Performance without Pain: A Step by Step Nutritional Program for Healing Pain [Paperback]

This is a great new addition to the Weston A, Price/Nourishing Traditions literature. "Performance Without Pain: A Step-by-Step Program for Healing Pain, Inflammation and Chronic Ailments in Musicians, Athletes, Dancers...and Everyone Else" is a long title for a book that is a modest 132 pages, but it lives up to its billing. The author is Kathryn Pirtle, who is a clarinetist with the respected Orion Ensemble, and has a long list of professional credits. Co-authors of the book are Sally Fallon, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Dr. John D. Turner, DC, CCSP, DIBCN and former National Qualifying Gymnast.

The author tells her story of increasing pain and physical disability related to her profession as a musician, and her search for answers. As her very successful musical career unfolds, she develops pain in many areas of her body, stiffness, nausea and other digestive disturbances, as well as something called "embouchure shaking" (shaking in the area of the mouth) which is apparently quite a serious condition, especially for a clarinetist. Ms. Pirtle seeks help from all sorts of alternative and medical professionals. Finally, someone identifies that she has celiac disease, and extreme sensitivity or intolerance to grains.

What's interesting in her tale is that all along the way, she seems to be doing all the `right' things, such as including supplements, massage, lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains, but it wasn't until she discovered the Weston A. Price (WAP) approach to nutrition that things really began to turn around for her. After this quite compelling true story, most of the book is a very succinct, clear explanation of the basic principles of the WAP diet, its relation to people who use their bodies in the special ways of dancers, athletes and musicians, and the extra problems of those with grain sensitivity.

There are good recipes, suggested readings and helpful ways to "make it practical". This book would make an excellent gift for anyone as an introduction to WAP principles and especially to any musician, dancer or athlete. As a university dance teacher and former ballet dancer, this book came along at a great time. I will be teaching a course in Dance Alignment, in which I try to cover many topics related to basic body care for dancers. I always try to include information about Weston A. Price, and the Nourishing Traditions approach to eating, but I feel that having this book available to show my students will make the information that much more credible. (I know they'll like the testimonial in the front of the book by Daniel Duell, a former New York City Ballet soloist.)

I also know that this approach to eating (it's not a 'diet' per se) 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!

Performance Without Pain is a remarkable book about surviving prevailing medical "wisdoms", dogmas, and devastating ailments caused not by bad genes or bad lack, 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 productive and disease-free future.

Unlike most books about health and nutrition, Performance Without Pain is beautifully written and edited, concise, honest, and up-to-the point. And it is also inspirational: if the author had been able to overcome her career-breaking illnesses with, literally, a right menu, so can you!

At the end, it all boils down to this: food can kill and food will heal. Kathy Pirtle had suffered a great deal to tell which food does what. Get to know her story, so you too can eat without fear, live without disease, and perform without pain!

This book is a life saver! Two weeks after beginning Ms. Pyrtle'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. Pyrtle's plan outlines a program rich in vitamin D and other nutritional factors that heal systemic inflammation.

I agree with Joanne Hay's review that '"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.'

Some examples are: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

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.