This book covers the life work of Dr. Bernard Jensen his research on the chemistry of food and how it affects our health. The relationship between food and health is discussed in great detail.The first section contains ten chapters (111 pages) is background; why the soil is depleted, letters from his mentor, a brief introduction to iridology, and an explanation of his sanitarium experience.What he called a sanitarium, today we would probably probably call a medically supervised spa. His patients lived at the sanitarium; he oversaw their nutrition, exercise, water intake, and numerous aspects of their daily life. As a result, he was able to constantly monitor their progress, and the impact of his recommendations.The second section is where he gets to the most usable and important information. He describes 16 chemical elements that he believes we must obtain from food, and that are necessary for proper health. He gives them all nick names, such as calcium, the "knitter," iodine, the "metabolizer," and manganese, the "love" element. Each chapter is an in depth discussion of the element, its benefits, which foods provide it, what a deficiency causes, what an excess causes, and numerous case histories of people who recovered from chronic illnesses caused by nutritional issues. There are many striking before and after photos. I refer to these 16 chapters on a regular basis.His chapter on iodine is the best description of the relationship between plant based iodine (seaweeds) and thyroid health that I've ever read. If every endocrinologist read this chapter, there would never be another thyroidectomy (thyroid removal) due to goiter again. The rest of section is a brief overview of trace elements, and his mentor's description of temperaments.He revisits the chemical elements in section three, again focusing on food as the best way to obtain them. There was additional valuable information about each element in this section.
This book is both motivating and educational, showing us how to take care of ourselves and eat well. It helps you understand why and how to eat to improve your health and change your life. I already have another personal copy that I use frequently. This is an extra, still in its original packaging, and is brand new and unused.