Review by Dintrioh -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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Dintrioh
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- Latest Review: "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD
Review by Dintrioh -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
[Following is a volunteer review of "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD.]
3 out of 4 stars
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MD Morton E. Tavel’s “Health Tips, Myths and Tricks” is a nonfiction book which contains information regarding everyday health problems, questions and services that would be of interest to everyone who thinks about their health at least once a day.
This book covers a lot of topics, ranging from exercise to fish poisoning and problems concerning hypertension, for example. At least a third of the book is devoted to explaining the plights of dealing with alternative medicine, buying unverified supplements and checking up on risky health products from the point of view of a physician as he would explain it to one of his patients in layman terms. The author of this book is not only an expert in the field of internal medicine, but also a noted supporter of evidence-based medicine, a speaker who addresses issues of the poorly regulated natural supplement market and an author of several books concerning “snake oil” or any product which is described as a miraculous cure, but is essentially either useless or dangerous for anyone who consumes it.
The first third of the book deals with food, exercise and other potential benefactors to one’s health, weight, blood pressure and so on without dwelling too much on the details of the physiology of their effects. Nearly each chapter is supplied with at least one footnote pointing to a study which supports the author’s claims. Most of the beverages, meals and supplements which Dr. Tavel recommends are available for purchase in the nearest general store or pharmacy, which shows that this was intended for a wide audience.
The second third of the book is focused on the widespread beliefs concerning the benefits or dangers of certain products such as raw milk, Wi-Fi. It also covers the products of poor information acquirement, like health conspiracy theories or rapid weight loss diets. Just like in the previous section, the author gives footnotes pointing to the papers which are peer reviewed and which give him arguments for supporting a certain stance when considering a product. The section also deals with some interesting topics like hand drying and the polygraph.
The third part of the book, the most coherent and extensive one of the parts, deals with various forms of scam health products and services and how to recognize them. The author goes into detail as to why he believes that most of these products and services are bad for you. He lays out why these scams are so prevalent and explains how you can recognize a scam easily. During each of these chapters he explains his thought process as well, explaining why a product can be declared as unsafe if it “isn’t verified by the FDA that it treats conditions or cures diseases”. As a bonus, Dr. Tavel tells stories of concrete cases of scams.
As an intern from a different country, I have to say that I have found this book to be quite enjoyable. It was a refreshing read after most of the technical literature I have read so far. The style is quite simple and, while reading it, I had a feeling like I was talking to a family physician that I have known for quite some time.
I have learned new things, which I haven’t encountered during my studies in medical school. For example, vitamin C wasn’t declared as a potential hazard, if it were taken in doses which significantly exceed the minimum daily requirements at my alma mater. Dr. Tavel pointed out that vitamin C increases iron deposits, which can cause hemochromatosis. Also, as far as unsafe supplements are concerned, dodgy declarations are a red flag for any product.
The references the author has used are valid, available and well selected. I applaud that and appreciate it.
But, since most of the book deals with alternative medicine and suspicious health products, as well as conspiracy theories which cover vaccination as well, I believe that I should address those topics as well.
I agree with most of the things Dr. Tavel has said. I am for evidence-based medicine and for vaccination. If anything my belief that medicine should be standardized in the world is even firmer than before. My support for the the author’s point of view has increased especially when he has detailed the methods which the scammers use to sell dangerous or useless products for their own benefit.
While I do understand Dr. Tavel’s outrage concerning the anti-vaxxers as well, I have to wonder whether it would be for the best if this book was solely devoted to the third part of the book and expanded upon the points made there. I like that there are other topics besides the “snake oil” chapters, but even in the second third of the book, there are numerous pointers to the theme that is of the greatest importance to the author – the fight against bad medicine. So, I would suggest writing with more consistency throughout the book next. This comes off more incoherent than the author intended it to be.
Furthermore, Dr. Tavel has referred to name-calling several people in the chapter about conspiracy theories. While I am pro-vaccination and believe that anyone who uses the anti-vaxxer movement for his or her own profit should be put behind bars, I am also against calling someone “charlatan” in a book. I understand the author’s emotions, but I believe that, in this case, name-calling, without pinpointing their exact actions, will only hurt Dr. Tavel’s well deserved dignity, not their agenda.
And lastly, I would like to point out some editing and formatting decisions which struck me as odd. At the beginning of each chapter, the title was marked with a “?” symbol and an “o”. At first, I thought that it was something that had to do with my reading software. But, then, I discovered that it happened in Adobe Reader as well. While this may not be something bad, I don’t quite understand the intent. Next, some of the subtitles were on the pages previous to the start of the text that was concerned with the subtitle. It isn’t a bad thing, but it is distracting. And the last, but not the least, some of the references have a different font than the rest of the paper names listed in the literature section, plus there are some dead hyperlinks in the references. I understand that the author needn’t be a professional editor, but some of these issues can be easily fixed, even though they may take half an hour or so.
In the end, I would like to recommend this book. It is of great practical use for anyone who wants to learn something that can help their well-being and to avoid habits and products which damage one’s health. The book feels like three small ones put into one, but it doesn’t take away from the quality of the information given. There are some small editing issues, mainly concerning the font, but they are easily fixed. I hope that we will be seeing some more books from Dr. Morton Tavel.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
MD Morton E. Tavel’s “Health Tips, Myths and Tricks” is a nonfiction book which contains information regarding everyday health problems, questions and services that would be of interest to everyone who thinks about their health at least once a day.
