Each generation is finding it increasingly difficult to live in this world. While our early ancestors lived in a world where they drank clean water from natural sources and ate uncultivated fruits, vegetables and lean meats, we choke on the smog-filled air that fills our cities and find our lakes too polluted to swim in. Each pollutant - in air, water, or soil - directly impacts our body in some way or the other. Fighting these body pollutants is the start we need to make our lives healthier, is the point author Paul Kramer makes in his book, Fighting Body Pollution.

Your body's like a car

"Bodies, similar to cars, are made up of many intricate parts. Just as our cars need fuel, oil, coolant, engine fluid, etc., our bodies also need many different ingredients to function optimally. Your body is an amazing machine, yet unfortunately many of us take better care of our cars," marks Kramer.

It's what you eat and how you eat it that can make a huge difference to your body. Limit your intake of refined flour, food chemicals, processed oil, sugar and fast foods and you will live to a ripe old age. Supplement a balanced diet with a good dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and you're sure to keep away from those chronic degenerative diseases that make you live short and die long.

Back to the source

The book reads like any other nutritionist's guide, but here's the difference. Kramer spices up the content with his "Did you know" facts and heath tips. He traces the history of certain kinds of foods and how they unhealthily or healthily crept into our lifestyle.

"In 1876, in Paris, the first light white French rolls were made available at at exposition that the governor of Minnesota attended. He wanted others to have access to this great new discovery. On his return from America, he developed the steel roller mills, which separate the bran and germ from the wheat, producing huge volumes of fine white flour. The advantage was it could be stored (not even the rats and worms were interested in it!) without becoming rancid. As the huge roller mills became widely adopted, the small local stone mills went out of business and white flour and white bread became food for the masses." These little nuggets of information make the book an interesting read.

Surviving stress

Work stress can be as harmful as smoking and not exercising. Kramer asks you to stop a moment and acknowledge the stress in your life . He suggests deep breathing, laughing (even at your troubles) and reading positive books daily can effectively lessen stress. Of course, the benefits are enhanced when these are complemented with a proper workout.

The verdict

Fighting Body Pollution is an easy read. Kramer has done well to provide a lot of data on foods in tabular form instead of in lengthy paragraphs. While the information in the book is not new, the health tips and fast facts are often surprising and even shocking in some cases. It may not make you jump out of your skin or urge you to make drastic lifestyle changes, but it gives you enough reference points to help you if you're trying to lead a healthier life than before. Apply the ideas and you'll stay healthy in an unhealthy world.