3 out of 4 stars
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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks. A Physician’s Advice. Health information to liberate us from
“Snake Oil” by Morton E. Tavel qualifies as some sort of a myth-buster novel. Morton E Tavel was a physician specialist in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases. The format had a feel to be likened with academic journals. As I was reading through I felt like I was reading a medical and social science journal on the truth about society and its perceptions on health matters and beliefs. How much pseudo medication are you taking? Do you believe in supplements? What is your take on the food you ingest daily? Well, learn more about your body and your decisions by reading Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks...
We all trust advertisements and marketers when they tell us how powerful their brands are without any solid proof. Also, much of society does not read the nutritional value of the products it buys. We tend to believe what we are told. With simplified language, the author presents factual information on the most prominent health issues and tips to lead a healthier lifestyle. Being misinformed has major financial repercussions on consumers as well. Tavel was smart in presenting myths that you would never think would truly affect your lifestyle. Why does society protest against GMO and GM foods? Is society's fear's against these real?
I loved how the author tackled the aforementioned issues. He did it in a very warm and educational way throughout. The book has a soft tone to it and presents hard facts for consumers. I commend his professional editing and ability to address a wider variety of the audience. I do not make major grocery and medicinal decisions but I was able to comprehend his message and keep on reading as if I made all the buying decisions. With a biology and physics background, I had an attachment to the terms and definitions presented, so it made reading even more agreeable and understandable. His dry humor is notable and makes the book come off as more friendly. we also see the friendliness in his usage of language, for example, he used the slang word "beets" to say "beetroot".
Ever struggled with the craving for "feel good foods"? The book is a good place to go to to learn the science behind why. I have a general example of water. In the novel, the author presents some needed information on tap water and bottled water. He presents the truth about these in contrast to each other. Overall, the safest thing to do is to research the foods you choose to eat thoroughly. On the other hand, I had trouble with the later chapters as they had extensively detailed information that was already emphasized in the previous chapters. I was also skeptical with Chapter 54 where the author presented bias information on advertisement. Marketers use extreme measures of marketing for sales, but also one can presume that they market to sober-minded people, to completely claim that cures that are "sworn to be miraculous by responsible scientists and representatives who claimed to use the product are misleading" is also misleading.
I found only a few errors such as spacing between words. For example "are" was written as "ar e" at some point. I did have a problem with the signs used with the chapter headings which are 'π' and 'o'. Besides the book becoming exhaustively informative at the end, the author did an amazing job in conveying the message. I give it a 3 out of 4 mainly because of the noted.The title also missed punctuation marks.
The book can be read by students interested in the field, consumers and anyone looking to improve their lifestyles. Much of the content is based on information gathered in the United States, so I had some problem relating to brands as well although I could recognize a few like the famous Walmart.
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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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