Summary: Do carbs make you fat?
Could the keto diet cure mental health disorders?
Are eggs as bad for you as smoking?
No,
no and absolutely not. It's all what Dr Joshua Wolrich defines as
'nutribollocks' and he is on a mission to set the record straight.
As
an NHS doctor with personal experience of how damaging diets can be, he
believes every one of us deserves to have a happy, healthy relationship
with food and with our bodies. His message is clear: we need to fight
weight stigma, call out the lies of diet culture and give ourselves
permission to eat all foods.
Food Isn't Medicine
wades through nutritional science (both good and bad) to demystify the
common diet myths that many of us believe without questioning. If you
have ever wondered whether you should stop eating sugar, try fasting,
juicing or 'alkaline water', or struggled through diet after diet (none
of which seem to work), this book will be a powerful wake-up call.
Drawing on the latest research and delivered with a dose of humour, it
not only liberates us from the destructive belief that weight defines
health but also explains how to spot the misinformation we are bombarded
with every day.
Dr Joshua Wolrich will empower you to escape the
diet trap and call out the bad health advice for what it really is:
complete nutribollocks.
My Thoughts:
I've been following Dr. Wolrich on Instagram for a few years now, so when I saw he had written a book, I bought it immediately. This book is BRAND NEW and because he's based in the UK, it may be difficult to find in the US. I purchased my copy from The Book Depository with free shipping.
Now, what did I think of it? I thought it was excellent. Whether this book serves as a helpful companion to keep you from believing any of the claims it refutes, or if this book pulls you back out from a world of following every new diet that comes out, it's extremely helpful. My main takeaways from this book include:
1. BMI is an absolutely nonsense measure for health, and you should absolutely disregard it.
2. If you see anyone unilaterally demonizing or pedestalizing one specific ingredient or food group, run away. In truth, all foods can fit within a healthy overall diet and there is no one food or food group that is going to magically solve all your problems.
3. Eating healthy is really, honestly as simple as adding more vegetables and fiber to our diets. The end. So many of us are searching for the magic bullet, but that's really all there is to it.
4. There are so many factors that contribute to a person's overall health, we cannot just always assume it's about how they eat.
5. Your body needs carbs to function. Please stop trying to eliminate them from your diet.
6. Weight stigma is a problem.
I loved this book so much, particularly because Dr. Wolrich mentions at front the hierarchy of scientific research, with meta-analysis and systematic reviews at the top (meaning those are the most reliable types of research). And then throughout the book, he frequently references these two types of research papers as he is myth-busting diet claims. It's solid science.
Language warning - there is a bit of language in the book, but it does not occur with overwhelming frequency. So please don't let that throw you off if the book sounds interesting.
