Diet Book Review: How To Eat

If you’re confused about the best way to eat, this book lays it out simple and clearly. It addresses all the traditional plus the latest diet trends and gives the pro’s and con’s for each. The book is written in question and answer format, making it very easy to read.

What’s the book and what does it cover exactly? It is called How to Eat: All Your Food and Diet Questions Answered, by Mark Bittman and David L. Katz, M.D. I find this book totally useful for anyone because it employs common sense. The main message is to eat mostly plant foods — fruits, veggies, lentils, beans and whole grains, nuts and seeds. Animal products are suggested as a possible addition in small amounts, if desired. The reasons are explained. The guidelines exemplify what is included in traditional diets around the world, including Blue Zone research.

How to Eat addresses weight loss, and why as humans we naturally crave salt, sugar, and fat. It also explains why women gain weight more easily than men, and problems with gaining weight around the mid-region. Then various trendy diets are covered, including Paleo, Keto, Whole 30, Anti-Inflammatory Diets, DASH Diet, and more.

Dietary Patterns and Lifestyle come next, and includes topics like the pro’s and con’s of eating breakfast and debate about eating organic. Different food categories come next, from fruits and veggies through superfoods and drinks. The questions of concern in each category are discussed, such as the benefits or downside of eating dairy or fish, GMO’s and soybeans, why fake meats are bad, and much more.

The next section covers the building blocks of nutrition: protein, carbs, fat, vitamins and minerals and then more information about salt, sugar, cholesterol, and other basic topics. The book ends with how to evaluate nutritional science and research.

Even though I knew a lot of the information in the book already, I found it a good review. Plus I learned a lot of new things and had some of my own conclusions from self-experimentation supported by their conclusions. There were a few things in the book that I disagreed with, but not many. For instance, they state that in the end it doesn’t matter in what part of the day you get the majority of your calories. For the average person, the quality of their food and how much they are eating counts more. I agree in part, but from personal experience I find that eating lighter at night leads to better sleep and more alertness the next day (these are tenets of yoga and Ayurveda). I also find that my weight loss clients have an easier time losing weight if they stop eating at 7 or 8 PM.

All in all, this is a great read and a book you can use as a reference and go back to over and over. It’s a quick read and well worth the time.