Customer Reviews

Honest Nutrition: A Descent Into The Ocean Of Nutritional Prattle, And Coming Up For Air

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Many who write on the subject of nutrition and health are intelligent, educated and knowledgeable. Honest Nutrition by Ira Edwards is noteworthy because the author writes as a health consumer; he does not have a health product or service to promote. To his credit, Edwards has no bias for or against conventional medicine, alternative medicine or herbal healing. He lays out the benefits, problems and costs of various nutritional, herbal and medical modalities with careful attention to biochemical realities.

Over several decades, Edwards has investigated the authenticity of many scientific studies that are commonly accepted in health and medical practice. His education and professional experience, in biochemistry and in scientific methodology, well qualify him to see through a fraudulent veneer where it exists. Among innumerable subjects, his findings on cholesterol are important to anyone interested in maintaining good health.

Although retired, Edwards has stayed current with scientific discovery. The book is abundantly filled with timely, relevant information. For me, it has been a marvelous resource, dropped into my hands at an appropriate time to help with important (and beneficial) health decisions.

I wish I had got my hands on this book 15 years ago, when I experienced a sudden decline in health and began my search for answers. It would have saved me from several regrettable decisions and given me the understanding I needed to navigate both the health care industry and the world of self-help bookdom with more discernment.

The author is quick to admit that he does not have all the answers, but what he does offer the reader is an laudable attempt to provide unbiased information for the purpose of truly being a help to the reader.

I learned a lot about the pharmaceutical companies, the FDA, the conventional medical establishment, and the nutritional supplement industry. In some areas, my suspicions were confirmed. In others, my naivity was embarrassingly exposed. I especially appreciate how the author shares the information without being out to get one group or the other.

Any book written by a physician is almost assuredly going to be pushing their own biased approach to health care. The fact that the author is not a health care provider makes it easier to trust that he is truly attempting to be unbiased. His credibility on the subject comes not from any medical degree, since he has none, but from years of study to uncover the truth in health care marketing and research claims.

Topics covered include: honesty, bad advice, sources for information, the medical establishment, economic problems, principles of nutrition (that do not involve the food pyramid), deficiencies and supplementation, mental function, and a host of diseases that plague our culture. In all topics, the effect of nutrition on body processes is explained in detail, and approaches offered by both conventional and alternative therapies are explored.

If you are looking for a quick fix to your own health challenges, then this book is not for you. But if you are looking for information that will help guide you toward improved health, I highly recommend Honest Nutrition. It will challenge both you and your health care providers to be slower to throw a band-aid solution at your health problems and quicker to search for the origin and resolution of your particular disease.

Mr Edwards cuts through the hype that passes for nutritional information these days and tells us what the various vitamins and minerals actually do in our bodies. He is honest enough to tell us, unlike most nutritional authors, that he doesn't know everything and can't give answers to everything. I especially like the alphabetically arranged descriptions of nutrients and conditions. At last I understand what those nutrients are supposed to do. Too bad I can't get this kind of honest answer from my own doctor - who seems to be locked into a "SUPR" mentality. This book ought to be required reading for every family physician and every surgeon - before he makes the first scalpel cut!

I was unable to put this book down, I have read 8 or so books on the subject of nutrition and health and this is by far the best. I would suggest to the author that he figure out how to enable the "look inside" feature that other books on Amazon have. For me this book is a treasure and a brilliant reference. I look forward to his next work.

Save your money. All the other reviews must have been written by the author's friends. The author claims he almost finished Medical School but doesn't explain why he didn't. Not that lack of a degree is important in itself. What is important and pointless is that he spends most of his time telling us that everyone, including he himself, is biased. So what? Not much information of any kind on nutrition at all. A truly useless book and a waste of money.