Stacie Deyglio, ND
Blood is usually drawn from a patient in order to examine metabolic biochemical markers that signify either optimal or poor physiological functioning and help diagnose illness. Dr Richard Maurer’s first book, The Blood Code, is a dynamic approach to educating patients about how to assess, evaluate, interpret, and then alter their current physiological state to achieve optimal performance. The Blood Code is designed as a 6-step approach.When a patient comes to your office with a physical malady or symptom, it is easy to assume that a laboratory examination of the blood will supply conclusive evidence for the patient’s current disease state. As a society, we are conditioned to expect that such an analysis will provide answers and thus alleviate our worries and fears about what is happening in the body.
Steps 1, 2 and 3 focus on the specific assessments a patient might request from their doctor. Step 1 specifically focuses on the evaluation of routine blood panel results. Step 2 includes instructions for measuring and interpreting skin-fold caliper dimensions to assess body mass index (BMI). Step 3 communicates information derived from Steps 1 & 2, and ties all of the information together as it applies to insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypothyroidism. “Common blood test panels combined with measurements taken by skin-fold calipers are the 2 simple but invaluable tools that will crack your Blood Code. You just need to learn how to use them. Like a GPS device, these test results plot where you are right now. It is your job to understand how to plan a course that will best take you from your current location to where you want to go.” (p.11)
Steps 4, 5 and 6 are action steps that guide the reader to awareness of how to personalize diet, fitness, and nutritional interventions designed to meet the body where the need(s) fit. Step 4 specifically focuses on diet – the carbs, the fats, the proteins. It also includes important dietary principles and disproven myths that are significant traps to best avoid. Step 5 identifies each person’s unique approach to fitness that should be maintained. Finally, Step 6 discusses the nutritional support necessary to exist in a balanced physiological state. This includes nutrient supplementation and possible herbal therapies.
The book ends with a few short chapters intended to solidify the applicable content of these 6 steps. This includes a chapter on lifestyle habits that affect metabolism (alcohol, sleep, and stress), a meal planning guide, and a discussion of diet related to research specifically focused on cholesterol, low-fat diets, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol. The book ends with an appendix including worksheets, charts, and logs that can be used by the consumer along with the book.
Dr Maurer’s The Blood Code is an easy read, designed to augment and support the lay public’s knowledge about revitalizing and individualized health. It is a great example of how knowledge and information can create a new movement of awareness for personalized health, not only of the individual but also of a larger community of patients ready to take hold of their health and make positive changes.
Just the Facts
- Title: The Blood Code: Unlock the Secrets of Your Metabolism
- Author: Richard Maurer, ND
- Publisher: Self-Published
- Available from: www.TheBloodCode.com/
- Pages: 275
- Style: Soft Cover
- Copyright: 2014
- MSRP: $19.95
Stacie Deyglio, ND received her baccalaureate degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from the College of Mt. St. Vincent in New York. Her personal health issues paved the way to discovering naturopathic medicine in 1999. Resonating with the philosophy and principles of naturopathic medicine, Dr Deyglio graduated from the University of Bridgeport, College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2003. As a medical student, she was involved in student government, fundraising and the generation of two successful student-run health fairs. Dr Deyglio’s interests include relating integrative therapeutics to the health of pediatric and geriatric populations. Currently residing in Phoenix, Dr Deyglio is an avid bookworm, and is actively creating her practice.
