Diet Myth

Of course, a cynic might say that one way of selling a million is to debunk all the other million-sellers. But that's not the motive here. Spector is writing as a scientist concerned about all the bad science masquerading as nutritional guidance. In particular, he takes issue with the apparently logical proposition that calories in - calories burnt = weight change. He argues that different bodies react differently to food intake, and he situates the site of difference in the bowel -- or in the microbes living and working in the bowel. To him, a healthy and above all varied microbe population is more important to a healthy diet than cutting out fats or starches or whatever the latest fad diet has identified as the villain du jour. Not that he doesn't have villains: they are the familiar enough trinity of sugar, trans fat and corn starch, in particular as served up in processed meats and other junk food. Perhaps predictably, but convincingly, he makes a strong case for the Mediterranean panoply of fruit, vegetables, olive oil, cheese and red wine. Meat he sees as useful once a week or so, but not as a staple. Encouragingly for coffee lovers, he sees a fair amount of good coffee as more beneficial than harmful -- and yes, chocolate (dark, high cocoa content) is good for you (in moderation, of course, as with wine and coffee).If you're sick of 'exclusionary' diets but don't just want to stuff your body with junk food, this book offers a sensible and pleasant alternative. And it's well written. .

This book gave me one "ah-hah!" moment after another, each chapter adding a dimension and building on the last. The author brings a lot of different research and studies together to paint a cohesive picture of how the food we eat has changed in the last 100 years, the impact of antibiotics and preservatives, "bad fat" vs "good fat" and so on. He also discusses why people crave (or are repelled by) certain foods, why some people are "picky" eaters - and why some people seem to be able to eat whatever they want (and stay slim) while others eating the same way can't keep weight off (and exercise isn't the issue!).He does present a lot of "science". At times I found that a little hard to follow, and I admit to skimming the more technical bits. But the way the book is written, you can do that if you want to without losing track of the author's points and conclusions. The writing style is crisp and vibrant, with a splash of dry humor here and there.Having read this, I've come away understanding quite a few things I didn't before, and armed with information I can use.

This is a great read.It's not about diet though, at least not in the modern sense of losing weight quickly on a restrictive programme.It's about each aspect of our food; protein, fats, carbohydrates and how they work for us or against us depending on their make up and origins and on our gut reaction to them.Although I don't necessarily agree with everything the author says his basic premise on the importance of the microbiome in determining the health of each individual rings true. He also has a wry humour that I enjoyed and a very few intriguing anecdotes he used along the way.If you are looking for a diet plan its not here. The author draws broad strokes on what is reccomended in general and then you really must experiment on yourself to determine if it suits you or not.The problem for each of us lies in how different we individually are. I see it all the time in couples, one thriving on the household food the other lethargic and constantly battling with their weight and energy.The myth of cholesterol is also busted nicely open although my own GP says it will be a long time before officialdom changes their stance on it (out of embarrasment at getting it so wrong)so if your GP is still pushing statins you may be best advised to get a second opinion! On a positive note I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies made lots of money and may yet make more as a spin off from the side effects.The best outcome from research in books like this is that each baby could be tested early in life for microbiome variety and put on life enhancing courses of FOS or similar to maximise their digestion and overall health. Although we may be a way off of this at least there is a dawning realisation of the importance of birth bacteria, how it can be replaced if a cesarean needs to be carried out and how developing new targeted antibiotics might be a safer option for our long term health.I reccomended it.

This is an amazing book! I could not put it down until I had devoured every word! If you REALLY want to understand why you are thin or fat, healthy or ailing, struggling with the food you eat, or flourishing because of it—or. HOW you were brought into this world and how it affects you, read this book! We ARE our microbiome and it is US! (Thank you Evolution. 😁.) ( And thank you Dr Spector for putting your years of research into this book to help us understand how and why the food we eat becomes the key to good health! )

Love the book, saw him on a documentary and read up on the author. Great book in so many ways. Easy to read even though it is from the UK, he lets the reader know certain words we do not use much and does explain but not all through the book, some you may have to look up. Look forward to reading more of his work. Glad it was on Amazon since the new now is in, this is what I do, shop online and stay with Prime. No car, no planes, no travel, just to the internet to now shop instead of finding a ride to the store. And being older, this works!

Personally I found this book to be incredibly informative and interesting. Through extensive research and well-informed findings, it helped me understand food, nutrition, and how genetics play a role in how your body will react to certain diets.

