Book Review: Why We Get Sick

 

This book presents research to show how many chronic disorders share the common origin of insulin resistance. Diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes are recommended to reverse or prevent insulin resistance and reduce the risk of these conditions. It is a quick read and easy to understand. I'd recommend it for those that want to know more about insulin and its effects. 

There are three parts of the book: Part I, The Problem: What is Insulin Resistance and Why Does it Matter?; Part II, Causes: What Makes Us Insulin Resistant in the First Place?; and Part III, The Solution: How Can We Fight Insulin Resistance?

Check out my book review and golden nuggets on LinkedIn.

Bikman, B. (2020). Why we get sick: The hidden epidemic at the root of most chronic disease—and how to fight it. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc.

Book Review: The Home Edit Life

The authors show you the most common spaces, items they come across, and how they go through the process of organizing it. The focus is on function first and then beauty. The goal is to use your space to honor and highlight what you love.

The book has an Introduction, Part 1: Adopting the 360 Mindset, Part 2: Organizing for How You Really Live, and the Finishing Touches.

Check out my book review and golden nuggets on LinkedIn.

Shearer, C. and Teplin, J. (2020) The Home Edit Life: The no-guilt guide to owning what you want and organizing everything. New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers.

Book Review: Tiny Habits

 

The book is thorough and meant to be a step-by-step guide to help you craft new behaviors, stop unwanted behaviors, and influence others’ habits. The examples, stories, and exercises ensure that the reader has ample opportunities to digest and apply the principles of tiny habits. I highly recommend this book if you are prepared to do some work and follow through for success.

For my full review--including golden nuggets--go to LinkedIn.

Fogg, BJ. (2020). Tiny habits: The small changes that change everything. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Book Review: Sacred Cow

Sacred Cow: The Case for  (Better) Meat explores the intersection between optimal human food and regenerative agriculture. To cover the case for “better meat,” the authors address the three main criticisms against meat: nutritional, environmental, and ethical. 
They take a thorough dive into each issue and make a convincing case that animals are essential to healthy, sustainable food production. The shortcomings in our current industrial, agricultural systems can be remedied through methods of regenerative agriculture. 

I recommend this book to all eaters. Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Rodgers, D. and R. Wolf (2020). Sacred Cow: The case for (better) meat. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc.

Strategies for Weight Loss and Improved Health

Check out a one-hour presentation, Strategies for Weight Loss and Improved Health, that I shared with the World Bank Group. The body is complex--affected by what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, hormonal balance, and the interaction with the gut. We will attack the topic through a three-pronged approach: diet, behavior, and lifestyle. Tune in to see what strategies you can implement today to lose weight! Follow me on Instagram, @SimpsonNutrition.

Book Review: The Fatburn Fix

Family physician Catherine Shanahan, MD, provides a plan to help reboot your fatburn potential. She explains how to restore your ability to burn body fat and how you can shift your metabolic health by following five core rules: eat natural fats, eat slow-digesting carb, seek salt, drink plenty of water, and supplement with vitamins and minerals.

There are three parts: Achieve Your True Health Potential, Meet Your Metabolism, and The Fatburn Fix Plan. I appreciate how the information is presented and generally agree that most people would find the plan doable. It might be appealing to the person who wants to slowly ease into low carb and not give up some of the higher carb foods like legumes and grains.

I would not recommend this book. Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Shanahan, C. (2020). The fatburn fix: boost energy, end hunger, and lose weight by using body fat for fuel. New York: Flatiron Books.

Book Review: Ingredients

This book provides insight regarding how scientific data is collected, disseminated, and consumed regarding ingredients. The author shares the journey of uncovering information about what we eat, drink, inhale, and put on our bodies.

He offers this summation: “Pay attention to safety alerts from the CDC or the FDA. Other than that, if you read something about food and health—especially individual foods, like kale and eggs—on the Internet, treat it like a kitten: have fun playing with it, but don’t let it change your life” (245).

I would only recommend this book to someone who wants the details on why you cannot believe every headline or study that comes out, especially regarding food.

