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boundtwobooks's review
5.0
Find my blog here: https://bound2books.co/2021/05/06/review-of-dr-joshua-wolrichs-food-isnt-medicine-ask-yourself-the-hard-questions-about-your-relationship-with-food/
Before we jump into today’s review, I wanted to add a few disclaimers.
Firstly, I’m not a medical doctor, so if you are ever reading reviews about books that discuss food, health, medicine, etc. always make sure you are doing your own research and speaking with your own G.P. and/or healthcare provider.
Secondly, if you are still struggling with your relationship with food, then be kind to yourself and make sure you are in the right headspace to read this review and any other reviews that might trigger you. I sometimes find having a buddy system for this is great. If you want to read something that you aren’t sure about, tell a friend first and go through what you might be worried about. You can do a follow-up chat with that person then about how you felt after you read the text and they can help you explore your emotions and help you get the right help if you need it.
Okay, let’s get into the review.
I first came across Dr. Joshua Wolrich through Instagram. I had felt really frustrated with the kinds of people and activists I had followed. I couldn’t always put my finger on it, but I think it spoke to a pressure to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, and have a certain lifestyle. When I started to change up my feed, that was when I found Wolrich.
Wolrich is a medical doctor based in the U.K. and he talks about weight stigma, fatphobia in medicine and society, and how we can change that.
Now, for me, I have a reasonably good relationship with food and exercise, but it hasn’t always been great. I have been in an abusive relationship in the past where the person would ridicule my weight and shape and also what I ate. I thank god every day I left that person and dodged that massive bullet. And also woke up to the toxic lies they tried to force on me about my body.
But the effects of that relationship, plus the general crap that the media puts out every day about weight loss this, rock hard abs that, hasn’t always made it easy for me. I used to be one of those people that used exercise as punishment – fun fact: it didn’t work. I also used to think that there were good foods and bad foods. Putting a moral weight on a piece of cake or a packet of chips meant that not only did I feel emotionally terrible after eating them, but I would also then try to punish myself with exercise to neutralise the ‘bad’.
When I developed food allergies and a histamine issue in my 20s my relationship with food had to change drastically. And even though I hate my allergies with every fibre of my being, I will acknowledge that they also helped me reset my relationship with food. There were no moral choices anymore – it was suddenly health and general happiness above all else.
Even though I thought I had worked on my relationship with my body and food, I was shocked by a lot of the stigma I still held inside myself about my body and what I should be giving it. Wolrich’s book challenged a lot of my biases – known and unknown – and made me think critically again about food and why we spend so much time making it a moral quagmire. There is a lot of misinformation out in the world and it can be difficult to figure out what is right or wrong. Most of us don’t have personal trainers, chefs, and nutritionists to help us make those decisions. Some people can’t even access healthcare properly because of fatphobia.
If you want to change your relationship with food then Wolrich’s book is not a bad place to start. He breaks down complex research practices to help you figure out how medical research is conducted and therefore what the results of each outcome mean. He also helps highlight some of the main misconceptions we have about diet and food.
Wolrich’s biggest takeaway is that food isn’t medicine. Rather, that food is food. Food isn’t inherently good or bad – a biscuit or an apple are not better or worse than one another.
Furthermore, Wolrich challenges the idea that your size (weight) determines your health. The BMI is a load of crap – read his book for the full details – and it doesn’t determine your health or your risk of developing ill-health over time.
Lastly, and this comes from me, but I also think that Wolrich would approve – you don’t owe people health. The way you are, whatever is happening with your body now, in the future, or in the past, should not be used against you as a reason why you can’t receive love, care, support, or medical treatment.
Have you read Food Isn’t Medicine? How is your relationship with food and your body? If you are struggling please reach – you can even send me an email. As always, share the reading love.
Before we jump into today’s review, I wanted to add a few disclaimers.
Firstly, I’m not a medical doctor, so if you are ever reading reviews about books that discuss food, health, medicine, etc. always make sure you are doing your own research and speaking with your own G.P. and/or healthcare provider.
Secondly, if you are still struggling with your relationship with food, then be kind to yourself and make sure you are in the right headspace to read this review and any other reviews that might trigger you. I sometimes find having a buddy system for this is great. If you want to read something that you aren’t sure about, tell a friend first and go through what you might be worried about. You can do a follow-up chat with that person then about how you felt after you read the text and they can help you explore your emotions and help you get the right help if you need it.
Okay, let’s get into the review.
I first came across Dr. Joshua Wolrich through Instagram. I had felt really frustrated with the kinds of people and activists I had followed. I couldn’t always put my finger on it, but I think it spoke to a pressure to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, and have a certain lifestyle. When I started to change up my feed, that was when I found Wolrich.
Wolrich is a medical doctor based in the U.K. and he talks about weight stigma, fatphobia in medicine and society, and how we can change that.
