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Ideal Plate Composition

At the heart of this book is the simple message that food is a powerful ally and best friend in our search for wellbeing. Food can be the tool that transforms people’s lives, not just in the moment, but forever.

A practical and easy to understand book on healthy eating. The book is full of interesting examples that most readers can relate to and it’s a real eye-opener on some very common mistakes we all make when it comes to food. I love that it only takes one quick look at your plate to know if you are eating well. Brilliant book!

Silvia

Very useful and interesting book that will improve your lifestyle.

Gabriele G

To order your copy click here or visit your local bookstore

Topics covered include:

  1. Overall health that includes weight concerns
  2. Gut health that includes IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
  3. Crohn’s disease
  4. Female hormones that include PMS (Pre-Menstrual Syndrome)
  5. Stress
  6. Eczema and other skin conditions (acne and psoriasis)
  7. Yeast infections (Candida)
  8. Cholesterol
  9. How to make diet changes

What do medics say about this book?

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in living a healthy, happy life in its fullness. Wilma Kirsten, a real expert in the field of nutrition and health. She has done an outstanding job, putting together this fantastic guide, which discusses the most recent available evidence and provides effective, reasonable advice to benefit from a healthy and balanced diet. I very much enjoyed reading this book and I am extremely confident that the wider public will thoroughly appreciate this life-changing experience. – Bruno Sgromo, ChB MD, Consultant Upper GI surgeon

A well written, entertaining and clear guide to optimum nutrition and sensible, satisfying eating. In a saturated health market, with fads that wax and wane, it is reassuring that there is still an approach to nutrition that maintains basic sense yet is approached in a revolutionary way. It is a fabulous book for those who wish to live their best life starting with their nutrition. Enjoy! – Dr Claire Young MA MBBCH MRCP DSFRH

This book is a fantastic guide to optimal nutrition, very comprehensive, rigorously based on up-to-date research evidence and thoroughly enjoyable. Wilma is a real expert in the field of nutrition and health and has outstanding communication skills with a very clear and entertaining writing style. I really enjoyed reading her book and I strongly recommend it for publication. Anyone interested in how to live a healthy and happy life should read this book and will not be disappointed. – Alessandra Geremia DPhil MD, Gastroenterologist and IBD specialist

What does the media say about this book?

BANT member, Wilma Kirsten, has published this book based using the key nutritional therapy tool of the ideal plate composition as the basis for recommendations for a range of health conditions. These includes generalised recommendations such as optimum function; gut health; stress and hormonal balance, but also focus on specifics such as Crohn’s disease, eczema and yeast infections. Each chapter focuses on a client case study and uses the plate composition to highlight the specific imbalances whilst introducing different nutritional concepts such as: healthy fats; gluten; sugar etc.

The book is very comprehensive and is targeted at a layperson looking for some clear guidelines that they may implement at home. As each chapter follows the same format to highlight the different areas, the book lends itself more as a ‘dip in and out’ book, rather than a ‘read continuously’ book. The recommendations made are excellent and very comprehensive and I will gladly keep this book on my shelf to recommend to clients.

BANT (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine) eNews, Issue 111, May/June 2019

What do other readers say about this book?

All readers gave this book a 5 star rating!

A practical and easy to understand book on healthy eating. The book is full of interesting examples that most readers can relate to and it’s a real eye-opener on some very common mistakes we all make when it comes to food. I love that it only takes one quick look at your plate to know if you are eating well. Brilliant book! – Silvia

I am not an avid book reader and ashamed to say that I fall under the category of junk readers. Reading a book about nutrition would not be on my list of priorities. My ignorance led me to believe that only people with health issues or weight problems would benefit from such a book. I was encouraged by a friend to “expand my horizons” and after reading only a few pages of this book I soon realized how wrong I was. Not only was the book easy to read and understand but I found myself not wanting to put it down! Although I don’t suffer from any serious health problems, I could relate to some of the symptoms mentioned in the stories of patients treated in the author’s clinic. I am already starting to rethink food choices when I go to the grocery store and it’s largely due to the easily understood manner in which the author explains and educates. I find myself sharing information about health and nutrition with my family members much to their surprise. If someone as “book shy” and ignorant about food as myself could enjoy and understand this fantastic read then anyone else can too. “Ideal Plate Composition” has changed my view about nutrition in so many ways and yes it has vastly expanded my dietary horizons. This book should be a compulsory read for all high school students (and their parents)!!! – L de Klerk

A very accessible and informative guide to healthy eating. Suitable for anyone who needs practical, sensible and enjoyable eating advice. – Dr Michelle Barrow, DProf.

