Guess What Came to Dinner: Parasites and Your Health

A nutrition director for the American Academy of Nutrition and the author of the bestseller Beyond Pritikin , Gittleman has exhaustively studied the parasite world, particularly its relation to human health and nutrition. Although she tackles the subject of parasitic illnesses and their diagnosis, treatment and prevention with knowledge and a credible background, her book offers in ten chapters what could have been done in a single long but concise one. In a hit-and-run style, the author touches on a specific subject, be it day care centers, household pets, or travel, only to drop it and repeat the information in another section of the book. This repetition, combined with constant footnotes, disrupts and clutters a reading of the book. Readers without some background in clinical parasitology may also have a hard time staying with Gittleman through the technical section that serves as a reference guide to the individual parasites. The chapter on prevention provides the most accessible information. There, the author gives clear and usable instructions on avoiding parasite-induced illnesses via good personal hygiene, proper infant and child care, sensible sexual practices, sanitary animal care, careful travel practices and safe water usage and food handling. The book wraps up with an easy-to-understand glossary, although it lacks necessary pronunciation symbols, and a thorough, but meant-for-health-professionals, appendix on drug treatment of parasitic infections. (July)