Now, for me, I have a reasonably good relationship with food and exercise, but it hasn’t always been great. I have been in an abusive relationship in the past where the person would ridicule my weight and shape and also what I ate. I thank god every day I left that person and dodged that massive bullet. And also woke up to the toxic lies they tried to force on me about my body.
But the effects of that relationship, plus the general crap that the media puts out every day about weight loss this, rock hard abs that, hasn’t always made it easy for me. I used to be one of those people that used exercise as punishment – fun fact: it didn’t work. I also used to think that there were good foods and bad foods. Putting a moral weight on a piece of cake or a packet of chips meant that not only did I feel emotionally terrible after eating them, but I would also then try to punish myself with exercise to neutralise the ‘bad’.
When I developed food allergies and a histamine issue in my 20s my relationship with food had to change drastically. And even though I hate my allergies with every fibre of my being, I will acknowledge that they also helped me reset my relationship with food. There were no moral choices anymore – it was suddenly health and general happiness above all else.
Even though I thought I had worked on my relationship with my body and food, I was shocked by a lot of the stigma I still held inside myself about my body and what I should be giving it. Wolrich’s book challenged a lot of my biases – known and unknown – and made me think critically again about food and why we spend so much time making it a moral quagmire. There is a lot of misinformation out in the world and it can be difficult to figure out what is right or wrong. Most of us don’t have personal trainers, chefs, and nutritionists to help us make those decisions. Some people can’t even access healthcare properly because of fatphobia.
If you want to change your relationship with food then Wolrich’s book is not a bad place to start. He breaks down complex research practices to help you figure out how medical research is conducted and therefore what the results of each outcome mean. He also helps highlight some of the main misconceptions we have about diet and food.
Wolrich’s biggest takeaway is that food isn’t medicine. Rather, that food is food. Food isn’t inherently good or bad – a biscuit or an apple are not better or worse than one another.
Furthermore, Wolrich challenges the idea that your size (weight) determines your health. The BMI is a load of crap – read his book for the full details – and it doesn’t determine your health or your risk of developing ill-health over time.
Lastly, and this comes from me, but I also think that Wolrich would approve – you don’t owe people health. The way you are, whatever is happening with your body now, in the future, or in the past, should not be used against you as a reason why you can’t receive love, care, support, or medical treatment.
Have you read Food Isn’t Medicine? How is your relationship with food and your body? If you are struggling please reach – you can even send me an email. As always, share the reading love.
kellyreadingbooks's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I've had a really tumultuous relationship with food since I was a teenager. I suffered with really bad acne and incredibly heavy and painful periods that put me in the ER with no answers. I started attempting to eat "raw" vegan in a house that was BBQ heavy. I beat myself up because my parents couldn't afford to eat the way I thought would "cure" me. I also became obsessed with weight loss since I had always been a heavy kid. When "raw" lifestyle was out of bounds I asked for Snackwell 100 calorie packs, light yogurt, weight control oatmeal packets, etc. I went on our treadmill for an hour every day and went on the Special K diet. I counted my steps and went to dance class. I got commended for losing so much weight. Which left me more confused as I felt like what I was eating wasn't "healthy", but it was portioned for me and marketed at me to lose weight. Enter my early 20s where I started getting digestive issues like vomiting, diarrhea, frequent loose stool, shivers, heartburn, stomach cramps. I went and saw an allergist that identified over 20 foods I was allergic to in a panel. I continued to restrict. I did Low FODMAP, Carnivore, Paleo, vegan, WFPB, just to fall off the wagons over and over when I still had symptoms and I was maxed out on "willpower". After supplements, countless prescriptions that made me worse or not better, colonoscopy, gallbladder removal surgery, etc. I was just left diagnosed with IBS. I've also been trying to repair my relationship with food after realizing I was suffering with Orthorexia. It's not been easy at all. I've blamed MYSELF for so long. My weight and my health was simply because I have never been able to crack the code of eating perfectly for my own body's needs. That I was a failure. I am still struggling. I don't have answers honestly. But books like this help ease the burden, because I am left feeling like no one truly has the answers per lack of research coming up with true answers. This leaves me in more of a neutral state. Being neutral is hard. We all want to be in this constant state of moving towards something BETTER- our bodies are better, our minds need to be better, we need to be evolving into the next version of ourselves and if we don't, that's on us. I am now working on neutrality. Body neutrality, food neutrality/food freedom. This book explains much of the fear mongering out there in Wellness culture. And while *some* of it could be potentially correct (like maybe, 10%... because it can't be the alkaline water crazies lol), I'm left knowing that we all just have this one life and just do the best we absolutely can without driving ourselves up a wall during the one precious life we are given. Because in the end, it's truly not that serious- that's what I tell myself anyway.
Sorry for the tangent- just read this book if you blame yourself for your health or if you feel like you're tired of diet culture noise.
Sorry for the tangent- just read this book if you blame yourself for your health or if you feel like you're tired of diet culture noise.
manvid's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Required reading for everyone, i think. Accessible yet so so informative. Eye opening, I appreciated my body in a whole new way. Can't thank the author enough for writing this book.