Green book of the week: The Healthy Home by Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz (and a giveaway!)

You feel your house is clean and safe? Think again. We have no idea (or we have but we tend not to think about it too much) how long the list of the health risks we have at home is. What we can do about it? First, be aware and second, act. And the book we have today is a good place to start at.

Our green book of the week is:

The Healthy Home: Simple Truths to Protect Your Family from Hidden Household Dangers

Authors: Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz with Donna K. Wallace

Dave Wentz is chief executive officer of USANA Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art manufacturer of nutritional supplements and health products. He received a bachelor's degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. Dave lives with his wife, Reneé, and children, Andrew and Sydney, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he enjoys skydiving, playing volleyball and soccer, mountain biking, and skiing Utah's famous powder.

Dr. Myron Wentz holds a Ph.D. in microbiology with a specialty in immunology from the University of Utah. He founded Gull Laboratories in 1974 and developed the first commercially available diagnostic test for the Epstein-Barr virus. Later, he founded USANA Health Sciences and Sanoviv Medical Institute. Dr. Wentz was honored in June 2007 with the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences. He is the author of A Mouth Full of Poison andInvisible Miracles. He travels the world with his lovely partner, Prudence.

Donna K. Wallace has penned fifteen books with accomplished speakers, physicians, therapists, and celebrities. Her recent projects include The Creation Health Breakthrough (Hachette, 2007) with Dr. Monica Reed as well as the international best-selling book What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You (Thomas Nelson, 2000) with Dr. Ray Strand. Donna and her family live in Bozeman, Montana.

Publisher: Vanguard Press (March 22, 2011)

What this book is about:
In The Healthy Home, a father and son--Dr. Myron Wentz, well-known microbiologist and founder of the USANA Corporation, and Dave Wentz, CEO of the USANA Corporation--take readers on a tour of a specific home for a look at the surprising health risks posed by the everyday products and behaviors of a modern family. Beginning in the bedroom and ending in the garage and backyard, readers learn about the degenerative effects of toxins in the home and receive simple solutions to help minimize exposure without foregoing convenience.

The Healthy Home is not a comprehensive tome on modern health hazards; nor is it a treatise on eco-conscious living. Instead, the book focuses on the most important environment--the home--and the problems that can most easily be lessened or eliminated. Busy parents who suspect that they should be doing more to protect their family but don't know where to start will learn about practical changes they can make in the next fifteen minutes, fifteen days, or fifteen months to create a haven for healthier living.

What we think about it:
This is a book that I think should be handed out to anyone buying a home. No matter, where you live, whether it's a mansion or a 2-bedroom apartment, you have a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room/area, and all of them contain health hazards, whether we're aware of it or not. Most of us are not aware of these issues and even if we do, we're not always sure what the best solutions are and how feasible they are. This book is feeling this void with a detailed look at every aspect of every part of the house, searching and warning us from possible health hazards as well as providing us with the right solutions.

Now, it might sounds scary and the list of health issues is really endless, but the authors are making their best to be alarming but at the same time not to make it too doom and gloom, so readers won't get too frightened and decide to not think about it at all, just like we tend to do when the problems seem too difficult or overwhelming and we feel we can't handle them. One part that makes this book easier to digest and friendlier is 'simple solution' windows that you find all over the book with great simple advice ("open your windows - often," or "maintain a good distance - at lest ten feet in front of five feet to the side - between yourself and the microwave when it's on").

Although the book is written by a David Wentz, a successful CEO, and his father, Dr. Myron Wentz, a respectful scientist, it shows you that you don't have to be reach or hold a PhD in microbiology to keep your house safe. Many times it is a matter of common sense (open windows as much as you can) and many of the solutions don't cost you anything and even saves you money (instead of using an aerosol freshening spray, mist your room with real citrus scent. Simply pour a few drops of orange, lemon or lime essential oil into a spray bottle of water).

Bottom line: Great book for anyone who really wants to know how to reduce the health hazards at home.

To learn more visit http://www.myhealthyhome.com/

And check this video out:



Disclosure: We received the review copy from the publisher.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away a copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment with one thing you do to make your home healthier. We will have a raffle on Wednesday, May 25, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will leave a comment by then. The winner will be announced the following day.


Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading