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Book Review: Primal Prescription
If you or someone you know has been hospitalized this year you might have noticed that essential information is often poorly communicated and the cost of care can be shocking—tens of thousands of dollars a night for an ICU stay is not uncommon. In the aftermath, facing complicated bills, lists of new medications, and coordinating visits with multiple doctors who often don’t work together, you might wonder how to cope.
That’s where the authors of Primal Prescription can help.
The combined author expertise, one an ER doc and the other an economist, makes for a very interesting book that provides a pinpoint accurate and uniquely thorough delineation and description of the US healthcare system’s many problems.
That alone would make this book a must read for anyone involved in the system at any level, from clinic to hospital to insurance plan administration. But in revealing the hidden systemic forces that, like a puppeteer pulling the strings on a marionette, largely dictate the way their own personal doctor treats them, the book becomes a great resource for healthcare consumers as well.
The authors kick off chapter one with a compelling argument that the current healthcare crisis originated in a Faustian bargain between a dominant insurance company (Blue Cross) and the US government: in exchange for tax exempt status, the company would charge everyone the same premiums regardless of risk, age or health conditions. That was way back in the 1930s. Agreeing to charge the same regardless of a customers likelihood of liability represents a major break away from the usual business of insurance, where people with higher risk typically must pay more than people with lower risk. If we buy a house next to a river, we pay more for flood insurance. If we drive too fast and get speeding tickets, we pay more for car insurance. The only reason we make exception for lifestyle-related diseases, they say with rather bold clarity, is that we’ve convinced ourselves that when it comes to health, when bad habits have bad consequences, the financial burden should be someone else’s problem.
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It helped. I feel great.
"It’s helped. I feel great."
Kobe Bryant
NBA baskeball player
This has been life changing
"Let me tell you this has been life-changing. I have all of her books, in audible and ebooks! I have gotten rid of all the hateful 8 oils. I have trained my body to eat its own previously toxic body fat. Download that pod it's a game changer!"
Megyn Kelly
Broadcaster / The Megyn Kelly Show
Life changing
Deep Nutrition changed my life.
Jesse Watters
Fox News Primetime host
Saved my life
I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic.
Leontyne Tompkins
I feel free
For the last month, I have really been reading all labels on everything. I have completely remove those 8 oils you talk about. I must tell you, I feel great! I have more energy and I am now 197 lbs (have always been around 205 to 210lbs). I eat potatoes with real butter, grass fed steak, pasta with the right toppings. I eat everything! I seem to crave less sugar. I love it!
Robert Kirkendall
I feel so much better
I had terrible aches and pains everywhere in my body, my hands, shoulders and knees. I feel so much better and the way I feel is motivating me every day! Thank you
Mike Deb Wootan Burcin
Better than ever
I am an anesthesiologist in Orlando and a huge fan of both of your books! I have been incorporating your principles for the last 10 months and feel that my health is better than ever.
Marnie Robinson, MD
My allergies disappeared
The biggest difference for me (and a surprising one) is that my allergies have almost completely disappeared! This is a big deal for me, because I’ve had allergies most of my life and they have often affected what I do which is a teaching music in [a public school district]. In general, I feel much better and have more consistent energy throughout the day.
Erica Turrell
Heart Palpitations have Stopped
I’ve lost 20+ pounds (also fasting 16-24 hours daily) and haven’t had palpitations except for one occasion — I had a mini bag of Fritos for the first time in July. And, I feel better now on a daily basis than I ever did all through college.
Mike Wright
Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix reader
I’ve lost over 50 pounds
I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I’m 56 years old. Cutting processed food and unhealthy fats from my diet was one of the first things I did on my health recovery journey...I went cold turkey off the bad oils. Emptied my pantry into the trash and just started eating real food
Mitzi Wilkinson Champion
Knowledge I didn’t know I needed
Your Fatburn Fix book is amazing, my friend. Thank you! I’m an Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know my stuff. This is the extra layer of knowledge I didn’t know I needed. Well done!
Jennifer Dillman
Fatburn Fix reader
Lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork is great
I have lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork (after 3 months of eating your way) was even better! I was metabolically healthy (per your book) before I read your book, but barely. Lowering my weight, sealed the deal! I have been talking about you and your book to anyone who will listen...Thank you for all you’ve done and what you continue to do! You are changing lives for the better!
Missy Cramer
FatBurn Fix reader
Lost 20 lbs I could never shed
I love your Fatburn Fix! Has helped me so so much! I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed. I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils. It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn. I work out in the am and believe I am burning fat for energy not from food!
Lauren Smith
I feel great
My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.
Richard Janelle
Completed Dr Cate's online course
The go-to for strength and conditioning coaches
Whenever I advise my clients about eating to perform I go straight to what I have learned from Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition has become the go-to for strength and conditioning coaches across the country.
Kent Matthes
Major League Baseball Agent with WME Sports
Dismantles the lie
Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.
Ken D Berry, MD
Author of Lies My Doctor Told Me
She knows the chemistry
Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.
Dr. Drew Pinskey, MD
Globally recognized internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist, media personality, LoveLine Host, and New York Times bestselling author
No one is better at communicating nutritional truth
Dr. Cate has had the single greatest impact on how we talk to people about fueling for both performance or durability. While we all are a little unique, the foundational principles of human nutrition are immutable. If you are looking to create a more durable, resilient body, no one is better at communicating nutritional truth than Dr. Cate.
