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Robert H. Lustig: Metabolical (2021, HarperCollins Publishers) 5 stars

Review of 'Metabolical' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Took me a while to get through it all, but felt well worth it. I feel convinced for now that this is an important issue. The fact that the author has such a strong/respected medical background in the same domain as his argument lends a lot to his opposition to commonly-held beliefs in the wider medical (and general) population.

Lustig explains things I never thought about when it comes to what the actual effect of sugar is on the body. I also appreciated him going into more detail about how important fiber is as well. It helped clear up a lot of the confusion I felt concerning the advice I have received from doctors/others about what foods and activities are healthy.

The criticism I read about his work online seemed to focus mainly on his neglect of the dose-dependent nature of the problem with sugar, and while that wasn't directly addressed in this book, it seemed like, especially in the second half of the book, the focus on sugar-sweetened beverages and heavily processed foods helped.

I appreciated the effort to address some steps to change policy in the last chapter, though it did feel like the weakest part of the book. The book did occasionally feel repetitive, but it came in handy more times than not, reminding me of parts that I hadn't absorbed fully, and helping with anyone jumping around the book.