Review by semily -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks

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semily
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Joined: 28 Feb 2017, 09:05
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Review by semily -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks

Post by semily »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks by Morten E. Tavel M.D. is a health and lifestyle book focused on fact checking various confusing and inaccurate health claims that the media and certain industries have thrown at us.

The first sections is about Tips. Tavel methodically explains an issue, discusses health benefits and side effects, and then determines whether or not this is a good or bad thing for your health. For example, in the chapter discussing weight loss he first sets the context by describing the obesity epidemic, suggests solutions, and concludes by reminding the reader of healthy ways to reduce their calorific intake. He does so in a very straightforward and simple way which makes it easy to follow and enables you to feel informed.

The Myths section of the book is concerned with misconceptions surrounding health. Again, this covers a wide array of subjects. As with before, each topic is described, discussed and evaluated. The author does so quite briefly and is quick to confront concerns people might have rather than wasting time by being too long-winded. I like how throughout the book he answered obvious questions that the reader might have and did so with a clear and precise voice. He also didn’t get too personal by relying on his own opinion, and instead focused on using references to support his ideas.

The last section of the book surrounds Tricks. This described ways to avoid being conned by the misconceptions he had previously described. He helpfully describes ways to look out for disclaimers and how to avoid being manipulated by popular figures into relying on apparent health products that either have no benefit or are actually bad for you. He does so in detail here, from describing U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings to discussing laws concerning certain issues. I like that this section of the book had a lot more information as it was probably the part that could have the greatest effect on the reader. The fact that it was at the end of the book also meant that the reader is left with these final conclusions and can go forward to implement some of his ideas if they so choose.

I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. It was easy to read and understand which was a nice surprise as I worried it might be overly complicated as the author is a physician. I appreciated that he used lay terms but also did not patronize the reader. He supplied references for his claims and therefore avoided a lot of the mistakes that the people and companies he criticized had made. The book was laid out in an organised way which meant that each section followed a certain formula, and within chapters you knew to expect context, findings and a conclusion. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in health and lifestyle books that don’t fall prey to popular trends and rely on evidence instead.

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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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