Perfect Balance: Ayurvedic Nutrition for Mind, Body and Soul

Throw those diet pills away, advise many practitioners of Ayurveda, a holistic and individualized Eastern approach to health. More than 5,000 years old, Ayurveda (a Sanskrit phrase usually translated as ""the science of life"") is attracting an increasing number of American adherents. In Perfect Balance: Ayurvedic Nutrition for Mind, Body and Soul, Atreya (Ayurvedic Healing for Women) provides an accessible guide to a practice that can be confusing to novices. The book begins with a self-test to help readers determine their own metabolic and psychological profiles, then guides them through food, herb and lifestyle choices, offering a 21-day plan for integrating changes into an everyday routine. Atreya, founder and director of the European Institute of Vedic Studies, takes a light tone and, though he obviously takes a dim view of Western eating habits, is never preachy. ( Aug.)