Dr. Kelly Starrett
Physiotherapist coach and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Highly recommend The Fatburn Fix
Dr. Shanahan has had a significant impact on my practice of medicine. I am known as a Low Carb Doctor, but I never really appreciated the negative effects of processed seed oils on the health of my patients. I highly recommend The Fatburn Fix to my patients and have a loaner copy in my waiting room. It is amazing how quickly blood sugars and overall health improves with cutting seed oils. It is not just about the carbs!
Dr. Brian Lenkzes, MD
CEO of LowCarbMD San Diego, co-host of Low Carb MD Podcast and host of Life's Best Medicine Podcast
Respected in the sports world
Dr. Cate reordered my diet when I was with the L.A. Lakers, and the benefits, for me personally, were felt immediately and have served me to this day. I’ve come to take real food so seriously I started a small family farm. I know of no M.D./nutritionist more respected in the sports world than Dr. Cate Shanahan.
Chris Kaman
NBA Player
Brought seed oil issue front and center
Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.
Mark Sisson
Founding Father of the Primal/Paleo Movement
Optimal health starts with food
If you want to understand how optimal health starts with food, start with Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition leaves you with an appreciation of the profound relationship between our genes and the planet, inspiring us to be good shepherds of both.
Dallas Hartwig
Attribution author of The Whole 30
Helped me with endurance
Deep Nutrition really helped me with endurance. I started to feel better as a player. I was able to run more, I was able to be more active …and I just decided to keep going with it to this day.
Dwight Howard
NBA Player
Silver bullet for me
Dr Cate’s teachings helped me lose 60 pounds like it was nothing. It was like a silver bullet for me.
Paul Grewal, MD
Dr Grewal Internal Medicine, MD, author of Genius Foods
Radically improve your health…
Dr. Shanahan has provided a solid reference that deserves a place in the library of anyone who is seriously interested in nutrition. Her perspective on the vital role that healthy fat has in our diet is novel and, if implemented, can radically improve your health.
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Author of Fat for Fuel and Founder of Mercola.com
Pull up a chair…
I have based my work on the idea that getting the right kinds of healthy fats into your body and avoiding the worst fats is essential to optimal health. I've interviewed dozens of the world's top experts about this, and I know of no one who speaks more eloquently on this topic than Dr Cate. If she’s talking fats, pull up a chair. Take notes.
Dave Asprey
Author of the Bulletproof Diet
The key to unlocking my fatburn
I love your Fatburn Fix! Has helped me so so much! I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed. I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils. It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.
Lauren Smith
Saved my life
I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine.
Leontyne Tompkins
> Tears of joy
I'm crying tears of joy and appreciation for all you've done for me and my health! Without Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix, I would literally still be in the vicious cycle I'd been fighting all my life! In a nutshell - I am no longer a compulsive overeating addict suffering under the crushing 'thumb' of all food and alcohol.
Penni Wicks
The irrationality of that attitude is growing more and more clear with every passing year. Healthcare costs have exploded over the past few decades to the point where healthcare is the number one most profitable industry. In other words, no longer a farming or manufacturing economy, we’re now a nation profiting primarily off our own sicknesses.The health insurance crisis stems largely from the cost of paying for chronic, preventable diseases. Diabetes alone accounts for $245 billion in expenses annually. All the legislation passed to remedy the health insurance crisis has only made the system larger and more dangerous.
Once the major health insurance companies gave up the right to charge more for higher risk patients, they took personal responsibility out of business equation. Suddenly, the normal checks and balances that help keep business running smoothly, and particularly complex systems of economic exchange, ceased to function. As a result, tacking on more legislation in attempt to correct fundament imbalances rather than taking the bold step of tearing it down to fix the flawed foundation only makes the broken system more unsound and dysfunctional. This is why, so far, government interventions have done little more than impose expensive technologic requirements, create more paper work (now, computer work) for practitioners and enable the US government and corporations to sue your doctor if they are unable to follow the letter of the convoluted law.
The solution is long overdue: common sense survival skills
The book transitions out of its history telling in the third and final section to become a valuable resource for hospital survivors and those with chronic health problems currently being managed with medication and the standard diet advice. All the advice they give boils down to a simple Primal Prescription: take care of yourself, don’t count on the government. They provide a variety of ways to accomplish this, the most basic is by eating and exercising in accordance with our genetic blueprint. The plan they provide to accomplish this is based largely on ancestral health principles including those of the book’s publisher Mark Sisson, who’s ideas about nutrition I endorse.
Some of the information intended to prepare the reader to do battle in the wild world of the healthcare system, from the hospital to the annual wellness exam, may seem radical, but all of it is supported by evidence from published articles.
For example, in the well care section, a five page subsection on mammograms entitled “Mammography: How to Scare the Hell Out of Yourself” breaks down the evidence that one reason the breast cancer rates keep going up is that we are finding too many cancers. While occasionally mammograms do save lives, for the vast majority of women mammograms paradoxically do more harm than good. How? By making women worry about tiny cancers that their bodies may have eradicated before growing bigger. Less frequent mammography (in some European countries the standard is once every 6 years) reduces radiation damage to the heart and lungs, and may provide the benefit of finding real cancer while still in an early enough stage to save a life.
Overall, the book injects a refreshing perspective into the ongoing discussions around the healthcare crisis that will give the reader a solid understanding of the history and a healthy dose of common sense practical advise.
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