This book
helped save my life. Last
year, at the age of 39, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after a colonoscopy
and several months of diarrhea. I lost a total of 30 pounds, and became so sick
that I could not eat or get out of bed. Thank God for Kathryne Pirtle's book
and all of her insight. I started with bone broth soups and little by little
used the information from the chapters "Foods that Heal", as well as
"Supplements" and "Making it Practical". The information in
this book, as well as the Weston A. Price Foundation saved my life. I relish my
cod liver oil everyday, my raw dairy and grass fed beef. I am med free and
healthy, back to my normal weight.
I want to share with everyone I know the information I learned in her book. It
is very straight forward, easy to read and life transforming. I highly
recommend it to all who are suffering and in pain, and seeking optimal health.
Rachel R. Resch
Physical Therapist
Must read for
musculoskeletal problems.This
book is a life saver! Two weeks after beginning Ms. Pirtle's food plan, my
debilitating, chronic knee pain improved 80%. Today I am pain free and in the
best shape of my life.
As a physical therapist, I had tried everything I knew: physical therapy,
osteopathy, homeopathy, prolotherapy, supplementation, anti-inflammatories,
etc. A doctor suspected rheumatoid arthritis because of all the inflammation in
the joint. RA - no; inflammation - yes.
It's no secret that many of today's chronic illnesses, such as heart disease,
stroke, some cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer's and asthma have been linked to
systemic inflammation, and musculoskeletal pain is no exception.
While not every element of a program may fit everybody, the premise of this
program is unquestionably sound and the advice excellent. Musculoskeletal pain
and systemic inflammation are by-products of our vitamin D deficient society.
Ms. Pirtle's plan outlines a program rich in vitamin D and other nutritional
factors that heal systemic inflammation.
"Performance Without Pain"
is a part of an increasing movement of people who are finding healing through following the wise nutritional methods of our ancestors as modern dogmas have failed completely."
Such information is vital for us as a society as we continue to explore
lifestyle factors that contribute to health and healing. I believe the field of
nutritional medicine is in its infancy, and 10, 20, 100 years from now, people
will look back on texts such as these as the foundation of modern nutrition.
Paul Yaeger
Author, Immune-The Book
Truly
Visionary Material
Nothing
motivated me to achieve excellence in my own personal health and well-being as
did Kathryne Pirtle's book "Performance without Pain." As a lifelong
classical violinist dealing with various repetitive stress injuries and spinal
scoliosis, I've been into the dietary healing wisdom of the Weston A. Price and
Price-Pottenger Foundations for some time, but it was Kathryne Pirtle's book
that cemented the pieces of my health puzzle together by exposing the
profoundly simple connections between diet and chronic inflammation/chronic
stress. The way Kathryne relates her own story is superb. Furthermore,
"Performance without Pain" reigns supreme as THE #1 PRACTICAL
IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE for transitioning away from the toxic poisons of Standard
American Diet (SAD) and into a totally new way of life based on the healing
wisdom of nutrient-dense, traditional foods. If you perform--in everything
ranging from figure skating to life itself--you need this book!
Toni
DiDonato
singer
A must read for those serious about taking charge of
their own health.
Kathryne
Pirtle's book literally saved my life. I felt as though I was at the "end
of my rope". My story was very similar to Kathryn's in that I had searched
for years and had done all the "right" things by eating healthy (I
was a vegetarian for 10 years), had been in the care of many alternative
practitioners and had consulted many books and methodologies for healthier
eating and living. By the age of 45, I had serious acid reflux problems and as
a singer had survived 4 vocal surgeries for varicose veins and pollups on my
vocal cords. As a professional singer, it was a depressing reality to say the
least. I happened upon Kathy's book and couldn't put it down. Because of the
simplicity of the layout of the book and it's easy to follow ideas, I
immediately began to incorporate the recipes suggested into my diet and found
myself feeling better and better over time. I am now medication free and no
longer have symptoms. I feel stronger than ever and am now able to work out
without pain. At 50, I feel better than ever. I continue to follow the healthy
eating principles laid out in the book.
