Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life Paperback – December 16, 2014

I purchased this book recently (July 2013) as it was attractively priced & I have searching for answers to my declining health for several years.Let me begin by saying that my health was not in crisis like some of the people that are discussed in the book by Pam and Glen, however I knew that it would not get better unless I took a more active role in seeking out answers and making specific changes to my diet.So, when I opened this book and began reading it on my Kindle, the information (with sources) that Pam cites convicted me with each passing page.I realized that if I chose to follow the recommendations in the book, I would find out first hand if her guidance and recommendations were accurate or not.Quite simply, she is right. I have been adhering to the eating program she lays out in the book for approximately 1 month, and I just had my first postive check up since I began monitoring my vital markers (Cholestrol, HDL, LDL, body fat, BMI, etc.) 2 years ago. I will confess that I am not 100% on board with everything recommended, but that is more me having trouble letting go of my food weaknesses (I call it my food sins) than me knowing better than her what is best to put in my body.Let me just say this - if you want to take control of your health by choosing food over medicine (and for me, the only choice I was hearing was a pill because it's my genetics), then spend a few dollars by buying this book and adopting the suggestions in it for a month.You may learn some things about yourself if you adhere to the recomendations.I know that I have, and I know that there are lots of ways I can blend various foods and spices together to fit my pallet. I am doing this and I am not resentful of the things I am no longer eating. I am not hungry and my health is on the rebound, simply because I am choosing to take matters into my own hands without the need for medicine and health care oversight.Pam Popper has no axe to grind and professes that much of what we hear from medical services professionals today is bourne of ignorance. If you choose to follow her food program recommendations, you can be your own advocate and maybe convince some people inside the medical industry that there are better ways to address the myriad of health issues that we face in this country.Update (2/26/2014)Since my intital review last year, I have continued to adhere to the program prescribed in food over medicine & have found through the use of the companion book (forks over knives), that I am not a half bad cook, as long as I try some of the easier to follow recipes. Most all of the recipes are focused on using legumes, beans and various veggies and spices to create food that is in keeping with maintaining good health. Also, I had a 2nd checkup in later December 2013, and my vital markers remain good, so what I have been doing is working. As a result, I have decided to go to a semi-annual check up, as I have grown comfortable that the wisdom shared in the book has made a meaningful change in my life over the past 7 months

As a family physician caring for patients with the typical and epidemic chronic conditions that plague America (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity), and as someone who himself until one year ago ate a fairly typical American diet, I have to say that learning about a whole foods, plant-based diet has had a most profound impact on both my personal and professional life. Learning about this way of eating approximately one year ago has helped me personally lose 80 pounds, reduce my own health risks for chronic conditions, while leading me to transform the way I practice medicine. I now view many, if not most chronic conditions as preventable and reversible through this lifestyle, and I have found tremendous satisfaction in helping my patients see the light and take this journey themselves.With this new passion, I have a new yearning to learn as much as I can about this unfortunately missing piece of my medical training. When I first came across “Food Over Medicine” by Popper and Merzer, I was intrigued by both the message of the title and by the style of the book in the form of a conversation between the two authors. From the opening paragraphs, the book captivated me; I felt as if I was sitting on a sofa with the authors, listening to a most fascinating and important conversation about the food we eat and how it affects our health. There is a degree of candidness in this conversation that is very telling of the industries and politics involved. I found myself often wondering, “Why haven’t we been told all of this before?”In addition to the conversation style of the book, which makes it quite enjoyable to read, there is a very logical flow and progression to the topics. Add to that the light humor of the talented interviewer, Merzer, along with the honest and often hard-hitting, eye-opening truth telling of Popper, and you have a book that is very difficult to put down. There is also a depth to the conversation that leaves the reader with a very profound, thought provoking understanding of this most important and timely topic which ultimately affects us all in so many ways. Why is it that we spend the most money on health care in the world yet our people are amongst the unhealthiest?Excellent job, Merzer and Popper! Thanks for writing this – you have done a great deed for the health of our society at a time when this book is needed most!Steven Lawenda, MD