Food
What the Heck Should I Eat?
Mark Hyman, MD

Hachette Audio
February 2018/ ASIN: B07B2Z6J7D
Nonfiction, Cooking/Food, Miscellaneous/General, Self-Help - Audiobook

Reviewed by Leslie C. Halpern

Leslie C. Halpern

Best-selling health and nutrition author, Dr. Mark Hyman, offers his latest book on picking the right foods for optimal health in Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? In this nearly 10½ hour unabridged audiobook, he describes in his own enthusiastic voice how to maintain a “Pegan Diet” (a cross between the Paleo Diet and a Vegan Plan). His suggested plan is the same as what he’s been espousing in his earlier works, such as Eat Fat, Get Thin.

He says people are sick, fat, and out of shape from eating sugary, processed, and adulterated non-food, and recommends eating whole foods that are locally sourced whenever possible. This how-to guide suggests simplifying what we eat for fuel, and looking at each meal as the potential for adding medicine to the body. Good food is like medicine; non-foods or unhealthy foods are like ingesting sickness. He says to avoid sugary, starchy, chemical-laden products that derail our attempts to be healthy. Following his Pegan Diet will provide enough energy to live a full life of your dreams, according to the book.

The author claims that food is the way to fix much of what’s wrong with this world. Different types of food are examined, along with lists of what to eat and not to eat. The book recommends delicious whole foods full of texture and flavor, enhanced by selected nutritional supplements. As a medical doctor, Hyman provides science-based information, along with extensive references to support his claims about 12 specific food groups (including meat, poultry/eggs, milk/dairy, vegetables, fruits, and fats/oils).

For readers who keep up with the latest advances in health and nutrition, there won’t be a tremendous amount of new material here. For those who are unfamiliar with current diet trends and people who are confused by the wealth of conflicting information (fats are good/fats are bad; coconut oil is good/coconut oil is bad), this book offers a clearly defined, comprehensive plan from a highly respected, best-selling source of information on health, nutrition, and functional medicine.