This book covers a lot of topics, ranging from exercise to fish poisoning and problems concerning hypertension, for example. At least a third of the book is devoted to explaining the plights of dealing with alternative medicine, buying unverified supplements and checking up on risky health products from the point of view of a physician as he would explain it to one of his patients in layman terms. The author of this book is not only an expert in the field of internal medicine, but also a noted supporter of evidence-based medicine, a speaker who addresses issues of the poorly regulated natural supplement market and an author of several books concerning “snake oil” or any product which is described as a miraculous cure, but is essentially either useless or dangerous for anyone who consumes it.
The first third of the book deals with food, exercise and other potential benefactors to one’s health, weight, blood pressure and so on without dwelling too much on the details of the physiology of their effects. Nearly each chapter is supplied with at least one footnote pointing to a study which supports the author’s claims. Most of the beverages, meals and supplements which Dr. Tavel recommends are available for purchase in the nearest general store or pharmacy, which shows that this was intended for a wide audience.
The second third of the book is focused on the widespread beliefs concerning the benefits or dangers of certain products such as raw milk, Wi-Fi. It also covers the products of poor information acquirement, like health conspiracy theories or rapid weight loss diets. Just like in the previous section, the author gives footnotes pointing to the papers which are peer reviewed and which give him arguments for supporting a certain stance when considering a product. The section also deals with some interesting topics like hand drying and the polygraph.
The third part of the book, the most coherent and extensive one of the parts, deals with various forms of scam health products and services and how to recognize them. The author goes into detail as to why he believes that most of these products and services are bad for you. He lays out why these scams are so prevalent and explains how you can recognize a scam easily. During each of these chapters he explains his thought process as well, explaining why a product can be declared as unsafe if it “isn’t verified by the FDA that it treats conditions or cures diseases”. As a bonus, Dr. Tavel tells stories of concrete cases of scams.
As an intern from a different country, I have to say that I have found this book to be quite enjoyable. It was a refreshing read after most of the technical literature I have read so far. The style is quite simple and, while reading it, I had a feeling like I was talking to a family physician that I have known for quite some time.
I have learned new things, which I haven’t encountered during my studies in medical school. For example, vitamin C wasn’t declared as a potential hazard, if it were taken in doses which significantly exceed the minimum daily requirements at my alma mater. Dr. Tavel pointed out that vitamin C increases iron deposits, which can cause hemochromatosis. Also, as far as unsafe supplements are concerned, dodgy declarations are a red flag for any product.
The references the author has used are valid, available and well selected. I applaud that and appreciate it.
But, since most of the book deals with alternative medicine and suspicious health products, as well as conspiracy theories which cover vaccination as well, I believe that I should address those topics as well.
I agree with most of the things Dr. Tavel has said. I am for evidence-based medicine and for vaccination. If anything my belief that medicine should be standardized in the world is even firmer than before. My support for the the author’s point of view has increased especially when he has detailed the methods which the scammers use to sell dangerous or useless products for their own benefit.
While I do understand Dr. Tavel’s outrage concerning the anti-vaxxers as well, I have to wonder whether it would be for the best if this book was solely devoted to the third part of the book and expanded upon the points made there. I like that there are other topics besides the “snake oil” chapters, but even in the second third of the book, there are numerous pointers to the theme that is of the greatest importance to the author – the fight against bad medicine. So, I would suggest writing with more consistency throughout the book next. This comes off more incoherent than the author intended it to be.
Furthermore, Dr. Tavel has referred to name-calling several people in the chapter about conspiracy theories. While I am pro-vaccination and believe that anyone who uses the anti-vaxxer movement for his or her own profit should be put behind bars, I am also against calling someone “charlatan” in a book. I understand the author’s emotions, but I believe that, in this case, name-calling, without pinpointing their exact actions, will only hurt Dr. Tavel’s well deserved dignity, not their agenda.
And lastly, I would like to point out some editing and formatting decisions which struck me as odd. At the beginning of each chapter, the title was marked with a “?” symbol and an “o”. At first, I thought that it was something that had to do with my reading software. But, then, I discovered that it happened in Adobe Reader as well. While this may not be something bad, I don’t quite understand the intent. Next, some of the subtitles were on the pages previous to the start of the text that was concerned with the subtitle. It isn’t a bad thing, but it is distracting. And the last, but not the least, some of the references have a different font than the rest of the paper names listed in the literature section, plus there are some dead hyperlinks in the references. I understand that the author needn’t be a professional editor, but some of these issues can be easily fixed, even though they may take half an hour or so.
In the end, I would like to recommend this book. It is of great practical use for anyone who wants to learn something that can help their well-being and to avoid habits and products which damage one’s health. The book feels like three small ones put into one, but it doesn’t take away from the quality of the information given. There are some small editing issues, mainly concerning the font, but they are easily fixed. I hope that we will be seeing some more books from Dr. Morton Tavel.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
View: on Bookshelves
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Latest Review: "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD
