interest in a topic, I try to feed that interest.
One of the early TOS Crew review items I received this year is just what I wanted, a nutrition program. :)
Growing Health Homes presents Nutrition 101: CHOOSE LIFE, ($79.99 on CD-ROM) a *huge* and thorough program for learning about nutrition and the body systems that are affected by what we eat. The web site explains, "Co-authored by homeschool mother Debra Raybern, N.D., M.H., C.N.C., I.C.A.; homeschool mother and researcher Sera Johnson, B.MU; mother and writer/editor Laura Hopkins, B.S.; and mother, grandmother and former Home Economics teacher Karen Hopkins, B.S."
We received a downloadable version, 448 pages, presented in color. You may peek inside the book HERE --you can see how thorough the program is when you see the table of contents and a portion of the index and appendices section. Please take a few moments to look inside the sample -- it provides a far better description than I could capture in words on a blog. (There is a recipe for "No Dairy No Chocolate 'Chocolate' Pudding in this sample peek that those of you on a GFCF diet may find useful.)
For my homeschooling princess, the program is developmentally ahead of her. In order for me to use it with her as a program or curriculum, I have to modify the program a lot -- too much, in fact, for me to find it useful with her at this time. She's working at a preK/K level, academically, and if you peek inside at the sample, you'll see this program is for more advanced students.
As a reference for ME, right now, this program is *awesome*! I look forward to being able to use it more richly with my homeschooler when she is ready.
In the meantime, I am revisiting some information that I've learned because of autism and learning some new information, too, about how nutrition affects the body. Nine years ago, when my daughter regressed into autism, and I began to meet parents of children with autism who were familiar with biomedical treatment, I, quite frankly, thought a lot of those other parents were, well, a bit odd. I'd describe something my daughter was doing that was a problem, or complain about her eczema or some other physical problem, and these other parents would tell me, "such and such is a sign of yeast in the gut" or "that's a sign of a mineral deficiency". How does a layperson tell those things without a doctor and lab work?!?! I was skeptical. When some lab testing began to reveal the same issues that other parents saw in symptoms, I began to experience the fact that more often than not, they were correct. Over time, I morphed into one of those "odd" parents. In fact, I don't think they're "odd" any more!
The Nutrition 101: CHOOSE LIFE program includes a lot of the observations we can make about our bodies that give us clues to what might be going on, nutritionally. It certainly gives you clues to take to your doctor so that you can ask for specific lab work, if necessary.
Nutrition 101: CHOOSE LIFE is more than a text book. It's more like a user manual, providing both information and "how-to".
There are too many "favorites" of mine to list. There is an appendix about fingernail health that is filled with information. There's a section with recipes for safe household cleaners. 30 Ways To Poison Yourself Before Breakfast -- it caught my attention! A lot of the recipes are easily converted to GFCFSF (not all, though) and there are a few that are naturally GFCFSF. Here are a couple: Page 351 features a recipe for Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes; page 279 features a Tropical Vanilla Ice Cream Shake that is GFCFSF. The chart of RDA of vitamins and minerals is a super quick-reference.
There is an appendix on cadmium toxicity. One of the metals that is often high on hair tests of children with autism is cadmium. Another appendix focuses on cancer.
Nutrition 101: CHOOSE LIFE includes information about essential oils, something I've always wanted to learn.
A 15-page activity guide follows the program material in the book, beginning on page 285. The appendices are huge -- The first appendix of 31 begins on page 305 of the 448 page book.
If you are concerned about food families and allergies for meal planning and preparation, you'll need to gather that information elsewhere.
I attempted numerous times to send my file to an office supply store to have it printed. I was never successful. If I were to purchase the program, I would purchase the CD-ROM/book combo. I like being able to quick search a topic or term on the computer, but I would also like to have a paper copy.
The CD-ROM is priced at $79.99; the book is priced at $99.99; and the CD-ROM/book combo is priced at $129.99.
For reviews of this product by my Crewmates, go HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment