The Diet Myth: Why the Secret to Health and Weight Loss is Already in Your Gut

Should be read in conjunction with The Obesity Code by Jason Fung. I have read a lot about diet and exercise over the past few years, and have experimented with most diets that are out there, and these two books hit the mark pretty well. Here are my takeaways from both books, starting with The Diet Myth:99% of the time [my number], any struggle we have with health and wellness is a result of two types of imbalance:- Imbalance of the gut microbiome (The Diet Myth)- Imbalance of fat hormones, primarily insulin (The Obesity Code)-1% of the time, our struggles come from outside forces, including genetics and unpreventable illnessImbalance of the gut microbiome can be solved by these few things:- Eat a “Mediterranean diet” including primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oil. Spending three weeks on an elimination diet will help get you started with this (excluding dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, grains including corn products, and refined sugar)- Increase the diversity of your diet by aiming for 20-30 different types of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts per week- Eat meat sparingly. Vegetarian before 5 p.m. is a good way to accomplish this- Eat seasonal produce- Incorporate raw foods into your diet to replenish your gut microbiome- Increase your consumption of prebiotics, including lemon peel, raw garlic, and raw onion- Increase your consumption of probiotics through things like sauerkraut, plain Greek yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, pickles, and “live” cheeses- Don’t disinfect everything you see- Reduce or eliminate consumption of refined carbohydrates, refined sugar (including fruit juices), and processed foods. No consumption before 5 p.m. is a good way to accomplish this- Maintain a long-term approach to wellness. If you can improve your gut microbiome by 1% per day, you’ll be doing great in a few monthsImbalance of fat hormones can be solved by these few things:- Reduce or eliminate snacking- Reduce or eliminate consumption of refined carbohydrates, refined sugar (including fruit juices), and processed foods. No consumption before 5 p.m. is a good way to accomplish this- Balance consumption of carbohydrates with consumption of fats and proteins- Eliminate consumption of artificial sweeteners which signal to the body that you are eating calories when, in fact, you are not- Narrow your eating window to 8-12 hours to give your body a long break from insulin and a dose of growth hormone- Avoid fast food (for a number of reasons, but primarily the lack of buildup to putting calories in your body)- Make breakfast optional (or less than 50 calories)- Experiment with intermittent fasting and decide what works best for you- Improve sleep hygiene by maintaining a regular sleep schedule, sleeping in complete darkness, not using electronics before bed, and not using caffeine or alcohol- Decrease stress by meditating, increasing exercising, and spending time with people who make you happy- Maintain a long-term approach to hormone imbalance. If you can improve your insulin intolerance by 1% per day, you’ll be doing great in a few months. Most people gain 1-2 pounds a year, so why do we think it’s healthy to lose 1-2 pounds a week?You’ll notice I didn’t say anything about calories and little about exercise. These are sort of red herrings and you should consider them a small part of the equation. If you follow the above suggestions, you probably won’t have to worry about calories. And, as a bonus, you’ll feel so good that exercise will come naturally as a form of play!

A very interesting and well-researched book. The author is a physician who conducts studies on identical twins, which allows him to try different treatments on people with exactly the same genes and compare the results. The book is about how your gut microbes contribute to your health, and how your diet affects your gut microbes. My only quibble with this book is he is too quick to dismiss studies that yield intriguing results but aren't as rigorous as he would like - for instance he doesn't accept epidemiological studies as valid, because indeed such studies can seem to show false correlations, but there are some subjects that it is impossible/unethical to test directly on humans. So as a result he refers to mouse and rat studies rather often. The result is he dismisses health issues that may be valid, such as the effect of nightshade vegetables on some people, and concerns about A2 milk. As is common with doctors, he dismisses concerns that are not statistically significant - but we are all individuals, and some of us may not fit neatly into statistical models. Nevertheless, for the vast majority of us, this book will be illuminating and helpful, whether you are trying to lose weight, solve digestive issues, or simply improve your health.

One of the best books I have read. I have done a lot of my own research whenever new diets come out and most of what this author discusses is information I have come across. The author condenses the information and pulls it all together to make it more understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found myself learning new things and understanding why most diets do not work; they are as individual as people-- what works for some, does not work for others.I have also been following the latest developments on the importance of our gut microbes and this book helps clarify, and put into perspective a new way of looking at ourselves, our nutrition requirements and our relationship to food.What I liked most about this book is the fact the author is straight-forward and admits that we do not have all of the answers. He is seeking the truth just like everyone else so he does not make any outlandish claims. He is a professor and most of his knowledge is from other studies and his own research with twins. The book even has references that he cites which I appreciate because I like to follow-up with information I find interesting.

This book is a very interesting, comprehensive, engaging and mildly humorous. (Although, I could do without the smarmy 'left' and anti-American administration comments - thankfully there aren't many). Overall, a really good guide to understanding how your microbiome rules your world. A definite recommendation from me.

The information about gut bacteria has been available for a while. This book does a good job of explaining the scientific resarch and summarizing it's findings. It also has good practical information on what we can do to improve our health.

This is such a good read! Not focused on 1 get skinny fast fad! Gives so much information so you can draw your own conclusions. After reading you can determine what is best for YOU!

Good

This book provided so much information, without confusion. I read a lot about health, eating and exercise. This is definitely one of the best books I've found.

Very well documented book, with information covering all kinds of diets (where the word "diet" covers whatever kind of food someone chooses to eat), with an accent on studying the ingredients used on the so called "Western diet" and comparing those to what's used on various other types of diets. It shows great effort to document.I recommend this book to anyone interested to better understand how the health is influenced by the choices made regarding food.

A fantastic roundup of the science on nutrition and our microbial health, with intriguing intersections from international food cultures and genetics. Not ideological but evidence-based, this book could have been horrible to read for the general public. Instead, it strikes a fantastic balance between staying true to the research and truly engaging explanations.

Much more interesting than gimmick diet information; this book is based on current scientific study, but very easy to read. There are references to nutrition factors that are missing from many current diets.

I've been applying Tim Spector's research since it was broadcast on the nature of things and I must say it is the absolute eating advice. I've gone from 188 lbs to 172lbs in two months and I feel more energized.

My expectations were probably too high. I feel like I have gained knowledge but I wish the book ended with more concrete actions for everyone instead of there is not one size fits all.