Healthy Digestion the Natural Way: Preventing and Healing Heartburn, Constipation, Gas, Diarrhea, Inflammatory Bowel and Gallbladder Diseases, Ulcers, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and More

I bought this book because it had very good reviews, but I have to disagree with most of them. I found this book confusing/overwhelming. I purchased it for the purpose of better controlling my acid reflux (I actually purchased three books, and this was my least favorite). I think the confusion MIGHT be due to the fact that I read it front-to-back (which is how the author suggests to read it), but I think it would be far easier to skip around to your specific digestive issue because otherwise you become a hypochondriac and are taking a lot of contradictory advice.The book asks you to read the first few chapters, which give general information on the digestive system and some general advice and THEN goes into details on specific problems (such as heartburn). By the time you have finished those first few chapters, you are a bit overwhelmed with information and convinced you have every single possible digestive disorder and want to try every single diet and food suggestion listed. But then you read your individual chapter (i.e. on heartburn) and some of the information conflicts and you are left feeling a bit incomplete. I'm having a hard time reconciling the information from the first four chapters with my problem-specific chapter.There are a total of four chapters in the first section (the general information on digestion), followed by several chapters on the various digestive problems (gas & bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, diverticular disease, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer and the inflamed stomach, gullbladder disease, IBS, parasites, Candida candidasis, colorectal cancer & AIDS). Each problem gets its own chapter. I think it would have been much easier to read if it was organized in the exact opposite manner. This is especially true because the beginning goes through all of the foods you should eat for each various condition, but then you hit your section (again, heartburn in my case), and find out you cannot eat many of those foods mentioned in the first few chapters. (For example, peppermint is discussed at one point (not in the heartburn chapter) but anyone with heartburn knows that it is bad for acid reflux.) One of my problems is that the book very heavily promotes yogurt/kefir, which I independently discovered causes much of my heartburn. This makes you feel like a failure because it is mentioned so many times in the book as such a beneficial food to fix so many problems. Overall, if you are a vegan or gluten free, I think this book might be a bit limiting. You could probably find a different book that is more tailored to your needs.Anyhow, even though the book is titled 'natural', the various chapters recommend pills (be it simple things such as fiber tablets, vitamins and minerals, or a bit more complicated such as hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes). In my mind, 'natural' would be direct food sources (i.e. tell me to eat a bunch of celery or whatever other source of fiber is preferred rather than a tablet). But that could be a matter of definition, of which I am clearly not an expert. So maybe those items still fit neatly in the term 'natural'.The final three chapters cover elimination diets (figuring out your food allergies- the author suggests that whatever foods you both love and eat every day you might be causing your allergies and to eliminate them and see how you feel), using digestive enzymes and stomach acids, and on detoxification programs.The book is sprinkled with amazing feel good stories (for example, one story was about a woman with back problems. She got her constipation under control, and her back healed on its own. These stories made me wonder if all of my aches and pains are due to my digestive system and not aging/bad posture/joints, etc. Or if the stories are just sheer coincidences- that is the problem with our complicated bodies, I suppose.) I definitely think there is some good information in here, and I found myself reading a lot of it out loud to various family members, but it would be much easier to read if it was better organized.Of the three books I purchased, I read the other two immediately and straight through. This one took me several days and I felt confused rather than clarified at the end. I've been trying to finger exactly why I disliked this book, and I'm just not sure. I think, with so much information, perhaps it should have included an index which cross referenced all of the foods and showed which foods were acceptable for each problem and which were not.My advice would be to only read you specific 'problem' and skip the other chapters so that you do not overwhelm yourself with too much advice.

Like many others who tried this book, I was having chronic digestive issues and was ready for something new. And, like others I got into the book and found I had conflicting problems that seem to preclude trying the remedies in the book. First, I'd say when we find ourselves in this state, we've usually abused our guts either with food, some nasty bacteria we ingested, medications (not just antibiotics) or by listening to traditional doctors whose only source of nutritional education is their pharmaceutical reps. So we can take her general recommendations, give those a try, eat better food, and see what happens in a couple of months. And if that doesn't help, dig a little deeper online. Ms. Berkson is out there. I found her, hired her, and got the help I needed. She was kind, insightful, and worth every penny. I hope all of you find healing.

I bought this book after noticing my lifestyle, due to stress, taking a toll on my health. It was a refresher course in natural health for a natural body, something I practiced early in life but have fallen away. Now, I'm back on the road to recovery without the side effects and cost of drugs.This book is very insightful of the workings of the digestive system and properly addressing malfunctions of said system. The author directly presents these issues in a simple format: states the problem, explains causes and offers suggestions for healing without drugs. As stated on the book's cover, "A complete guide to healing your digestive problems, once and for all--safely, inexpensively, naturally...Good digestion is fundamental to good health...."At age 60, I find this book refreshing because it delivers me out of an unnatural lifestyle that I have allowed to be a distraction to good health.

Twenty direct, easily referenced chapters, each with recommendations for herbs and supplements (many not inexpensive), exercises, even reflexology pressure points. Take your pick of ailments and treatments. The author offers all you could wish for. If you suffer from IBS, go right to chapter 14. There's much useful and sensible info here along with a plethora of alternative therapies and theses (some presented with too much certainty--the controversial candida yeast connection, for example, or recommendations to "flush out" your gall bladder by drinking a "pint" of olive oil upon retiring and arising!). But thoughtful readers will probably want to supplement this text with one that is more mainstream, cautious and personal in its approach. Check out titles by Janowitz and Van Vorous.

Finally a helpful book anyone can understand. Lots of informative sections on everything from gallbladder attachs, IBS, to ulcers.I often refer to this book whenever I am not feeling well. I have owned it for a year now and will never part with it.I also recommend NO MORE HEARTBURN, by Sherry Rogers, M.D.Why don't doctors spend more time educating their patients about healthy digestion and bowel function? If we all understood more, maybe we'd eat better. Everytime I'd gone to the doctor with pains, they'd shoved Prilosec, Nexium, or some other "P" antacid on me. I only got worse. Once I began following the advice in this book by Berkson, the whole world improved.

This book saved me from a life-long aching back! I read the symptoms of different causes and made changes. This was the first step in the process. The second step was finding out what foods to eat. I realized I was eating many of the wrong foods. I changed my diet, have lost weight and haven't had a back-ache since while saving me from many doctor's visits and being prescribed medications that didn't help.

After having my Gallbladder removed in November of last year, I felt tons better after the operation but over the last few months I have started having stomach problems again. My GP has given me no help, so I decided to buy this book to see if I could somehow get myself feeling better. This book is a mind of information which has all been really useful to me. I now take recommended supplements, flax seeds and pro-biotic as a daily occurrence and feel just great. I highly recommend this book.

Probably the best book I've read on the subject and I must have read 100 or more. Very well organised into specific problems and very wide ranging in options

Had a gall bladder issue, it has helped me understand many things related to it. Was very useful to me.

Great for natural healing

Very good product and supplier.