Review by Qwerty3122 -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks

[Qwerty3122]

[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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I read, Health Tips, Myths , and Tricks (A Physician’s Advice, Health information to liberate us from “Snake Oil”) by Morten E. Tavel, MD. I give it 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t give it 2 because it has a lot of helpful information. I didn’t give it 4 because there were some problems and I wish it was easier to navigate. I read it in PDF form.

This book has 62 chapters and is broken up into 3 sections: Tips (chapters 1- 32), Myths (chapters 33- 52), and Tricks (chapters 53- 62). Topics in the Tips section include a variety of food questions answered on topics like breakfast, coffee, tea, chocolate, cranberries, shellfish, oil oil, sodium, red meat, junk food, and many more. Also included are topics like e-cigarettes, dietary supplements, and medicines. Topics in the Myths section include, energy drinks, GM foods, organic foods, water, allergies, and stretching. Topics in the Tricks section include scams, detoxing, and chiropractic treatment. Each chapter (basically) includes subheads for easy navigation of each chapter, statistics, a conclusion, and helpful tips (like ideal brands and/ or suggestions of brands).

In my opinion, a positive of this book would be the variety of topics covered. With this coverage, the author chooses sources (listed in the back) to back himself up so you know the information is reliable.

In my opinion, a few negatives of this book would be some word choice and bias. This book was published in 2015, but the word choice seems a bit dated. The connotations of some of the words may be taken negatively. Example: Page 112- “...retard aging changes...” Personally, I had to look up the meaning of retard in this sentence and I don’t believe many people would like to do that. Speaking of this, with the word choice, I don’t believe some words are at the level of the average person. If this is the intended audience, and that is the impression I get, this may need to be addressed, I also believe that certain passages and the conclusions in particular tend to have a distinct bias of the author even if it contradicts with the data given. I’m not sure if this was intentional, however I wanted to bring it to the attention of the reader so it is understood that it’s not all scientific but much of it is science based.

A suggestion I have would be to make the book easier to navigate. This book gives me the impression of a reference book where readers may read only bits at a time, the bits most important or helpful at any given time. The sections described on page i or in the table of contents could be written across the top maybe? Or a cover page given at each new section, to separate them more.

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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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Like Qwerty3122's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kdstrack]

Thanks for your informative review. I agree the book covered a great number of health topics. But, as you point out, the author shows his bias. Your points are very valid. Great job. Thanks.

[EvaDar]

In my opinion, a positive of this book would be the variety of topics covered. With this coverage, the author chooses sources (listed in the back) to back himself up so you know the information is reliable.

I enjoyed reading your review. I agree the book was well-sourced. I didn't like the book quite as much as you did, for several reasons, but I appreciated many aspects. I actually liked the organization, and the section on TV hucksters. Check out my review if you like. Thanks again for the great review.