Gene Eating

Starred review from May 20, 2019
Yeo, a geneticist who runs the Metabolic Disease Unit at the U.K. government’s Medical Research Council and moonlights as a BBC science commentator, offers an “anti-diet book” that’s less a tutorial than a gently humorous, if very erudite, travelogue through the world of fad diets. Skip the Paleo diet, he argues—Paleo man did. “Cleanses” don’t cleanse, he writes—skip those too and remember that the livers and kidneys already fulfill that function. Too much processed meat is unhealthy, but it is “pseudoscience” to suggest all animal-based protein is harmful, not to mention an example of the complacency incurred by having a surplus, not a lack, of available nutrition. Ditto for gluten, at least for most people. The book finishes up with some memorable “Yeo Truths,” such as to not “feel bad if feels hard, because it ain’t s’posed to be easy” and to “go forth, be sensible, be moderate (and to paraphrase Oscar Wilde) even with moderation.” Perhaps most importantly, Yeo tells readers to view food as something to work with, not to fear. His well-informed survey will leave health-conscious readers both entertained and with plenty of food for thought.

May 15, 2019
With so many popular diet plans out there, it can be difficult to make sense of how we should eat to stay healthy. Yeo, an obesity geneticist and BBC science presenter, explores how our genes sway our relationship with the food environment. He also dissects fad diets. Clever chapter and section headings suggest important information regarding nutrition: Are your genes to blame when your jeans don't fit? Should we eat like the Flintstones? There is no solitary fat gene but rather 100 different genes linked to BMI (body mass index). Alas, an average person tacks on about 33 pounds of weight between the ages of 20 and 50. Five grains (wheat, rice, oats, corn, barley) account for half the calories consumed by all human beings. Yeo tackles personalized genetic test products (23andMe, DNAFit), worries about the marketing of nutritional misinformation on social media, and quashes the notion that cleanse and detox regimens do any good. His entertaining and fact-filled Anti-Diet book concludes that when it comes to obesity and our behavior towards food, there are no easy ?one-size-fits-all' solutions. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)