Review by Doaa Wael -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks

Doaa Wael · Post by **Doaa Wael** » 01 Oct 2017, 12:08

[Following is a volunteer review of "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

When it comes to our health, it is important to have our facts straight and adopt the habits that will ensure we have a healthy lifestyle. We, often unknowingly, pick up eating and lifestyle habits from our friends, family, popular society’s misconceptions or the media. Many of these habits are not necessarily healthy and are, often, harmful. Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks by Morton E Tavel, MD offers a great variety of supported facts about everyday health concerns and clarifications about common false beliefs. This book suits many people with health and lifestyle-related interests.

Besides the general health topics discussed, there were specific chapters directed towards those who suffer from chronic allergies or back pain, diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolemia. Those chapters were addressed from a purely medical point of view, in a way that is superior to normal health articles. For example, the efficacy of non-inflammatory pain relief medications, also known as NSAIDs, in relieving chronic back was a particularly interesting chapter. This brilliant mix of everyday health issues and slightly specific health topics makes this book suitable for both health conscious and non-health conscious people.

The style of the book was easy to read and follow through; the depth of information provided was of the appropriate amount and not at all boring. Many of the information provided was not your typical “Top 10 XYZ facts” that you generically find online. For example, some chapters discussed topics that I would have never considered searching for, such as, fish consumption or arsenic in food! Not only that, but Tavel’s claims were all backed up by solid evidence abstracted from research papers performed by well-known and trustworthy organizations such the American Heart Association. In my eyes, the integrity of the book has soared up when I saw the author supporting his claims with results from some studies that I have read earlier during my medical studies. This book is like reading lots of research papers to get documented evidence about useful and critical information but without the hassle of sifting through tons of papers to decide which ones you can trust and what topics should you be looking for.

I think the chapters' headings were creative and gripping. It was one of the primary reasons I kept on reading. Some of the interesting topics discussed were, back pain relief, how to get better sleep, cranberries as thanksgiving's toppings, exercise’s relationship with Alzheimer, supplementary diets, towel hand drying versus blow-drying and much more. The book also delved into the truth about GM food, gluten, energy drinks, fear of Wi-Fi, rapid weight loss, and persistent nasal allergies.It is apparent how the book is diverse from the above non-exhaustive list.

For each chapter, the author would introduce you to the topic and then slam you (gently) with the facts. Not only that, but he tells you exactly why this topic is important, with relevant statistics. The book was loaded with relevant and interesting facts and statistics that served as the chapter primer. I found those very interesting as they allowed me to view the entire picture and imagine how big of an issue this is and how much importance should I give it. For example, one of the interesting opening statistics for the chapter about coffee was that it is the second most consumed drink in the United States, water being the first of course.

All the topics discussed were dealt with transparency and were free of bias. For example, again following the coffee example, while the chapter was meant to address the hazards of habitual coffee consumption, the author didn’t fail to mention the benefits of coffee, to illustrate to the readers the full picture and give them the freedom to create an informed decision. This style of addressing the pros and cons clears up the confusion and false beliefs often created when other sources would discuss the issue from only one perspective, creating contradicting claims in favor or against. For example, the book mentioned how chocolate is both healthy and harmful, and that it depends on the quantity consumed. Likewise, for each chapter, the book tells you the pros of something, when does it become harmful and how. I believe this book does a great job with clearing up misconceptions and influencing the adoption and maintenance of good and healthy habits.

At the end of each chapter, the author provides you with recommendations on how should you proceed after learning this new information. I enjoy a book with original and practical tips. For example, one of the interesting and very informative facts that I have never heard before was about the hidden trans-fats. In the United States and many other countries, food with less than 0.5g of trans-fats per serving is labeled as “containing 0 trans-fats” which is inaccurate. So consuming large amounts of that food will accumulate hidden trans-fats with each serving we ingest. On the long run, this can be quite unhealthy, provided with the dangers of a diet high in trans-fats mentioned in the book. So after telling you about this, the book advises you to check the food labels before making purchase choices. Similarly, whenever the book tells you to steer clear from something, it always provides you with healthy alternatives or solutions. I think this is one of the most important parts about giving advice, providing alternatives. For example, after introducing the dangers of junk food, it provided you with practical tips on how to cut down junk food gradually.

Sometimes we know that something is harmful, yet we stick to our habits anyway. We often need a tiny push to change our habits. Perhaps some elaborate information or convincing evidence. This is exactly what Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks has done for me! After reading the book, I have successfully decided to give up some unhealthy habits I had, such as skipping breakfast. I was also encouraged to maintain some healthy habits that I have recently adopted such as green tea consumption. Additionally, the book has encouraged me to take on new habits such as careful consumption of some dietary supplements. For that reason, I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. The book was divided into three main domains. My only recommendation is that this book would have been better if the subtopics under each domain were clustered as I felt the order of the subtopics was rather random. I personally like randomness as I prefer to be surprised by what is coming up next but I believe many readers would prefer if similar subtopics were grouped together. Moreover, I would have loved to see more on weight loss. Apart from that, the book was very helpful, extensive and practical.

******
Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Doaa Wael's review? Post a comment saying so!

Kelebogile Mbangi · Post by **Kelebogile Mbangi** » 02 Oct 2017, 04:22

You make this sound so credible yet easy to read. I have been wanting to read it for quite some time now. Thank you for your review.

readandsmile · Post by **readandsmile** » 02 Oct 2017, 08:29

I love this book. your review give me more information about health. thank you, I like it.

Doaa Wael · Post by **Doaa Wael** » 02 Oct 2017, 13:18

Kelebogile Mbangi wrote:You make this sound so credible yet easy to read. I have been wanting to read it for quite some time now. Thank you for your review.

Thank you! Your feedback means a lot to me!

-- 02 Oct 2017, 20:19 --