How Not to Diet / Michael Greger

 

How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The path to health is paved with good intestines."

Finally, I have found the book I was looking for, one that gives practical, scientific advice on how to improve the health of the microbiome! And it's pretty much one word, people: FIBER. You can't go wrong eating more fiber foods and weeding out the CRAP (calorie rich and processed) foods.
There is still so much that we don't know about the human body. There are all kinds of receptor cells all through our systems and we don't know what they are set to receive.

Two of the mystery receptors…were found heavily expressed in our gut, on our nerves, and in our immune, muscle, and fat cells. We knew they must be vital, but we didn't know what activated them until 2003…And the keys that fit into those important locks were short-chain-fatty-acids that our gut bacteria make when we feed them fiber. This may be how our gut bacteria communicate with us….[these receptors’] existence gives us crucial insight into how fiber could play such a critical role in so many of our chronic diseases.

The good news? You can eat large amounts of fruit, veg, and beans, enough to keep you nice & full, and still lose weight as well as make all your receptors happy. Happy receptors mean less inflammation and perhaps will mitigate allergic response. I need to read this book (or at least sections of it) as inspirational literature on a regular basis. I'm working on developing my own collection of appropriate recipes in order to make this lifestyle happen for me. Plus spending more time in the produce section of the grocery store.

If you're like me and you have tried upteen diet plans, Weight Watchers (2 or 3 times), and hypnosis, and you still struggle with weight, I think this book is a must read. I may not agree with the author 100% on every issue, but he has amassed an enormous amount of research here. Before trying yet another diet, I would recommend reading his assessment of it.

Now, this is not a critique of library cataloguers (because I used to be one and would have done the same) but the only subject headings in the library catalogue were Weight Loss and Nutrition. Those two headings do describe the contents, but if I wasn't interested in those, I would have missed the microbiome aspect entirely. I think microbiome research is some of the most important for health being done these days.

Dr. Greger has a cookbook of course, so I'm going to have a look at that, but I've upped my consumption of salads, raw vegetables , and fruit already. I’d let that slip during this whole pandemic situation. Perhaps it's the good old placebo effect, but I'm feeling more energetic and maybe a bit happier. I have no illusions that I'll be able to do all the things he recommends (or even want to), but I can improve my habits gradually.

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