The Mouth-Body Connection

"Inflammation is the final common pathway in a host of diseases, often starting in the mouth with gum disease. Untreated, major diseases in all organ systems can and do result. Dr. Curatola delivers an excellent, easy-to-follow program to combat inflammation while maintaining the critical balance of our oral microbiome, the unique ecosystem of the mouth. Solidly scientific, informative and engaging."

Who would have ever thought that simply by looking in to the mouth, gums and tongue of someone would you be able to tell the state of their health? I remember distinctively visiting a Chinese herbalist in Los Angeles, who asked to look at both my tongue and mouth and new what what going on with my body. Did you know that your mouth can be an indicator for things like cancer, diabetes, anemia, liver disease, Hepatitis C, Crohn's disease, stress, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, HIV, Leukemia and others? Your mouth, gums and tongue can give up oral symptoms of these diseases often times before other signs begin to show up in your body.

Dr. Curatola provides the details in how we can ensure that we live a more healthier and happy life simply by what we take into our mouth and how our bodies react to it. He instructs readers on how to restore the microbiome balance in our mouths and reduce health-destroying inflammation by means of diet, supplements, exercise and stress reduction. This book even includes 4 weeks of meal plans and recipes that will convince you that eating for balance can be a treat!

I received The Mouth-Body Connection by Dr. Gerry Curatola compliments of Center Street Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Groups.In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. I absolutely believe that everything that is plaguing our bodies is based on what we are eating and drinking. We are seeing more evidence of diabetes, obesity and disease on the rise with nothing to stop it. Our lifestyles are too busy to allow us the time to educate ourselves that we are virtually eating our way to early death and disease when we don't have to. I absolutely LOVE this book and the insights it offers on how to get healthy and even more importantly how to have more energy and vitality to live our lives better than we thought possible and eliminate drugs to get us back on a healthy way of living. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Mouth-Body Connection, Dr. Gerry Curatola or where to pick up your copy of this book today, please click on the links today.

The Mouth-Body Connection by Dr. Gerry Curatola

You can find Dr. Gerry Curatola on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest information about health and wellness.

You can read more reviews on The Mouth-Body Connection by visiting Hachette Book Groups website. 

Unprocessed

I don't think I have ever read a memoir quite like Megan Kimble's. In fact the only time I will really read a memoir is if the author is someone I really want to know more about. However, her year long challenge to see if she could go without eating anything that is processed, was something I was truly interested in, especially after watching, Super Size Me, and watching how processed fast food impacts the body. I was more than pleasantly surprised after sitting down and reading this from cover to cover in one sitting and asking myself if I could do the same thing Megan did. My outcome, probably not, but I loved living vicariously through her while she did so on a very meager budget I might add.

When you think about it, most of the food we eat outside of fruits and vegetables are mostly processed in order to preserve shelf life and to last longer than it would without all those additives we seriously never considered what they do and if they are good for our bodies. I mean, they wouldn't be able to sell the stuff on the supermarket shelves if they did right? You might be just as surprised as I was after reading this. As Megan experiences things such as learning how to make bread, the old fashioned way, and what is the right grains to use, yes, she becomes a younger version of Martha Stewart and buys a grinder. She learns what it means by "rule of thumb" and how through trial and error manages to pull of home made bread that calls to her after she finishes baking it in the over. She shares with us all that even those tried and true places we believe may in fact be healthy like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, might in fact not be as innocent and healthy as we thought.

She takes you on a journey not only how things are made, but at the conclusion of each chapter, she shares her secrets on how to make things like sea salt, bread, chocolate, how to can tomatoes, how to make your own almond milk, and so much more. For someone like me, this book is chalk full of great facts like knowing for example that 90% of our sodium intake is from processed food and only 10% is added by us in our daily diet. What the difference is between all those brands of sugars, raw and natural as well as artificial sweeteners, along with the differences between all those milk products we find, which is truly the best for our body and why we are often lactose intolerant. You might be more than surprised. I applaud her efforts to pulling this off and I learned quite a bit about reading my labels more accurately and supporting local farmer's markets to sell strictly organic, pesticide and antibiotic free produce and meat. We may not be able to change how supermarkets sell produce but we can decide how to spend the money we earn in a better way to support small co-ops and organic farmers and dairies.

