Book Prescriptions: Clean Green and Lean

When I was in my first year at Naturopathic Medical School, my roommate was in her third year taking “Environmental Medicine” with Walter Crinnion, ND. I gleaned that the class and the professor were big deals but I did not know what Environmental Medicine was, so I asked. The answer I heard was something like, “It’s where you learn about all the different chemicals and  things that are toxic to us everyday and everywhere and how they impact us.” 

            “Oh Joy.” I thought. I expected twelve weeks of feeling helpless and depressed. Well lucky for me it was a required course because given the option I might have missed out on a gem. Far from feeling helpless, it was one of the most empowering, important, practical, and (believe it or not) entertaining, courses I ever took.  Clean, Green and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins that Make You Fat, is Crinnion’s new book about toxins, metabolism, and weight gain. Though oriented around an approach to weight loss, it functions well as a general guide to detoxification. People with asthma,  unexplained pain, fatigue, brain fog, or autoimmune disorders will find it especially relevant. This book is also a good choice if you want authoritative answers to questions like: what is toxic, which brand of plastic wrap is the least toxic, which fruits and vegetables you should always buy organic, how many cubic feet per minute your air purifier should clear, and so on.

            As I would with any treatment, when I prescribe a book, (and in the spirit of Docere, doctor as teacher, I often do) I give them information about how and why to take it, along with any precautions.  This is what I would tell a patient before they read Clean Green and Lean.

            Like the class, the book is too solution oriented and  practical to be depressing or leave you feeling helpless. However, if you are an all or none perfectionist or the type to be swept away by an enthusiastic author you might feel overwhelmed trying  to follow every recommendation thinking any less is to suffer dire consequences.  A careful reading of the book will show that many of the successful patient stories and scientific studies involved only a few steps, and several suggestions are clearly described as options to speed up the process. While you, by no means, have to follow every suggestion to the letter, you should certainly follow the suggestions in order. What you want is fewer toxins coming in, more toxins going out. What you don’t want is to simply move toxins around.  You can customize a plan by yourself or with the guidance of your naturopathic physician.  One last caveat, you will come across multiple product endorsements, in some of which the author has a vested interest.   This may cause you to question the credibility of the text as a whole, that sort of thing always raises red flags for me. In this case, I was not bothered because I know  Crinnion is legitimate authority in Environmental Medicine. Naming names is consistent with Crinnion’s practical style to be open and generous about exactly what he does with patients. For further assurance, note that you are given ample information to create a “clean, green and lean” plan without them and this would not be the case with info-marketing.

            I recommend Clean Green and Lean, it might change your whole life or it might just change your brand of plastic wrap. Either way it will be well worth the read.

Jennifer Ito ND
www.RaleighNaturopathic.com
1235 Onslow Road
Raleigh, NC 27606
(919) 854-2735