FertilehealthyAiming for success, not perfection…

Mary-Ann Shearer is the bestselling health and nutrition author in the southern hemisphere. She has studied health and nutrition for more than 30 years and is the author of several bestselling books.  She also makes numerous appearances around the world teaching people how to regain their health through diet.  She splits her time between South Africa and North America.  She sends out regular newsletters answering readers’ questions and releases a monthly Digimag (digital magazine on DVD) filled with interviews, success stories, talks by Mary-Ann and cooking demonstrations. You can find out more from her website.

I have long been a fan of Mary-Ann’s work and own all her books. When my parents, after reading The China Study and deciding to change their diet and lifestyle, needed a specific plan to help them along, I knew that Mary-Ann’s would be perfect for them. I ordered two copies of her latest book Perfect Health: The Natural Way one for them and one for me. This book is an updated version of her first book (1991) and was written especially for the US market. 

Here is my review:

Even though I’ve read all Mary-Ann’s books and newsletters numerous times, I found this book hard to put down.  It is so well-written and covers a whole range of issues.  After reading Perfect Health:  The Natural Way, I am so commited to my healthy lifestyle again and fired up about the possibilities for my fertility and health in the future.  My mom feels the same and both my dad and Craig are currently reading it.

Mary-Ann demonstrates that, by following this lifestyle, you can:

• Eliminate and prevent disease
• Reach and maintain your ideal weight
• Have increased energy
• Sleep better
• Have regular bowel movements
• Take control of your health habits
• Improve brain function, moods, behavior, and concentration
• Have positive emotions and outlook on life
• Improve your self-esteem
• Find it easier to attain your goals and dreams
• Live a longer and more enriching life

In Chapter 1 she recounts all the health problems she and her husband had when they were young parents.  Their three daughters were always sick too.  This despite the fact that, according to and compared to the mainstream, they were eating a healthy diet and taking loads of supplements.  Mary-Ann was reading all she can about health and nutrition and eventually she started making real changes that made the difference for all of them.  Her family, including the grandchildren who are being raised on this lifestyle,  has not had any health problems since 1986.  No ear infections.  No tonsillitis.  No allergies (where previously they had plenty).  No indigestion.  That means no medical expenses (except for the odd injury), no antibiotics, no decongestants, no antacids, no headache tablets, no nasal sprays and no waiting around in doctors’ rooms.

Chapter 2 discusses why we become sick and overweight in the first place and gives three guidelines to follow in our road to health – keeping it simple, checking out the research and learning to listen to our bodies.

Chapter 3 explores how to start listening to our bodies about food and hunger and discusses the first three of the Five Steps to Health.

In Chapter 4 we learn about digestive health and how poor digestion interferes with our bodies’ functions, thereby affecting our health and weight.   The principles of food-combining for more effective digestion are introduced.  This is one tool that I have used with great success in the past and am using again now.

Chapter 5 is all about how food affects our moods, behavior and mental health and includes two testimonies of people who have seen vast improvement after implementing Mary-Ann’s principles.  You’ll be amazed!

Chapter 6 deals with calcium and dairy products and Chapter 7 with meat and protein.   The latest nutritional research is discussed here.

Chapter 8 is about fats.  Mary-Ann calls her plan the “High-Fat, Low-Fat, No-Fat Diet”, since it’s high in certain kinds of fats, low in others and eliminates trans-fats completely.  She teaches how dependant our hormonal system, and therefore all our body functions, are on the right fats and how detrimental the wrong fats are.

Chapter 9 is called “Additives – The Invisible Enemies” and is a real eye-opener.

In Chapter 10 she talks about the need for exercise, fresh air and sunshine in order for our bodies to work properly (and for us to lose weight and get fertile).

I found Chapter 11 particularly fascinating.  It’s about our skin and how to really treat it.  Mary-Ann used to have a terribly dry skin (and severe chronic dermatitis).  It was not until she changed her diet and lifestyle that her skin began to improve and she has not used any skin-care products for the last 15 years.  I don’t know how well you can see  from the picture, but I’ve met her in person a number of times and let me tell you, she looks younger than I do!  She’s got that dewy, fresh look that we all desire.  This is almost incentive enough to follow her guidelines.  She also discusses the use of sunscreen in this chapter.

Chapter 12 is about water.  How much, how often and what type?

In Chapter 13 she deals with fasting and detoxification and includes an amazing story of healing from one of her clients.

Chapter 14 is about weight loss specifically and she gives wonderful advice.  The emphasis is on the nutritional value, and not the energy value, of food.  While The Natural Way is not a diet, but a lifestyle for the whole family, Mary-Ann knows that  a lot of us need more specific guidelines and therefore she has included three options or plans to follow.  For people who need even more help, there’s a link to her 100 Days to Health program, where you receive an email with meal plans and recipes for a period of 100 days until you’re completely on plan.  (The feedback I’ve heard from this program has been excellent).  Also in this chapter is a very handy check-list for weight loss and a section for those who want to gain weight.

Mark Shearer, Mary-Ann’s husband, gives his perspective in Chapter 15.  This lifestyle is a family affair and it’s important to recognize the positive impact on other members of the family.

You’ll love Chapter 16!  It deals with making the transition, eating in restaurants, getting your family on board, being a good guest, healthy entertaining, children’s parties and food grading.   She keeps reminding the reader that change is a gradual thing and that we need to check often to see how far we’ve come.

Chapter 17 contains over 20 pages of success stories and testimonies from people who have seen real improvements in their health and their weight.

In Chapter 18 Mary-Ann cooks up a storm.  There are forty pages of simple and delicious recipes.

I love this book!  She references recognized scientific studies and data, but the the most convincing part is the health transformation that people experience when they follow this plan.   Health is not only about not having the big three – cancer, diabetes and heart disease.  It’s about not having the little niggles like split heels, brittle nails, acne, thyroid problems, chronic sinusitis, IBS, PMS, mood swings, chronic fatigue, sleeping problems, receding gums, joint pain, headaches, etc.  It’s about being vibrantly healthy, fully fertile and brimming with energy.

This lifestyle is do-able.  It’s uncomplicated and doesn’t rely on expensive supplements and so-called superfoods.  It’s about real food for real people, with an eye on limiting the things that upset the balance in our bodies.  You don’t have to be 100% perfect.  Even the Shearer family aren’t.

I really recommend Perfect Health:  The Natural Way.  It empowers everybody; the teen with acne, the obese, the infertile, the pregnant, the young mother with sickly children and even those whose lifelong excesses have caught up with them.  It is possible for all of us to have perfect health and be at our perfect weight.

The book is published by BenBella Books and is available from Amazon.com and the usual other outlets  ( in South Africa, from Kalahari.net).

I wish I could donate a copy of this book to a lucky reader.  I should have approached the publisher…   Next time!