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Thumbs Book Reviews
Performance Without Pain
by Kathryne Pirtle
New Trends Publishing, 2005
Reviewed by Dan Duell
Kathryne Pirtle's new book is an eye-opening account of how a high-level
classical musician was profoundly harmed by dietary practices most of
us consider quite normal, and the remarkable journey by which she found
her way back to health. The book sheds new light on the history of food
production (and its problems) in our society, helps change the prevalent
and mistaken view that our health depends on miracle drugs, medicines,
treated foods, drinks, and supplements rather than on natural foods
that have sustained humans for millennia, and provides clearly defined,
practical ways to approach dietary changes, right down to daily recipes.
As a consciousness-raiser for performing artists--and for anyone engaged
in physical activity--the book opens up a vital body of information
that could help them retain maximal performance capacity throughout
their lives. Ms. Pirtle lets us know in no uncertain terms how much
dis-information we accept and live by, and what negative effects can
occur from this dis-information.
Ms. Pirtle goes on to educate us about basic nutritional practices
that nurture, sustain and protect us, and provides a valuable list of
recommended reading. A living example of how this knowledge can provide
healing for even the most mysterious ailments, Ms. Pirtle has given
the world of performing arts a priceless gift. Her search to discover
why she suffered career-threatening physical problems when she was doing
all the "right" things led her to the remarkable work of Dr.
Weston Price, who researched fourteen populations existing on traditional
diets and whose members were also long-lived and largely disease-free.
Carried out at a time when such populations still existed, his vitally
important work can never again be repeated, as today there are almost
no societies, if any at all, whose diets are not tainted by modern food
production. Dr. Price's work served to confirm that the health of the
human intestinal tract is not helped, but is in fact compromised, by
such things as pasteurized products, fluoridated water, sugar and sugar-derived
ingredients added for taste, and a host of other generally accepted
dietary ingredients that Ms. Pirtle conscientiously lists in her chapter
"Foods to Avoid." These assertions, which go against conventional
wisdom, are revelations for this reader and important for the general
population.
Ms. Pirtle also touches effectively on the spiritual side of being
a performing artist, or really anyone in today's stressful society.
In her final chapter "The Body in Balance," she emphasizes
the need to keep physique, mind and heart in balance with each other
so that all can work as an integrated whole.
As a classical dancer who dealt with the typical injuries and stresses
of a demanding performing career, I identify strongly with the need
to find the kind of knowledge that Ms. Pirtle's book affords. It is
a marvelous practical dietary tool as well as an effective agent of
change.
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