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justmegan's review against another edition
1.0
A trash panda would devour this!!
Almost gave it two stars due to the fact that I couldn’t stop listening to her nonsense. A real page turner and an eye roller.
Almost gave it two stars due to the fact that I couldn’t stop listening to her nonsense. A real page turner and an eye roller.
mahaliarose's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
An informative book covering hyped-up topics more sensibly. Very pro-vaxx. Helpful.
dreamwritten's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could throw this book at every non-GMO, all-organic, gluten-vilifying, alternative medicine anti-vaxxer who crosses my newsfeed and pushes their armchair "health advice" in the comments sections of posts and articles. I almost rated this one a 4 instead of 5 because, being health-conscious and fairly knowledgeable about science vs. hype, I didn't find anything Shapiro says totally mind-blowing. But that does this book a disservice for two reasons: 1) clearly not everyone is educated on how to identify credible sources for their health information, and 2) that's the whole point of this book - that health and medicine are scientific, never reduced to a mind-boggling epiphany or "secret." Science is slow and mundane, and accepting that your liver and kidneys will do the work they're built to do is a lot less sexy than the idea of a purifying "cleanse" to start your body fresh and expel all those "toxins" that nobody can name.
Even already knowing the basics about vaccines, cleanses, vitamins, etc., I still feel like I learned a lot from this book, and I'm so glad I picked it up randomly at the library. Shapiro's writing shines most through her historical lessons and personal anecdotes as a surgeon, though she (of course) doesn't rely on anecdotes alone; the book is well-sourced.
Overall, I really recommend this to anyone and everyone, whether you already consider yourself well-versed in health hype or not. It's an enjoyable read that I think everyone can learn a little something from.
Even already knowing the basics about vaccines, cleanses, vitamins, etc., I still feel like I learned a lot from this book, and I'm so glad I picked it up randomly at the library. Shapiro's writing shines most through her historical lessons and personal anecdotes as a surgeon, though she (of course) doesn't rely on anecdotes alone; the book is well-sourced.
Overall, I really recommend this to anyone and everyone, whether you already consider yourself well-versed in health hype or not. It's an enjoyable read that I think everyone can learn a little something from.
sehmort's review against another edition
3.0
This was between a 2 1/2 Star and 3, I found the book interesting and thought provoking, but I also found it poorly edited and a bit choppy, and at times it felt biased and somewhat judgmental. I like the overall message of questioning anything you read and hear but I think it applies to this book as well, as this Author who is also a Dr has her own biases as well.
laurapk's review against another edition
3.0
Nothing special for someone already up to date with the fads. Occasionally the author's logic was questionable: for e.g. she discusses the potential risk of marijuana as a gateway drug despite it being debunked so many times, and that it's not an issue in other countries where MJ is legal (say The Netherlands) because there are other factors driving the opioid epidemic in the US. Other times she makes general statements that are incorrect - for e.g. I'm a big pro vaxxer and I'm sick and tired of the anti-vaxxer movement but I have to admit the early 20th century anti-vax movement was linked to poor quality and rampant contamination of small-pox vaccines; so despite the author's claims that anti-vaxxers never helped, they actually did, they pushed for a standard of production that made vaccines safer in early 20th century. These types of general statements are more likely to push people away if they're on the sidelines so I think this books mostly preaches to the choir.
mkhunterz's review
3.25
My biggest gripe is the author’s repeated insistence that blending fruits and vegetables destroys their fiber and renders them less nutritious when this has been thoroughly debunked. It does make me question what other claims she makes that may have been disproven.
marshaskrypuch's review against another edition
5.0
We are constantly being bombarded with information about our health. What's good for us in one study causes cancer in the next. What's the truth about gluten, vaccines, anti-aging products, sugar and fat? How many medical tests are too much or not enough? Should you have the same kind and duration of exercise in your twenties as you do in your forties? Not only does Dr. Shapriro peel off the layers and give us context for each issue, she gives us the tools to find out things for ourselves. I particularly appreciated her chapter on how to judge the value of a study/clinical trial/scientific abstract and how to do unbiased consumer research yourself.
If you're going to buy one health guide, make it this one.
Thank you Netgalley for the e-review edition of this book.
If you're going to buy one health guide, make it this one.
Thank you Netgalley for the e-review edition of this book.
wanna_read's review against another edition
2.0
The author was very patronizing in her tone.
She was very opinionated on certain subjects. If there was any scientific data that went against her opinion then it was the placebo effect (for example all Eastern Medicine which does have a lot of scientific studies supporting it). Yet all studies that supported her opinions weren’t placebos they were actual scientific results.
She also would have random stories about one person who died because they didn’t follow Western medical advice. One person’s story doesn’t prove a scientific point. If so I could tell her about my daughter’s esophagus closing down and medical doctors solution was for a 4 year old to swallow steroids the rest of her life. I removed dairy and she healed after 4 days from an issue she had her entire life. Based on her book she would tell me that was a placebo effect as nobody has sensitivities to food like that. It is either a typical allergy response or nothing.
She was very opinionated on certain subjects. If there was any scientific data that went against her opinion then it was the placebo effect (for example all Eastern Medicine which does have a lot of scientific studies supporting it). Yet all studies that supported her opinions weren’t placebos they were actual scientific results.
She also would have random stories about one person who died because they didn’t follow Western medical advice. One person’s story doesn’t prove a scientific point. If so I could tell her about my daughter’s esophagus closing down and medical doctors solution was for a 4 year old to swallow steroids the rest of her life. I removed dairy and she healed after 4 days from an issue she had her entire life. Based on her book she would tell me that was a placebo effect as nobody has sensitivities to food like that. It is either a typical allergy response or nothing.
sprague's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after hearing about it in a Sam Harris podcast with the author. I skimmed it, so don’t consider this a complete review.
When I evaluate a health book, I look at a few litmus issues to decide whether to dig deeper. On one of these, GMO safety, the author is too equivocal, stating "There remains no consensus on GMO safety” and repeating the standard anti-GMO argument about pesticides. She didn’t do enough homework here.
My second litmus is about the microbiome, of which she says little other than that it is “bound to be a game-changer”.
Bottom line: although it’s well-written and reasonable, there wasn’t enough originality to put it on my list of best health books.
When I evaluate a health book, I look at a few litmus issues to decide whether to dig deeper. On one of these, GMO safety, the author is too equivocal, stating "There remains no consensus on GMO safety” and repeating the standard anti-GMO argument about pesticides. She didn’t do enough homework here.
My second litmus is about the microbiome, of which she says little other than that it is “bound to be a game-changer”.
Bottom line: although it’s well-written and reasonable, there wasn’t enough originality to put it on my list of best health books.