Book review: Food: WTF Should I Eat?

By Dr Mark Hyman

I thought this the appropriate place for the post.

Yes, that is the actual title. That sorta conveys the frustration Dr Hyman feels for what has been presented over the years and never got corrected. I know I ran across the conflicting information in my researching of what I should be eating.

There is lots of false information "out there" being touted today by health practitioners who just don't know better. Many "studies" of the past used cherry picked data to prove things, and organizations promoting certain foods and practices that take kick backs to do so despite the fact that the foods promote ill health (and they know it!).

I'm nowhere near being all the way through the book yet, but already I can see that this book lays that sort of thing bare and shines a light on the cockroaches. It also presents the latest data that wasn't cherry picked and corrects many misconceptions that just won't die.

As a heart patient this book is worth it's weight in gold to me. It's already helped me to correct some of what I was doing wrong and presented information to me in a believable way that I had run across in my research. It's a 2nd witness to some of what I had found.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs to be aware of diet for heart disease or anyone who just wants to live a healthier life without problems. But it will also be of value to understand "follow the money" regarding food in the USA and who has done what for profit and, "Screw the folks eating the food we make.". It also suggests reading outside of the book for a deeper understanding of certain subjects.

I'm not going to write that all of it fills me with comfort since some of the foods I truly love are on the no-no list*. But having them once in awhile (everything in moderation, and I add, with understanding of what that means) allows them. How does one break a love of certain foods and a lifetime of enjoying them, cold turkey? But a weaning off of them or simply a reduction is possible. I doubt that the book will leave anyone out of this category of readers. But you'll have the information, what you do with it is up to you.

In my case I intend to try things and test as I go. I have an open mind, but nothing is trusted without verification. It's my body after all and no one has more interest in keeping it running than I do.

*It turns out that carbs are my enemy and what I thought was my enemy isn't according to the book, and traditional medical knowledge didn't tell me that.

It's encouraging that you have an open mind and are willing to experiment and verify information for yourself. Being proactive in understanding and taking charge of your health is a positive step. Changing long-standing eating habits can indeed be challenging, and finding a balance between enjoying foods you love and incorporating healthier choices is important. Moderation and gradual adjustments can be a reasonable way to transition to a healthier diet. Ultimately, each person has their own journey and decisions to make based on their individual needs and preferences.

I can't remember the last time I ate in a restaurant.
Most (not all) restaurants tend to buy the cheapest ingredients in bulk and then mark them with premium prices.
I get tremendous value from making my own food...I'll make something that resembles something I'd get
in a restaurant and it turns out that I made it for 10 times less.

Not advocating that we stop using restaurants, especially good ones, but Im glad Ive learned to live without them.

When it comes to food, it is a situation of buyer beware. There are too many agendas.

I understand that one school district banned avocados from school lunches because they were "too high in fat" making them an unhealthy choice for students. While avocados are high in fat, most of the fat is monosaturated which is heart healthy and the fruits are high in fiber and other nutrients. Avocados are only a health risk if combined with other high fat foods.

At one time we were told that animal fats like butter, tallow, and lard were unhealthy and that hardened vegetable fats like margarine and shortening produced from vegetable fats were much better for you. Then researchers discovered that the processing of margarine and shortening introduced trans fats that were more unhealthy than the animal fats previously used.

At least ind the USA, huge agricultural conglomerates have a large incentive to encourage the consumption of highly processed foods such as refined soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, processed cereals and grains and baked goods produced from them.

Then there are the books and videos promoting various diets. The agenda is to sell as many books as possible. Some of these diets are healthier than others.

The human dental structure indicates that we were equipped to be omnivores. Being able to consume a wide variety of meats, vegetables, fruits, grains, and dairy products is a big advantage when food supplies are limited. It has enabled humans to thrive in a wide variety of location and climates unlike many species of plants and animals that have a limited geographic distribution. My philosophy is to eat a wide variety of different meats, vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products. I do have to be careful to limit my intake of sugar and salt.

Thanks for bringing this thread up to the top again. ShadowsDad between your great review and reading a little sample, I will be reading this soon!

Yes, read, research, and decide for yourself. I've been in keto for years now and people might think, "What a moron! A high fat diet for someone with heart disease... A moron!". But read the book and do the research. The damage is already done to my circulatory system that I can't undo. But I don't want to cause any additional damage. And now I hope you're wondering about what I just wrote vs what the masses have been led to believe.

I just wish I could undo the damage of 67 years of listening to people who may not have known what they professed. In their defense, carbs are more addictive to rats than opiates, at least in tests. The carb addiction is hard to break even for us.

This is a great read that sums it all up:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016...ohn-yudkin

I didn't read the entire article. But if it only discussed fructose it's a much deeper discussion than that. It also involves starch which breaks down in our bodies into 2 sugar molecules for every one starch molecule.

The book goes into depth on all of diet. One error in it though to be aware of. There are recipes given. When the book was written the sweetener the author suggests was considered to be safe, as in having no carbs. In reality it's been removed from the market because it was 50% carbs. There are other sweeteners that can be substituted for the recommended sweetener though.

The article goes beyond sugar into refined carbs which are starch-based foods.
An excerpt:

"Fat takes instruction from insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar.
Refined carbohydrates break down at speed into glucose in the blood, prompting the pancreas
to produce insulin. When insulin levels rise, fat tissue gets a signal to suck energy out of the blood,
and to stop releasing it. So when insulin stays high for unnaturally long, a person gains weight,
gets hungrier, and feels fatigued."

Yes, that's why folks who burn sugar need to eat every few hours.

I didn't read the entire article due to time constraints. Did it go into oils/fats? It's what prompted me, a heart disease patient, to do the research I needed to decide to enter into ketosis, and consume oils/fats for fuel. Burning sugar isn't terrible for lots of folks but clearly it is for me and my family. I'd like to see voluntary genetic testing to inform those folks who shouldn't be burning sugar to be informed at an early age, before the damage occurs. But I wouldn't like to see a GATACA (a movie) type of scenario.