Kathy's book is easy to read, easy to follow and gives you practical solutions
that you can begin to implement into your life immediately. The information is
succinct, to the point, is supported by years of research and it WORKS!! There
are also many references at the end of the book for supplemental support in the
way of companies that provide great health and food products.
This book is a must have for anyone who is serious about taking the
responsibility of their health into their own hands. No doctor or health
practitioner can live your life for you and tell you what to do each day. This
book gives you a practical guide for healthy eating to do just that. And it is
workable, feasible and delivers results. I highly recommend that if you are
ready to take charge of your own health and ultimate destiny, this book is a
must!
Dan Duell
Artistic Director, Ballet Chicago Former Principle Dancer, New York City Ballet
"As a professional ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer and serious flutist
all my life, Ms. Pirtle's story resonates deeply with me. Like Ms. Pirtle,
during the course of my career I have sought remedies for injuries and
ailments, some of which have been highly successful, while others have left
much to be desired. In my opinion, Ms. Pirtle's extensive research and her
resultant discoveries open up a whole new world of hope for healing and health
for performing artists. I am grateful for the magnificent and caring effort she
has put into sharing her knowledge, including her practical, easy-to-follow
instructions for applying it. Ms. Pirtle's book is important for anyone seeking
complete health as well as for anyone seeking optimal performance capacity."
Konstantin Monastyrsky
Author of Fiber Menace
"Performance without Painis
a remarkable book about surviving prevailing medical "wisdoms," dogmas
and devastating ailments caused by not bad genes, but by foods which
are, amazingly, considered "wholesome" and "healthy." If you are a
concerned parent, promising professional, aspiring artist, successful
executive or simply a health-conscious and responsible individual, you
must read this book to assure yourself and your children a productive
and disease-free future."
Jacqueline Hunt
This book lives on my kitchen counter. This book is exactly what I needed in my quest for an
improved diet. I have Celiac disease (as does the author of the book) and I
struggle with Osteoporosis. My 14 year old son also has
Celiac disease and is slow to grow. My daughter is Autistic and has many
gastrointestinal issues. The principles in this book allow me to maximize the
nutrition of my family in a way that benefits all of us. Yes, it does require
one to go back to the kitchen and put more effort into creating food from
scratch but the benefits far outway the negatives. It makes me feel good that I
am providing higher levels of vitamins
and minerals to my kids in a more effective manner than simply
popping a vitamin pill in their mouths.
I am convinced that the large food
manufacturers in this country have totally impoverished our food
supply. Dr. Weston A. Price first discovered this in the 1930's. As hard as it
is going to be for the general public to understand "where we went
wrong", I believe that, with the help of Kathryne Pirtle's book, we must begin to taech the truth about what is healthy and what is not. Joanne Hay
Health Advocate
Contrary but true.
While conventional nutritionists continue to follow unscientific,
never been proven, recommendations like:
1. fibre for everything from constipation to heart disease
2. eat low fat foods and replace animal fats with vegetable oils like corn and
soy (even though no human has done so before)
3. unfermented soy foods, high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar are safe
4. and so by the way are formeldehyde forming artificial sweeteners and food
colourings and preservatives.
Kathryn Pirtle guides you in a very different direction. One which, in her
personal experience, leads to near miraculous health outcomes.
"Performance Without Pain" belongs with the growing record of
experiences of those who turn their backs on modern nutritional dogma and
follow the food ways of our ancestors.
Nina Planck in her great "Real Food" gives us new science which is
contrary to corporate agendas, however, Pirtle's book simply tells her story of
redemption from the hell of constant illness and pain to enjoying her body
again. Much like "A Life Unburdened" by Richard Morris, this is
simply a story about turning your back on what our society dictates is good
food and finding your way back to real food.
The foods she recommends requires a rethink of what is important in your life
and a reshuffle of your timetable but if robust health is your goal, you'll
enjoy the wisdom borne of Pirtle's experience.
