3 out of 4 stars
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Health Tips, Myths and Tricks: A Physician’s Advice by Dr. Morton E. Tavel is a comprehensive, easily-readable guide to your health. This book is organized by three larger sections, each containing numerous, short chapters per section.
The first section, Tips, focuses on practical advice regarding basic health concepts such as weight loss aids, trans fats, and whether or not eating breakfast is still recommended for good dietary practices. He has a wealth of information on specific food groups, including chocolate, wine, cranberries, fish/shellfish, olive oil, red wine, and red meat, among others. This section even lists a secret ingredient to fight periodontal disease that I had never known about before!
The second section, Myths, addresses health advice you would typically read about on the internet and whether that advice is legitimate. He covers topics such as the use of probiotics, whether you should stretch before or after you exercise, and the safety of air travel. He even addresses conspiracy theories such as the effects of wifi on the brain and the safety of irradiated and GMO foods.
The third segment is entitled Tricks. This section addresses the ways in which various agents in the health and wellness industries can trick us into buying products that may or may not have any positive bearing on our health, and indeed how some of these products can have harmful effects. He also addresses how to protect ourselves from scams by revealing the predatory practices used by some healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and supplements suppliers. He gives practical advice on how to recognize false “authorities” in the medical and healthcare industries. Take note: he names names and takes no prisoners in this section.
For much of the book, Dr. Tavel has an authoritative yet light voice in his writing, and the book is quite easy to read. His tone is conversational, and he exhibits a dry sense of humor along with his candor. I found myself laughing out loud in quite a few places! While I read the book straight through, I think it would be a good general resource to have in your library if you want to reference a particular topic. Don’t be put off by the number of chapters, as they’re all quite short and very digestible, if you’ll pardon the pun.
There are several formatting issues and typos that interrupted my enjoyment of this book. For example: inconsistent spacing and paragraph formatting, stylized symbols (such as 𝛑) surrounding the chapter titles that don’t kern well, and even a few instances of “track changes” apparently being left on. I'm not sure if this book was professionally edited or if a proofreader had a good look at it, and for this I had to take away one star in my score.
Additionally, there are a few places in this book where the doctor comes across as a little condescending about certain topics. For instance, Dr. Tavel seemed to be including yoga and meditation in his list of “tricks” that have no medical merit, which, frankly, stumped me. I understand that they are not considered hard-science medicine, but I didn’t quite understand his dismissal of them, either. Thankfully, these comments and accompanying tone are not the majority of the book, and for that reason, I was able to put them aside and appreciate the rest of the book. I did not feel it would be fair to take away another point for this quibble.
In summary, Dr. Tavel’s writing will appeal to people who like good, common sense medical advice. He includes scientific reasoning for each of his recommendations, with a list of citations in the back for you to pursue should you wish. His scientific explanations are not dry, lengthy, or unreadable to a lay person, and for this, I give him props. Much of it was actually fascinating to me! If you are someone who is very scientifically oriented, you will probably enjoy this book quite a bit! If you prefer a lifestyle based more on holistic concepts, organic foods, yoga or meditation, though, you may want to put your feelings on these things aside before reading this, or consider finding a book that better suits your tastes.
Dr. Tavel has thoroughly covered scientific subjects in an accessible way, and despite some of my disappointment with formatting and tone, I will be referencing this book from time to time while on my own health journey. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for practical solutions to their health concerns.
I rate Health Tips, Myths and Tricks: A Physician’s Advice 3 out of 4 stars.
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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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