Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy

The instructions were clear, and the advice was easy to follow for most people in real life. The references were solid, like those in a good popular science book. I wouldn't have read this book if it weren't for the review on redpenreviews. The one thing that made me skeptical was the advice on taking supplements, as the medical community has differing opinions on this.

If you have ever been confused about all of the nutritional advice floating around and have wanted to get to the bottom of it - once and for all - then this book is for you. Written by the person behind the glycemic load index and also the team lead of the Nurses and Health professionals health survey, this book packs a ton of useful information in a very digestible form.

Simply put, you need to follow a healthy diet as it has the double benefits of making your day great as well as the long term benefits of protecting you from diseases and such.

Nutrition science research is not your typical research area. There are a lot of challenges associated with the field, which the author lets you know at the onset. It is always good to know about the state of knowledge in an area of research before you act on its findings. It is only in an age where people live long enough that they need worry about lifestyle diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and cancers. However the rapidly evolving nature of the field makes it important to be abreast of the latest developments.

The book starts off from the author's strong opposition to the US government's dietary guidelines and presents a healthier version of the same. Then it goes on to explain the motivation for the advice by teaching you the elementary aspects of nutrition and its connection with good health. On the way, you learn about why keeping a healthy weight range is one of the most important steps to be taken, the chemistry of saturated and unsaturated fats, the differing action of LDL and HDL cholesterol in our blood, the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, the reasons to get a multivitamin pill and lots and lots more.

Overall the book is an excellent resource for everything related to diet and its connection with health, covering everything from grocery shopping to food recipes. If treated more as a reference guide than a pleasant and light read like Michael Pollen's Food Rules, you might not be disappointed. Also if you are in a hurry and only want the advice without any of the reasoning and the evidence, you can skip to one of the last chapters which gives you a working summary of all the practical advice in the book.