The book is quite an interesting broad read, but I was expecting somewhat different content. The main problems with this book I found were:1. The book topics sometimes were not well connected (best due dates, and then - pesticides)2. Ketogenic diet is low carb, high fat, not high protein. It is easy to Google that, and it gives a completely different picture. Keto diet was presented in the protein chapter, when actually the main point of the diet is control blood sugar by consuming little carbohydrates, and substituting other calories with ones from fat. Protein should be consumed in moderation since excess will be converted to glucose, precisely what it is trying to reduce. Maybe the author is confusing some other high protein diet with ketogenic.3. Microbiome, microbiome, microbiome.... Yes, I heard that. It is interesting and I should care about it. But what about the rest of picture, e.g. how different macronutrients affect insulin levels? What else is affected by food habits, etc? Everything's about microbiome. It is not wrong, but it's not the title of the book!4. Macronutrient interactions with microbes vaguely mentioned but never elaborated.5. A long chapter about antibiotic exposure at/after birth and c section babies. Again, interesting (and microbiome only related), but off topic, it doesn't relate to the diet.6. Some studies mentioned were a bit dubious, as if they were left for the reader to judge. For example, I am not surprised no differences were detected after people were given more chocolate (high fat-high carb product) for 2 weeks only.7. The phrasing. "Is the thing <probiotics, coffee, wine, etc> a magical cure?" phrase (or a version of it) was said quite a few times, and, as always, the answer is no. It sounds like a tabloid headline, not a serious read.Topics that I would've included/expanded (since the book is called The Diet Myth!):1. Variety of fad diets - briefly mentioned the notion how the diets are supposed to remove toxins, and the author says it's incorrect, doesn't make sense with little more scientific explanation.2. Mechanisms how food interacts with the body, e.g. how certain foods affect insulin, leptin levels, what might drive insulin resistance, etc.3. Comparison of different diets e.g. low carb-high fat vs. high carb-high fat vs. high carb-high fat vs. only meat vs. paleo vs. vegan etc etc. A few were mentioned, but for me it lacked more consistency and reasoning.4. Fasting is an interesting concept. Why was it mentioned so briefly, and then concluded that it helps and you should follow it sometimes. Need more thorough arguments.5. Mechanisms of food sensitivity vs. allergies.All in all, the arguments the book emphasise the importance of the gut biodiversity, but explores very little why some people would benefit from different diets (other than to increase gut microbiome diversity). Some of the final conclusions of the book are very obvious (e.g. avoid junk food and sugar), while other weren't presented with enough data (e.g. why to avoid preservatives and mouthwash). Nothing bad, but it should not be presented as a indisputable fact. Finally the title of the book should be changed to "Gut microbiome and what we can do about it", as the vast majority of it is talking about gut microbiome, and very little about the rest of the picture of how food is digested and affects our body.

This is an easily readable book which I enjoyed a lot. He does seem to be a bit heavy handed on his conclusions: I read "I Contain Multitudes" by Ed Yong afterwards, which is a broader look at the same subject and discusses the same studies as Tim Spector, but argues that a lot of our evidence is ambiguous. He also warns against "microbomania" - thinking that microbes are the cause of and the answer to all our health problems. Spector does sway into this territory a little. To sum up: I recommend this book but would suggest reading more on the topic as this one lacks nuance sometimes

This book has changed my life! 4 years ago I had intensive chemo radiotherapy and surgery for colon cancer. Since then choosing the right foods has been a nightmare. I read this book because I was at my wits end. in the light of all the conflicting advice around about healthy diet this book stands out. It's full of common sense. Since reading it I am enjoying food at last. No more pain.

Tim Spectre rose to prominence recently with the Joint Zoe covid app. Reading this book it's clear he's one of those individuals of boundless energy and a drive to always be 'finding out' stuff. I can imagine him as a kid pulling electrical stuff apart to see how it works. He is not a crusty academic surrounding himself in impenetrable language. Above all, he doesn't take himself too seriously. He writes with humour, insight and in plain English. Consequently, The Diet Myth is a very easy read with numerous laughs.It's five years old now and the microbiome is becoming more well known and it's likely importance is being more thoroughly investigated. At the time of publication, I can see this being relatively groundbreaking.He uses a mix of anecdote and science to look at the role various constituent parts of our diet might play in health and disease, focusing on the effects on the microbiome. He uses the broad framework of nutritional labels to look at each 'nutrient' in turn, adding a few others such as alcohol and artificial sweeteners at the end. Some of the science is a bit outdated now, such as the predimed study which has since been retracted and republished though still with a bit of a cloud over its data. However, this book doesn't claim to give answers but provides lots of 'food' for thought.It's certainly encouraged my to stick with my inherent bias away from 'diet' foods such as highly doctored low fat yoghurts and keep with the more natural full fat plain ones.A highly enjoyable book which might trigger many a discussion.

Clear, rational straightforward guidance to why we are all getting fatter and what we might be able to do about it by someone who is actually qualified to tell us. If you want to know why fat doesn't make you fat and why not all calories are equal start here.