This is an excellent book on how food relates to hormones, which in turn relate to the diseases that are plaguing modern society. The author has decades of experience as a physician and author, and literally wrote the book on nutrition that is used in American medical schools. He talks about how diseases and conditions like diabetes, thyroid disease, cancer, infertility, Alzheimer's, ED, high cholesterol, depression, acne, etc. (even hair loss) are all linked to our hormones and how much of an effect eating animal products has on those hormones. He recommends a low-fat, plant based diet, and provides hundreds of studies to back up his advice (many of which he's helped run, with large numbers of subjects). It was especially interesting to read of all of the societies that once had low numbers of problems because of their traditional diets, that now have the same diseases and conditions that we do because they've adopted our diets (examples -- Japanese men had low instances of hair loss in the past and Chinese women had low breast cancer rates, but as their diets have changed those rates have gone way up). And instead of just using anecdotal stories that could be correlation instead of causation, he further illustrates the point with large-scale studies that replicated the findings.

The basic advice comes down again and again to the huge role that fiber in particular plays in helping to regulate our hormones (which we get from large amounts of fruits and veggies), but also to avoid the hormones that are in dairy, eggs, meats and other animal products, along with the importance of movement and exercise. He provides many case histories of patients who have reversed serious diseases like diabetes, completely gotten off medication, lost significant amounts of weight, etc.

One of the things that kept hitting me as I was reading this book was that he's after long-term health for his patients and readers. There are a lot of popular diets right now for the short term but I appreciate that he's interested in giving information that will keep you healthy into old age.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

Having previously read his book on Cheese and the problems with it in our diets, I recognized some of the recurring information in this book. He did a much better job this time around, not making me feel as alienated and attacked as a non-vegan. Born and raised as a Cheesehead for more decades than I am prepared to admit, giving up dairy is going to be near impossible for me. That said, I am willing to give it a try. Neal Barnard makes a strong case and does back up his convictions.
I do believe we can survive and even enjoy meals with a plant based focus. I have experienced the inflammatory effects of certain categories of consumption. I have had the concerns about not getting enough protein in my diet without meat products. All of these objections were addressed in this book.
I appreciate that menus and recipes are included to get me started.

Comprehensive treatise on the human body's nutritional requirements and reactions to certain foods, this book made for compelling reading. It is also a stepping off point for some lively, perhaps even heated, discussions. It is an eye-opener for sure. I appreciate that he included various chapters targeting specific conditions or issues.

I have strong feelings about health/medical books. I was prepared not to like this, but I really did (admittedly, I skipped chapters that don't apply to me, like men's cancer and PCOS and diabetes, so I can't assess those).

Things I liked:
+ It's written by an actual M.D.
+ There's a reference list! With actual citations in the chapters! (This should be a "duh" aspect, but surprisingly a lot of "wellness" books don't include any actual citations). And the sources are often legitimate, peer-reviewed, high quality studies!
+ He doesn't once mention "Leaky Gut", because if he did I would have quit reading on the spot. I'm so freaking sick of everyone on the internet (even MDs, but granted they're all commercialized sell-out MDs) saying that leaky gut is the cause of Hashimotos, and Celiac, and literally every other ailment.
+ He doesn't demonize gluten (at least in the chapters I read).
+ He doesn't talk about detoxing (because he's an MD and realizes that detoxing is not something drinking juice or taking a pill will do)
+ Promotes plant-based diets without being too preachy about it. He has guidelines for how to get started and doesn't say you have to throw everything out of your fridge immediately.
+ He includes sample meal plans and recipes that aren't crazy complicated or expensive.

Things I didn't like:
+ He demonizes oil. I haven't gone too deeply into the literature on oil's impact on the endocrine system, so maybe it can mess with hormones (which is the underlying theme of the book), but there are a lot of important nutrients in EVOO and other oiles that vegetarians/vegans need (healthy fats, Omega 3/ALA, etc.). Also, personally I think pushing people to avoid oil at all costs can lead to disordered eating (just watch any youtube video from someone who is anti-oil, and you'll likely see 1000s of other dangerous eating behaviors along with it).

Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!