By the time Wilma has finished explaining sensible eating choices to you, you couldn’t imagine not eating healthily. You haven’t been lectured, you’ve had good logical, scientific arguments explained to you in a way that you’ve understood. A nutritionist’s book that’s a page turner? I think that you’ll find that this is the one. – Annemarie Lewis Thomas, Principal at The Musical Theatre Academy London Ltd. 

Wilma Kirsten has written something unusual in the world of nutrition: a book that is honest, full of common sense, easy to follow and not trying to sell you something you do not need. Here is a well educated, experienced nutritional practitioner showing by examples and case studies how you can change your diet for the better. Evidence-based and up to date, and easy to follow. Fantastic book. – Jules Pegler

In today’s world of fad diets, miracle foods, and celebrity-endorsed plans to achieve unattainable goals, it is so refreshing to read a book that provides us with information and the tools to improve our diet and thus our health. Drawing from years of clinical experience and the latest scientific research, a clear, simple, and cogent argument is made for improving our diets in a way that is achievable and can be maintained in the long term. Eating healthily does not require you to prepare food in a certain way, eat some magical berry, or adopt some mumbo-jumbo food rhythm method. You should look at your plate, make sure its composition is right, and enjoy! Another thing I really liked about the book was the format. Each chapter pertains to a different person who presented different symptoms at a clinic, and each benefited in different ways. It is easy to relate to the protagonists and see parallels between them and yourself or people close to you, meaning the book delivers a very meaningful and pertinent message to all. I am really glad this book was written. It should be read by anyone who has ever had any curiosity or questions about healthy eating. – Gilbert Hendricks

A most informative book on nutrition I have ever read. It is both scientific and realistic, allowing anyone to follow the guidelines. I loved the real-life case studies backed up by scientific analysis and data. As a mother, I view this book as one of my greatest tools in contributing to my daughter’s health. I also liked the fact it was loaded with practical advice rather than a series of photographs of difficult recipes. I would recommend this book to anybody looking to improve their physical and emotional well being. – Francesca

I really found this book to be an eye opener, showing so many things and giving so many nice examples of how to approach food in an interesting way. I liked the unique perspective that the author gives, and how the author always seems to back up what she’s saying whenever you find yourself questioning whether a bold statement is true or not. A very nicely researched and helpful book overall. – S. Boulevand

A great and very informative read! This book provides the reader with easy and effective steps to improve their overall nutrition. The case studies and examples that the author provides cater to a wide range of dietary requirements, and really help to demonstrate the benefits of eating well and eating consciously. Reading this book has truly changed the way I think about the food I choose to put on my plate and in my body. – Claire Bissett

I loved reading this book as I move on my journey to balancing my gut and working on a yeast overgrowth. It’s refreshing, easy to understand advice on nutrition. Given that some patient stories talk about falling off the wagon and where they are at several years later is a great way to talk about gut health through actual experience. – Miss Rai

This review concerns the book entitled “Ideal Plate Composition” by Wilma Kirsten. I believe reading accessible to everyone. In my opinion, a main principle throughout the book is to consider human health on its whole as the priority target to achieve and any weight assessment as a consequence. A good equilibrium among all health aspects is also expressed by a good balancing among all components of a diet or a nutritional regime. – Elsa Moggia

A good, solid, overall view of how to eat good food! This book really painstakingly goes through so many good examples and explanations to give a solid overall understanding of everyday nutrition. It is well and fully referenced and yet still enjoyable to read. – Pietro

Being disabled and diabetic (insulin) the Ideal Plate Composition is by far the most informative read I have encountered in understanding the importance of healthy nutritious eating. – Anon

Very useful and interesting book that will improve your lifestyle. – Gabriele G