I received Unprocessed: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food by Megan Kimble compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review aside from a free copy of the book, and the opinions expressed are strictly my own personal. For this reader, I may decide to take up canning if done properly to ensure I have some great produce available when it is out of season, and now found some new uses for my food processor. Overall, well written, informative, and engaging to keep me interested in finishing this in one sitting, thus a 5 out of 5 star rating in this reader's opinion.

For more information about Unprocessed, Megan Kimble or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Unprocessed by Megan Kimble

You can find Megan Kimble on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Unprocessed, please visit William Morrow's Website. 

Janet's Planet DVD - Review and Giveaway

Being a home school teacher/mom, I love finding great products that make learning not only educational, but fun! That's why I am so excited to share this DVD, Janet's Planet with all of you! Janet's Planet is a fun educational tool you can use to help your child become more knowledgeable in Science, History and Health. In the Microgravity DVD, Janet Ivy explores the world of gravity, mass and the impacts it has not only on the Earth but one other planets as well. I only wish I had gotten this sooner, when we were studying Gravity in our Science Lesson. This explains it so much better than all those chapters and dull, boring words on a page. I love the interaction between Janet and the kids in this DVD. The illustrations she uses are simply enough for anyone to understand and better yet, remember. We will be using this as a refresher prior to our school's state testing next week.

I love the explanation about the effects of gravity and what would happen if the Earth suddenly found itself without gravity and thus explains the gravity on the moon and other planets. In addition I love the visuals for the mass and weight on Earth and other planets. There are some funny comedy references to make it really fun!

The best part is that the learning doesn't end when the DVD is over, there is some incredible information you can find through Janet's Planet website, from links to videos, a fun jeopardy game on Science, Health and History, (I did O.K., though I may need a refresher course through Janet's DVD) and so much more for both parents and educators. There is even a link to the Janet's Planet Space Log ( a blog) with more incredible information and challenges. I am a huge supporter in anything that keeps kids engaged and learning while making it fun and Janet's Planet masters that concept.

On Janet's Planet website, I found that the blog needs to be updated since the last entry was June of 2012 but the information contained on the site is pretty amazing. That is the only downfall I see at this time. My 8th grader was challenged to play the Jeopardy game and at first was a bit frustrated because she felt it was too childish looking. However having her play the game, I literally watched her go from less than willing to super excited as she progressed further into the game. So that just tells me that this works and she completely enjoyed it. She learned quite a few things she didn't know especially in regards to some anatomy health questions, and was thrilled to understand some of the science explorers like Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard.

On Janet's Planet Facebook page, we learned of a 19-year old student, Boyan Slat who invented an Ocean Cleanup Array to remove up to 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world's ocean. He even created his own Ocean Cleanup Foundation and estimates that it will take about 5 years to remove these plastic garbage patches from our oceans. There is literally so much great information all linked to help students learn more about Science, History, Health and Nutrition. I think this is a must see for anyone who is excited about learning in a fun way using technology to help! I know I have forwarded all these links to our parenting network and have gotten great responses. Here's hoping Janet's Planet goes global through the educational network.

I received Janet's Planet DVD compliments of FlyByPromotions and Janet's Planet for my honest review and received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. This DVD is geared for all ages and learning levels. The resources through the website, Facebook and Space Log are great enhancements to keep the learning alive and fun even after you finish with the DVD. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and HIGHLY RECOMMEND this product to parents, educators and students who are looking for a way to making learning fun and exciting!

Thanks to the generous folks at Janet's Planet and FlyByPromotions, they are offering a giveaway copy of Janet's Planet to one lucky follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here are your guidelines to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog Reviews From The Heart. 

2. "Like" Janet's Planet Facebook page!

3. Be a resident of the US or have a US Shipping Address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

4. Leave a comment below along with your email address and let me know why you'd love to win this DVD. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will notify the winner by email on April 12th when the giveaway ends.

For more information about Janet's Planet please click on the links below:

Janet's Planet Website

Janet's Planet on Facebook

Janet's Planet Space Log

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."