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Zaidan, G. (2020). Ingredients: The strange chemistry of what we put in us and on us. New York: Dutton, Penguin Random House LLC.

Strategies for Healthy Eating While Working from Home

Sharing a 30-minute presentation given to WBG on Strategies for Healthy Eating while Working from Home. Discover how to structure your time, control your environment, keep it simple, and optimize nutrition while working from home. Follow me on Instagram, @SimpsonNutrition.

Book Review: Atomic Habits

If you like self-improvement books, this one is for you. I highly recommend it. It is a how-to guide to make incremental improvements that will lead to significant changes. There are numerous strategies and many examples that appeal to a diverse audience. 

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits and break bad ones. New York: Penguin Random House. 

Book Review: I Quit Sugar

This book provides a step-by-step program to help you eliminate sugar. It is full of tips, tricks, and techniques to guide you through the process. The book begins with an introduction to the author’s story and an overview of what the reader can expect. The 8-Week Program chapter gives detailed instructions, week by week. The Getting Equipped chapter covers kitchen supplies and basic recipes you will need to know before getting started. The Recipe section provides 108 sugar-free recipes. The Bits at the Back of the Book section offers a shopping list for the recipes and additional resources.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in quitting sugar and requiring someone to hold his or her hand through the process. 

Check out my full review on LinkedIn, I Quit Sugar.

Wilson, S. (2013). I Quit Sugar: Your complete 8-week detox program & cookbook. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers.

Book Review: Food Fix

This is not a light read. Dr. Hyman delivers a detailed description of the problems with our food system and maps out the grassroots solutions, policies, and innovations that are needed to improve our health and the health of our planet. The goal of the author is to inspire, educate, and motivate individuals, businesses, and policymakers to think differently about the issues and to implement integrated solutions. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Hyman, M. (2020). Food fix: How to save our health, our economy, our communities, and our planet—one bite at a time. New York: Little, Brown Spark.

Book Review: Brain Wash

I appreciated the anatomy and functional information regarding the brain. The strategies that the authors recommend are doable and accessible. Resources are cited throughout. I'd recommend the book to those that want to learn more about the brain and how to kickstart some changes to improve their health.

Overall, the book seems like it could have been edited down to be more concise and better organized. While there important pull-out quotes, there are no action items or summaries for each chapter that would help the reader to better understand and implement the various ideas. Don’t expect the 10-day plan to be new or radical; instead, these are familiar recommendations presented within the context of your brain. Also, I wish the recipe chapter was simpler. There is a lot of text and directions.

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Perlmutter, D. and Perlmutter, A. (2020). Brain wash: Detox your mind for clearer thinking, deeper relationships, and lasting happiness. New York: Little Brown Spark.

Book Review: Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge

This report from the World Bank Group reviews the overweight/obesity issue including trends, health costs, economic impact, and what can and should be done to implement interventions to tackle this challenge. The time to act is now!

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Shekar, Meera, and Barry Popkin, eds. (2020). Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge. Human Development Perspectives series. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Book Review: The Body

Bill Bryson provides a wonderful story with a ton of interesting twists, turns, and facts. Whether you are a health professional or just curious about how you are made and work, this book is interesting and educational. I recommend it. Check out my full review on LinkedIn.

Bryson, B. (2019). The body: a guide for occupants. New York: Doubleday.

Book Review: The Carnivore Cookbook

If you eat meat, I recommend this book 100%. If you have an autoimmune disease--this is a must-read! Explore the carnivore diet--a simple, animal-based way of eating--which includes animal proteins, excludes inflammatory ingredients, simplifies food choices, and reverses insulin resistance. The authors give a detailed explanation of the science that supports this lifestyle, along with over 100 recipes to enjoy.

Emmerich, M. and Emmerich, C. (2020). The carnivore cookbook: The complete guide to success on the carnivore diet with over 100 recipes, meal plans, and science. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing, Inc.

Check out my full review on LinkedIn.