Hype

A Doctor's Guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims, and Bad Advice - How to Tell What's Real and What's Not

By: Nina Shapiro MD, Kristin Loberg

Narrated by: Nina Shapiro

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018

An engaging and informative look at the real science behind our most common beliefs and assumptions in the health sphere

There is a lot of misinformation thrown around these days, especially online. Headlines tell us to do this, not that - all in the name of living longer, better, thinner, younger.

In Hype, Dr. Nina Shapiro distinguishes between the falsehoods and the evidence-backed truth. In her work at Harvard and UCLA, with more than twenty years of experience in both clinical and academic medicine, she helps patients make important health decisions everyday. She’s bringing those lessons to life here with a blend of science and personal stories to discuss her dramatic new definition of “a healthy life.”

Hype covers everything from exercise to supplements, diets to detoxes, alternative medicine to vaccines, and medical testing to media coverage. Shapiro tackles popular misconceptions such as toxic sugar and the importance of drinking eight glasses of water a day. She provides simple solutions anyone can implement, such as worrying less about buying products labeled organic or natural, and more about skipping vaccines, buying into weight-loss fads, and thinking you can treat cancer through diet alone.

This book is as much for single individuals in the prime of their lives as it is for parents with young children and the elderly. Hype provides answers to many of our most pressing questions, such as:

• Are online doctor ratings valuable, and what conditions can you diagnose online?
• What’s the link between snoring and ADHD?
• What do “Doctor Recommended” and “Clinically Proven” mean?
• Do “superfoods” really exist?
• Which vitamins can increase your risk for cancer?
• Do vaccines introduce toxins into the body?
• What’s the best antiaging trick of the day that’s not hype?
• Can logging 10,000 steps a day really have an impact on your health?

Never has there been a greater need for this reassuring and scientifically backed reality check.

©2018 Nina Shapiro (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

honest insight into applying skepticism in meds

Very well written. Nina provides readers with the tools to apply adequate skepticism to the many modern medical claims that plague our lives.

Balance is the key. Don't believe the hype.

Very nice book. Good to have a comprehensive introduction to the world of health, from a professional doctor.

My review contains spoilers:
The humam body is very complex, and you'll be surprised what harms you. Apparentlyn you shouldn't worry too much about chemicals. They are not as bad. Apples contain cyanide, and pears formaldehyde.

Still:
Don't give whole nuts to children under 5.
Do let new-borns get a vitamin k shot.
If you're a pregnant woman, do take folic acid supplement, unless you have some mutation which makes to harder to use the nutriens, but then do eat lots of greens.

Exercising just half an hour every day at a not too intense pase if good, but sitting is really bad.

Hydration: you don't need to drink 2 liters of water a day. Most water intake comes from the food you eat. As long as your pee looks yellow, you're fine :p

The author seems to have put some effort into looking at both the up and down sides of the things she talks about, so this seems a balanced book.