The Gluten Lie

THE GLUTEN LIE: And Other Myths About What You Eat Hardcover by Alan Levinovitz

Carol Fay
5.0 out of 5 starsFABULOUS BOOK
January 4, 2016
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
As a life long “health nut” I read this book with some caution. I have devoured books on health since I was 10 years old and got Gaylor Hauser’s latest book for my birthday. He was the nutrition guru to the stars in about 1951 and I have followed his yogurt and wheat germ for breakfast recommendation ever since then.

However, in the 1970’s I was an assistant DA in San Francisco, and handled a big Laetrile case that lasted 10 years. I even wound up testifying in Washington DC about the subject. And through that I learned that belief in a “cure” –the placebo effect – is very, very powerful.

I also learned, among other things, that a “new cure” taken two weeks after a valid treatment (such as chemotherapy) can be wrongfully thought to have caused a recovery which was actually due to the chemotherapy. “Cause” is not always clear cut.

Over the years I have probably read well over 300 books on health, and I subscribe to at least 10 doctors’ health newsletters and several health magazines. I have taken scores of vitamins every day my entire life.

Thus, I approached this book with extreme caution.

However, I loved it and plan to reread it. The author is clearly brilliant, and is a master of critical thinking. He points out the deception caused when certain “studies” or even just aspects of studies, are relied upon by someone claiming health benefits or detriments for a food product, and other studies are omitted.

He points out, repeatedly, the tricks played upon us to deceive us into thinking that an approach to health has been proven, when it has not been.

Dr Levinovitz stresses the power of myth, or as I think of it, the placebo effect –belief. He notes the complexity of the human body and the difficulty of establishing cause and effect when we analyze just one aspect of a situation and ignore a multitude of others.

I think the book is one of the best I have ever read on health. The last two chapters, setting forth his “diet” and then giving us that “diet” with notes letting us see how we are being misled by the claims set forth in it, are the best. If I read nothing else of the book, I would read and re read those two chapters.

This book will not deter me from reading an endless plethora more of books on health, nutrition, and vitamins, but it will help me to analyze them even better, much better, than I have in the past. As I have said already, it is one of the best books I have ever read on the topic.

Carol Fay