cover image Harmony Rules: The Chinese Way of Health Through Food

Harmony Rules: The Chinese Way of Health Through Food

Gary Butt, Frena Bloomfield. Weiser Books, $10.95 (223pp) ISBN 978-0-87728-663-9

This is a large-scale work that uses traditional Chinese wisdom about food as a basis for devising ways for Americans to eat healthily. It is based, as the title suggests, on the philosophical notion of harmonyhot and cold, aggressive and passive, wet and dry, yin and yang. Butt and Bloomfield write in simple, unprogrammatic terms about this approach, applying the standard nomenclature and basic symptoms of excess (yang) and deficiency (yin) in various bodily functions and activities. They list the effects of many foods on the body and suggest treatments for common illnesses and conditionsmany of which may be taken with a grain of salt, as the reader chooses. The book ends with simple recipes and diet plans for altering one's balance. (September)