Anonymous
Professional violinist and health advocate
Around
three years ago, I received an HIV+ diagnosis. Just prior to my
startling and terrifying experience of receiving this diagnosis, I had
received educations in Western anatomy, physiology and pathology as
part of my training to become a massage therapist. During this time, I
had become intimately familiar with the problems confronting athletes,
musicians, dancers and others who are highly prone to having repetitive
stress injuries and chronic conditions such as carpal tunnel,
tendonitis, functional scoliosis, torticollis, gastro-esophageal acid
reflux disease or GERD, tennis elbow, etc. As a professional violinist,
this background gave me a special insight into my own functional
scoliosis produced by nearly life-long violin playing, and how to
remedy these conditions to some extent.
When I received
what I thought at the time was my life-threatening "HIV" diagnosis,
what at first seemed to be unrelated to my violin-related problems,
which was my quest for truly optimal diet and supplements, led me
eventually to the conclusions about human nutrition reached by Dr.
Weston A. Price and the Weston A. Price Foundation. I personally have zero
doubt that if I had not implemented these specific findings in my
kitchen and in my life that I may either be alive today, or may have
unwisely succumbed to taking what are well known to be highly
chemo-toxic and potentially fatal AIDS medications. Furthermore, there
is a growing movement of HIV+'s here in the Bay Area who share my views
on Weston Price and have had similar survival experiences with these
findings.
What I also learned when I implemented this new diet,
however, was not only how to live with an HIV diagnosis free of
pharmaceuticals and free of opportunistic infections, but that many of
the chronic conditions that I had experienced for so long as a result
of violin playing had underlying roots in the poor nutrition I was
receiving prior for most of my life.
Ms. Pirtle's book is sure
to serve as a profound turning point for artists and others who live as
performers, and therefore for the whole world. It delivers the plain
and simple truths on the nutritional roots of the extremely common
conditions which we are faced with as performers, and it delivers an
easy-to-follow road map showing how to make it back to a state of
perfect, optimal health, which is so extremely crucial to our way of
life as performers. The information she presents, which is
well-grounded in the Weston Price body of knowledge on nutrition and
literally saved my life, is certain to massively improve yours.
Thomas
Cowan, MD Author of the Fourfold Path to
Healing When I started to get into the world of nutritional medicine and
the work of Dr. Weston Price, DDS some 20 years ago, I had no idea where it
would lead. Now as the work has grown, particularly with the publication of
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, the horizons seem to be rapidly
expanding. This work by Kathy Pirtle, Sally Fallon and Dr. Turner expands
greatly the use of traditional diets in the treatment of people that I had
previously not considered. I, of course, knew the benefits of this approach for
many people and types of maladies, but I had never considered the special situation
of musicians, dancers and athletes and their musculo-skeletal issues.
This well written and interesting book expands the uses of
traditional diets and is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the
uses of this approach.
Carsten Vagn-Hansen
"Carsten
Health Consult," Vejle Denmark
Most disease and health problems start with the wrong food, bad quality of
food, bad digestion and trouble with a leaky gut, leading to inflammation and
pain. Kathryne Pirtle presents this on a background of her own experience in an
easily understandable way of the basic facts. This will free the reader from
symptom treatment with potentially dangerous drugs and lead the way to remove
the causes of pain and inflammation. Catriona White
University Dance Professor, Former Ballet Dancer
"I
know that this approach to eating works, as it has, over the past five
years, changed my life dramatically for the better also. You can do
yourself a wonderful favor by reading this book, and trying it! "
Gail
Williams
Horn Soloist Professor of Music, Northwestern University Former Associate Principal Horn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
This book is a must read from a Mom's point of view to that of a
professor. Through research from personal health problems, Kathy Pirtle has
written a very important and revealing book. The chapter on milk and grass-fed
animals just made me smile, since I grew up on raw milk. Being a healthy child
with no digestive problems to an adult with colitis, I certainly will be
researching changes in my diet.
From the perspective of a professor, this
book also offers new insight into treatment approaches of embouchure strength
and stability problems in brass and woodwind players.
