2 out of 4 stars
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The Book HEALTH TIPS, MYTHS, AND TRICKS A Physician’s Advice by Morton E. Tabel, MD covers a wide range of health topics in its 62 chapters ranging from what you should eat to prevent certain disease, products that are out there to fool you, and health conspiracies. It is, of course, non-fiction in its content and it hosts information from numerous studies. Morton wrote the book as a response to the overwhelming amount of false information about what’s healthy and what isn’t in the world. The majority of the chapters cover information regarding healthy eating and how to deal with common health problems, such as joint pain, allergies, and colds. After that are myths and what the actual facts are. These chapters cover topics ranging from energy drinks to anti-vaccination. Finally is the set of chapters about products and services that flat out don’t work or are very risky.
While I found the book interesting, considering my health is very important to me, I give the book a 2 out of 4 stars. The reason I give it that rating is because much of the information given is information you would receive if you actually ever had a conversation with your doctor, or even did a little research about your own health. While this book would be completely useless to someone who was knowledgeable about their health, it would be useful to those who need a little bit of help here and there.
There’s also the matter of how it’s written and some of the information held in there. The aforementioned 62 chapters seem daunting, but most of the chapters are two or three pages long. To this effect, it makes the book look and feels much longer than it actually is. Since the chapters are so chopped out, it felt like it could have been condensed. Many of the chapters talked about a lot of the same things and instead of separating them out into three different chapters, they all could’ve been together. It made for a very disjointed read and I got rather bored after getting through four or five chapters. When it came to the information, I was shocked to see less than 100 citations in the back of the book. Morton says “A study done…” on almost every page of the book, sometimes even multiple times a page, which leaves me to wonder where those citations are. Due to this, I really question the validity of the information he’s sharing.
Also, some of the information and advise he shares is either alarming or seemingly lacking in research. When discussing things like organic foods and GMO’s he seems to forget that most people try to buy organic and GMO-free foods because of unethical business practices and not health problems. While there are likely people out there who believe those are better than standard foods, I’ve found that most buy those products because they’re not connected to major companies that work to destroy small businesses. In those chapters, it was almost like he was just trying to find a filler or to find something controversial to talk about. There’s also one thing that stood out in particular to me. (spoiler alert) In chapter 52 Morton talks about regular check-ups and myths regarding when you should get them. One of the first things he covers is female pelvic exams and how it should be dropped from routine care on healthy women who aren’t pregnant. This rang alarm bells for me because he cites a single study to prove his point, especially considering this isn’t his speciality. Morton specializes in cardiovascular care. It’s like he forgot that pelvic exams are done to see if there’s something wrong that a woman doesn’t notice because there are lots of things that don’t show symptoms.
Really, this book doesn’t offer much if you know something about your own health. It has a few pieces of information and can reaffirm what you already knew but it’s really not all that impressive. Morton created a very long book for something that could have been much shorter and a much easier read. He also probably could have covered fewer topics during his writing. I would recommend this as a good way to start learning about issues in health, or even your own health, but make sure you use this as a stepping stone in the right direction.
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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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