Book Review: Food As a Prescription

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

A comprehensive and helpful guide to navigating food intolerance by people who have actually gone through it

When Anthony Lo Cascio was touring America in the show Tap Dogs, his health took a sudden, terrifying turn for the worse. The string of doctors he visited were unable to discover what was wrong, leaving him with the option of surgery for an undiagnosed problem or waiting and hoping that it didn’t get worse. It would be years before he found himself on the journey of making the dietary changes that would transform his life and health. 

From birth, Staci Lo Cascio has had bad reactions to the foods she has been exposed to. Through a lifetime of trial and error, she has forged out a path to better health. Food as a Prescription is the book that Staci and Anthony’s combined decades-long journey has produced.

Food as a Prescription is a useful guidebook to living with food allergies or intolerances. Staci and Anthony have been using food as a prescription for over two decades. Here, they’ve expertly compiled all the hints, tricks, and resources that have helped them along the way. 

Not only does this book make navigating life with food intolerances easier for the reader, it has advice to make things more straightforward for the other people in their lives too. From providing wait staff and chefs with quick, accurate information to making a social occasion easier for the friend who is hosting, Food as a Prescription is bound to boost the confidence of anyone starting to address their food sensitivities.

There’s a wealth of information for those setting out on their health journey. From online resources to homemade recipes, from travel advice to allergen testing options. The concerns raised in this book are thorough, practical, and accumulated from people who have learned the hard way.

Food as a Prescription isn’t a dry read. It peppers anecdotes and hot tips through the chapters to keep the information simple and relatable. Finding out about the issues other people have had to deal with and how they’ve overcome them makes it feel achievable.

While this guide is a fantastic addition to the discussion around managing dietary restrictions, I would have liked to see more food that was a prescription. Generally, it deals with cutting foods out, but doesn’t explore adding foods in for better health.

For anyone starting out with food intolerances, this book will make the journey less intimidating. Food as a Prescription is an excellent guide to navigating a restricted diet. It offers the tools any beginner will need to set out on their individual health journey.

Publisher: Notebook Publishing

Genre: Nonfiction / Health

Print Length: 102 pages

ISBN: 978-1913206451

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