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Mixed feelings about this one. Keep an open mind. This book is more about debunking wellness and diet culture and basically the message is. Do Your Research and Ask Questions about your health with traditional medicine and on line information with alternative medicine. Don’t trust the internet
I really enjoyed Anti-Diet and Christy Harrison's podcast, but this book is a little too broad. It's difficult to tackle everything that Harrison is trying to cover here, and do it justice.
Many reviewers have already touched on the fact that this book's biggest problem is its lack of focus. It tries to tackle too many large issues, so there are a lot of sweeping statements and glossing over in order to cram in as many problematic wellness practices as possible.
Harrison reads as surprisingly pro Big Pharma and Western medicine for someone who is known to challenge these very practices. Naturopaths and other alternative medicine practitioners are villainized based on a dozen or so cases where people were taken advantage of or had their health mishandled by their alternative medicine practitioner.
As someone who regularly partakes in "the wellness trap" after developing a chronic condition that remains without a definitive diagnosis, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in both Western medicine and the holistic route. I understand Harrison's argument that supplements and naturopathic treatments can, at worst, cause harm and at best, do next to nothing. Her explanation is that most people's bodies begin to heal or shift on their own when going through naturopathic supplementation or treatment, so folks believe that they are benefitting from treatment when really their body is just sorting itself out. Is it possible? Sure. But in my own experiences, I had zero improvements for months until I worked with a naturopathic doctor and saw improvements in my wellbeing within a few weeks.
I'm not saying that there is no problem with the supplement industry or alternative wellness practices. There's rampant cultural appropriation in many practices, and the lack of regulation in supplements is downright scary. There are also plenty of holistic practitioners that are uncredentialled and putting people in danger by giving medical advice that they are not qualified to give. You really have to dig into every company's practices and the potential side effects of every supplement before taking them, and verify the qualifications of holistic practitioners before trusting them. You have to be your own advocate in your health, no matter which types of health and wellness you choose to explore. And yes, it helps to have trusted medical professionals to guide and support you, but finding professionals that you can trust is not always easy.
After finishing this book, I basically have the same thought that I had going into it: every body and every case will be different. Just as every health practitioner, whether an MD, ND, or a holistic practitioner, has the ability to be compassionate and knowledgeable, or swindling and dangerous.
This book was interesting in its dissection of various wellness practices and the potential harm that they can cause, but like any book on wellness, I take it with a grain of salt.
Harrison reads as surprisingly pro Big Pharma and Western medicine for someone who is known to challenge these very practices. Naturopaths and other alternative medicine practitioners are villainized based on a dozen or so cases where people were taken advantage of or had their health mishandled by their alternative medicine practitioner.
As someone who regularly partakes in "the wellness trap" after developing a chronic condition that remains without a definitive diagnosis, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in both Western medicine and the holistic route. I understand Harrison's argument that supplements and naturopathic treatments can, at worst, cause harm and at best, do next to nothing. Her explanation is that most people's bodies begin to heal or shift on their own when going through naturopathic supplementation or treatment, so folks believe that they are benefitting from treatment when really their body is just sorting itself out. Is it possible? Sure. But in my own experiences, I had zero improvements for months until I worked with a naturopathic doctor and saw improvements in my wellbeing within a few weeks.
I'm not saying that there is no problem with the supplement industry or alternative wellness practices. There's rampant cultural appropriation in many practices, and the lack of regulation in supplements is downright scary. There are also plenty of holistic practitioners that are uncredentialled and putting people in danger by giving medical advice that they are not qualified to give. You really have to dig into every company's practices and the potential side effects of every supplement before taking them, and verify the qualifications of holistic practitioners before trusting them. You have to be your own advocate in your health, no matter which types of health and wellness you choose to explore. And yes, it helps to have trusted medical professionals to guide and support you, but finding professionals that you can trust is not always easy.
After finishing this book, I basically have the same thought that I had going into it: every body and every case will be different. Just as every health practitioner, whether an MD, ND, or a holistic practitioner, has the ability to be compassionate and knowledgeable, or swindling and dangerous.
This book was interesting in its dissection of various wellness practices and the potential harm that they can cause, but like any book on wellness, I take it with a grain of salt.
I’ve only gotten through half of the first chapter, but, so far, it has relied HEAVILY on anecdotes. To argue that drastically changing your diet is bad, she highlights a person who had to do an elimination diet on the advice of their doctor, due to a medical condition. This is what led them down the path of disordered eating; which I don’t discount by any means. But to imply that an MD telling you to avoid certain foods (usually to identify specific triggers) for a specific period of time is equal to restrictive eating generally feels…convenient.
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
Breaking the wellness anxiety cycle is easier thanks to this book.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
This is an important book that offers a compassionate and well-researched case why “wellness” has done us all so dirty. Harrison is eating-disorder informed, highlights the role of systemic oppression and racism, and reveals the fallacy of so many traps that we fall into while we just try to take care of ourselves in a harmful world.
Content Warnings
Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism
informative