BOOK REVIEW

How to lower your cholesterol with French Gourmet Food a practical guide.

By Chef Alain Braux C.E.P.C., C.M.B. B.S. Holistic Nutrition

I made the mistake of thinking this was going to be a cook book, you know the sort, page after page of recipes, weighed and measured ingredients and what to do with them, boy was I so totally wrong about that. Alain starts off telling the reader about his life, how a French chef ended up in Austin Texas and then goes on to tell you about his cholesterol experience, needless to say it was high. There and then he decided to lower it, not with drugs or medication but by using good food, cooked well. Oh no I can here you say, any food that lowers cholesterol is going to taste like straw, not so with Alain’s recipes, that is exactly the reaction he doesn’t want.
The first two thirds of the book explain the reasons why LDL cholesterol is bad for you, and why HDL cholesterol is good for you. The truth is you should aim to lower your LDL number and increase your HDL number. I didn’t know that. He then goes on to detail most of the well know foods we all eat but explains how to cook them in a way to keep in all the nutrients and good things that it is so easy to lose or destroy by over cooking or by cooking in the wrong way. He even provides shopping tips to ensure you only get the freshest and best products. Along the way with a bit of humour Alain destroys some of the myths surrounding certain foods. Alain goes onto suggest a sensible eating regime from breakfast until dinner for one week. Not as a hard and fast rule but to give the reader some guidance on how to have tasty food throughout the day which is also good for you.
The last third of the book are Alain’s recipes. Plainly written the recipes are very easy to follow with step by step instructions that even I could follow. Alain’s Portobello Farcis au Jambon. Ham-stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are particularly tasty as was his Daube Provençale d’Agneau au Vin Blanc. Provencal Lamb Stew with White Wine (I am a confirmed meat eater). I could go on.
Sandra my wife had just returned from the Doctor with news that her cholesterol was high and needed to come down by a considerable degree. How to lower your cholesterol with French Gourmet Food a practical guide. Arrived just at the right time.
As I said right at the beginning, this is not just a simple cook book; it is more of a guide to changing your life style to promote your own good health. While I think it would be difficult to follow Alain’s guidance to the letter, if you just follow some of his advice I believe you will see your cholesterol number dropping and along the way you’ll be eating some good tasty grub too.

My rating 5 stars out of 5.

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