Super Genes

Super Genes I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did. I almost thought it was going to be another fad diet book or at least something that was boring and filled with a mix of scientific and new age mumbojumbo. However I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting this book was and how informative it was. I keep finding myself telling people about it, especially anyone who is looking to improve their overall health. The only reason I ended up reading it was because I've heard of Deepak Chopra.

The whole idea of epigenetics was fascinating to me and how our gut microbes can completely affect how our DNA affects our health and body in general. I haven't taken a science class in a LONG time so I haven't learned much about genetics since. I had always learned the your DNA can't change, so the idea of epigenetics kind of blew my mind that our decisions in our life can affect our DNA to turn on and turn off different genetic markers. And it really makes sense to me. Just because you have Alzheimer's or breast cancer markers in your DNA it doesn't guarantee you'll get either. However the choices in diet, exercise, and exposure to various environmental factors can change your chances of getting any disease you genetically have a chance to get.

I'm overweight, and struggle even when my diet and exercise is on point to lose weight. And, while I don't want to use it as an excuse, the idea that my gut microbes could be working against me is something I really need to consider. So I plan on incorporating the techniques to reset my gut within the book. As well as try to incorporate many of the other suggestions into my daily life. I know better than to try to change everything at once, and the authors know this as well, suggesting making one change a week whether minor or major, so that by halfway through the year many of the early easier minor changes are firmly ingrained in daily life and the medium to major lifestyle changes don't feel quite as daunting.

I've never been much for meditation but I do enjoy yoga, so I'm seriously considering one of my changes further down the line as adding meditation to my routine.

I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to make a healthier life and hope to avoid conditions that you may have inherited from your family.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off!

As someone who has been on one diet or another most my adult life, I'm always looking for something that might work. I've scoured the internet looking for comparisons of the various diets out there. The best I have been able to find was a paragraph or less about each big name diet with a few pros and cons, but never anything in depth. However this book gave me exactly what I have been searching for over the years. And also gave many tools that were easy to understand to recognize good diets and "fad" diets that promise big results but in the long run could do more harm then good. 

Lisa Tillinger Johansen really explains why diets work and what to look for. And she goes on to give tools for the reader to succeed in their own diets. I've taken nutrition courses in the past, so much what I read was familiar, but it was a great refresher and I ended up taking notes to apply to my current eating plan.  I've always been curious what were considered the most successful diet to lose weight healthily, because many diets have the guise of being "healthy" but really can do damage to your organs in the long run. And Lisa Tillinger Johansen's explanations of each diet break down the diets specifically pointing out what parts of the diet could be potentially harmful. And in the end she gives the advice that any good Dietitian and Nutritionist would give their patients on portion size and food suggestions. She doesn't tell you to give up everything you love, more to change the ratio of the foods you already eat and try to make as much food as you can yourself. There's nothing that is truly banned as long as its in moderation. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has tried multiple diets with little end result to help weed out the good and the bad. I truly enjoyed reading it and have already applied much of her suggestions to my current diet and have already lost some weight applying her principles.

I received this book for review at NetGalley.