Scan barcode
steffilietzke's review
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Fatphobia
hmatt's review
informative
fast-paced
3.5
This was a quick listen for me, but I liked the author's approach. The title is intentionally misleading, if that's not clear. The author breaks down food and diet trends that have recently circulated, largely through social media, and debunks them from the lens of nutrition. He emphasizes the different roles and functions that food has in our bodies in contrast to the function of medicine.
He mostly keeps it out of this text, which I think is appropriate, but the author is also someone who advocates for intuitive eating. I think this is an important lens to go in with as a reader, regardless of your personal relationship with food.
He mostly keeps it out of this text, which I think is appropriate, but the author is also someone who advocates for intuitive eating. I think this is an important lens to go in with as a reader, regardless of your personal relationship with food.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
kingabee's review against another edition
4.0
I first heard of Dr Joshua Wolrich via Jameela Jamil’s podcast and his journey from a diet culture afficionado to its very outspoken critic caught my attention, so I splashed out on this hardcover.
“Food Isn’t Medicine” is a very straight forward book. It doesn’t tell you anything absolutely ground-breaking when it comes to nutrition. It’s the same old truths – eat more fruit and vegetables, eat more whole grain, cut down saturated fats. Almost everything is ok in moderation. And the truth is that’s all you truly need to know. No matter what the new fad diet tells you, or some sensational headline in a tabloid that blows out of proportion some dodgy study performed on five mice, if you stick to those old, tested rules, you will be fine. Wolrich debunks a lot of stuff I knew was nonsense (alkaline diet, BMI /though didn’t know the extent of this nonsense/), suspected might be dangerous nonsense (ketodiet), didn’t even know was a thing (carnivore diet). He does all of it with humour backed by solid science. It’s a difficult balance to strike between making your book accessible but not juvenile and he does it well. It’s not one of those books where you feel like you are stuck at some family function listening to your uncle’s cringe-worthy jokes.
We have convinced ourselves that food holds the key to everything - it can make us healthy, make us sick, cure everything from cancer to depression. And while a healthy diet is important, food isn’t medicine. Believing that food has more power than it does gives us a false sense of control but it’s time to let go. All these beliefs have made almost all of us show some signs of disordered eating.
This book’s strength is not in some cutting-edge nutritional science but in how persuasive and successful it is when it comes to repairing our relationship with food. I admit I was already on the path of giving less fucks about calories and kilograms, but I think I needed this one last push to officially unsubscribe from all those ‘Fit Healthy’ groups on Facebook, that masquerade as ‘healthy’ groups but still equate ‘healthy’ with ‘losing weight’.
I had always put off most things in my life "until I lose weight" and that was back when I didn’t even have any weight to lose (but my gymnastics coach said I was getting too chunky, when I was 10 and looked 8, instead of the preferred 6 year old look). But now I am the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life. But I’m also the happiest, and with definitely the healthiest eating habits, that have developed naturally the more I was letting go off all this nonsense.
The only weight I truly needed to lose was the weight of fat stigma, diet culture, calorie obsession. I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m definitely closer and feel much more relaxed around food. And can eat cake even on the days I didn't go for a 10k run beforehand.
“Food Isn’t Medicine” is a very straight forward book. It doesn’t tell you anything absolutely ground-breaking when it comes to nutrition. It’s the same old truths – eat more fruit and vegetables, eat more whole grain, cut down saturated fats. Almost everything is ok in moderation. And the truth is that’s all you truly need to know. No matter what the new fad diet tells you, or some sensational headline in a tabloid that blows out of proportion some dodgy study performed on five mice, if you stick to those old, tested rules, you will be fine. Wolrich debunks a lot of stuff I knew was nonsense (alkaline diet, BMI /though didn’t know the extent of this nonsense/), suspected might be dangerous nonsense (ketodiet), didn’t even know was a thing (carnivore diet). He does all of it with humour backed by solid science. It’s a difficult balance to strike between making your book accessible but not juvenile and he does it well. It’s not one of those books where you feel like you are stuck at some family function listening to your uncle’s cringe-worthy jokes.
We have convinced ourselves that food holds the key to everything - it can make us healthy, make us sick, cure everything from cancer to depression. And while a healthy diet is important, food isn’t medicine. Believing that food has more power than it does gives us a false sense of control but it’s time to let go. All these beliefs have made almost all of us show some signs of disordered eating.
This book’s strength is not in some cutting-edge nutritional science but in how persuasive and successful it is when it comes to repairing our relationship with food. I admit I was already on the path of giving less fucks about calories and kilograms, but I think I needed this one last push to officially unsubscribe from all those ‘Fit Healthy’ groups on Facebook, that masquerade as ‘healthy’ groups but still equate ‘healthy’ with ‘losing weight’.
I had always put off most things in my life "until I lose weight" and that was back when I didn’t even have any weight to lose (but my gymnastics coach said I was getting too chunky, when I was 10 and looked 8, instead of the preferred 6 year old look). But now I am the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life. But I’m also the happiest, and with definitely the healthiest eating habits, that have developed naturally the more I was letting go off all this nonsense.
The only weight I truly needed to lose was the weight of fat stigma, diet culture, calorie obsession. I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m definitely closer and feel much more relaxed around food. And can eat cake even on the days I didn't go for a 10k run beforehand.
willdarlingg's review
challenging
informative
fast-paced
4.0
A really good read that reflects on the myths and facts of health, dieting, and weight loss. I enjoy the no-nonsense voice Wolrich writes in, as it made the book feel very humorous and direct, even when dealing with heavy topics. And mostly I just appreciate that a book like this exists, as it made me confront quite a few beliefs and assumptions about food that I've internalised. Very grateful for this read and the work it's trying to do.
abissette's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Excellent rebuttal of widespread nutritional myths. Very accessible. The author consistently puts claims into context and refers to good quality evidence from human studies. It is consistently empathetic and considers the social context of nutrition.
If you've been taken in by proponents of extreme diets, claims that certain foods cause or cure disease, or felt shamed about your weight and relationship to food, this is a must-read.
One point of disagreement I had was with his criticism of studies of successful weight loss, but this is a minor quibble in what is otherwise a tour de force.
If you've been taken in by proponents of extreme diets, claims that certain foods cause or cure disease, or felt shamed about your weight and relationship to food, this is a must-read.
One point of disagreement I had was with his criticism of studies of successful weight loss, but this is a minor quibble in what is otherwise a tour de force.