A few months ago a kind woman from Rodale books sent me the book Younger (Thinner) You Diet written by Eric R. Braverman, MD. I have been meaning to review it for at least a month now, such is the life of a chronic procrastinator...
Well, here goes:
Braverman asserts that the key to losing weight is all about brain biochemistry, essentially the balance of several critical neurotransmitters. I was extremely excited to read the book, because it is definitely an intriguing idea. But I was more than a little thrown off by the first sentence of the book, "What if I told you that everything you know about dieting is completely wrong?" Hmmm... well I am going to assume that the author needed a catchy one liner to grab his readers' attention.
The first several chapters are dedicated to various studies used to support Braverman's ideas regarding diet and brain chemistry. The second half of the book is dedicated to the actual diet.
There is also a quiz that helps you to assess which of your neurotransmitters are out of whack. Unfortunately, all of mine seemed to be (that would explain a lot).
After reading the first several chapters, I was unsure what to think as I am not an expert in neurobiology. However, I noticed that Dr Braverman referenced the professor I work for on three different occasions and came to some pretty wild conclusions about his research (he also called the university by 2 different names, which I thought was strange). I decided to go to the source, and ask my professor his thoughts on this. He flipped through the book and said that the author suggested some unfounded conclusions regarding biochemistry. For example: dairy foods have been shown to break down body fat (this is true, based on several studies), then Braverman suggests this is because dietary fat is a precursor to acetylcholine (maybe so, but this has not been studied... it could be calcium or even the branched chain amino acids).
The diet is better than the first half of the book. The diet promotes tea, low fat dairy, colorful fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water. The author also promotes exercise and provides meal plans and recipes for the reader. The diet is well balanced and sensible, and I feel confident in saying that if you followed the diet you will lose weight. Do I think that is because of altered brain chemistry? No. I think it is most likely due to fewer calories. Study after study has found that as long as you take in fewer calories than you need, you will lose weight. I think more research is needed in order for the author to make the assertions he does.
Overall conclusion: Braverman has good suggestions that will most likely result in weight loss, but he sucks at biochemistry.
Enjoy!
Well, here goes:
Braverman asserts that the key to losing weight is all about brain biochemistry, essentially the balance of several critical neurotransmitters. I was extremely excited to read the book, because it is definitely an intriguing idea. But I was more than a little thrown off by the first sentence of the book, "What if I told you that everything you know about dieting is completely wrong?" Hmmm... well I am going to assume that the author needed a catchy one liner to grab his readers' attention.
The first several chapters are dedicated to various studies used to support Braverman's ideas regarding diet and brain chemistry. The second half of the book is dedicated to the actual diet.
There is also a quiz that helps you to assess which of your neurotransmitters are out of whack. Unfortunately, all of mine seemed to be (that would explain a lot).
After reading the first several chapters, I was unsure what to think as I am not an expert in neurobiology. However, I noticed that Dr Braverman referenced the professor I work for on three different occasions and came to some pretty wild conclusions about his research (he also called the university by 2 different names, which I thought was strange). I decided to go to the source, and ask my professor his thoughts on this. He flipped through the book and said that the author suggested some unfounded conclusions regarding biochemistry. For example: dairy foods have been shown to break down body fat (this is true, based on several studies), then Braverman suggests this is because dietary fat is a precursor to acetylcholine (maybe so, but this has not been studied... it could be calcium or even the branched chain amino acids).
The diet is better than the first half of the book. The diet promotes tea, low fat dairy, colorful fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water. The author also promotes exercise and provides meal plans and recipes for the reader. The diet is well balanced and sensible, and I feel confident in saying that if you followed the diet you will lose weight. Do I think that is because of altered brain chemistry? No. I think it is most likely due to fewer calories. Study after study has found that as long as you take in fewer calories than you need, you will lose weight. I think more research is needed in order for the author to make the assertions he does.
Overall conclusion: Braverman has good suggestions that will most likely result in weight loss, but he sucks at biochemistry.
Enjoy!