Please Don't Eat the Wallpaper, Read and Thrive

I read Dr Nancy's book in less than 2 hours. I found it informative and written in an easy style that makes it a fast read for anyone living in today's fast food driven society. With statistics for childhood obesity on the rise and life expectancy friends dropping in today's youth, parents can't afford to be complacent about their children's health. I gave it to and family as well as patients. I found it a superb tool in educating them on the importance of being informed about their food so that they can make better choices for themselves and their children.

Dear Nancy, Thanks to your generous contribution, Wellness Day at the Salk School of Science on May 2, 2008 was a huge success. The eighth grade students had an amazing time learning about the environment, nutrition, yoga, meditation, exercise and the importance of living smoke-free. For many, it was a truly inspiring and enlightening day. Your book, Please Don't Eat the Wallpaper!, was the highlight of our gift bag at the end of the day. It certainly was the perfect complement to our mission of healthy eating for New York City schoolchildren. Teachers and students have been giving it rave reviews! We wish you the best success. I hope all is going well with you. Please do keep in touch. Warmest regards,

Dear Dr. Irven, Thank you for sending me copy of your book, Please Don't Eat The Wallpaper. I appreciate you thinking of me and taking the time to write. I applaud your passion to encourage young people to make better eating choices. It is important to instill those habits in children and teenagers so they may take those values with them as adults - you are truly an architect of change! Again, thank you for writing and I wish you every future success. Best,

Subtitled "The Teenager's Guide to Avoiding Trans Fats, Enriched Wheat and High Fructose Corn Syrup," this little book reminds us that white flour, the chief ingredient in bread, cake, crackers, pasta and thousands of other processed foods, can also be used to make glue for wallpaper. Irven then shocks us with real life examples of student meal diaries-it's a wonder these kids are even alive with their diets of sodas, gum, candy bars, chips, pretzels and breakfast cereals. Irven is a chiropractic physician and her book describes her efforts to help high school students improve their diets. They learn the many reasons to avoid white flour, industrial fats and refined sweeteners; how to read labels; and how to make healthier choices, such as butter, meat, eggs and honey. The THUMB is UP on this excellent introduction to the dangers of processed foods, although the book is not without flaws. Irvin refers to trans fats as "plastic," which is a misinterpretation of "plasticization," a technical term used in the food processing industry to describe treatments that change the characteristics of margarines and spreads. Overall, however, Irven has accomplished a Herculean task, that of getting the attention of modern teenagers, hellbent for physical degeneration. She provides practical advice and real life examples of beneficial dietary changes that teenagers can actually accomplish, albeit against tremendous odds. "I'm so very glad that you spent your time to teach my class and me about all these nasty foods we are eating on a daily basis," writes one of Irven's students. "But you didn't leave it there. You taught us even more-by explaining all the healthy foods we could eat and how much they helped." From a modern teenager, that's high praise!