A review by dreamwritten
Hype: A Doctor's Guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims, and Bad Advice - How to Tell What's Real and What's Not by Nina Shapiro, Kristin Loberg

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.