Hiya! I’m back from another wonderful whirlwind weekend, and I have lots of fun pics to share with you guys over the next few days.
However, I want to dedicate a quick post to my most recent Peanut Butter Fingers Book Club read!
Do you like trivia? Are you one of those people who enjoys gathering and sharing statistics, expert opinions and unusual findings? Are you generally a “did you know that ____?!” kind of person?
If so, Drop Dead Healthy is right smack in the middle of your alley.
This information deluge by A.J. Jacobs documents the author’s mission to become the “healthiest man alive”.
Jacobs tackles his subject by researching cutting edge beliefs on one health concern at a time and living out his findings. For example, in his month focusing on The Butt (chapters are titled accordingly :)), Jacobs “declares war on Sedentary Life” and orders a treadmill for his home to experienced the supposed benefits of walking while working.
In his exploration of everything from well-known practices, such as cleanses and acupuncture, to the bizarre and barely explored, such as as barefoot running and “laughter classes“, Jacob runs the gamut of modern modern American “health” beliefs.
Despite being a self-proclaimed healthy-liver, I actually found Drop Dead Healthy a little difficult to get through.
Frankly, I found the sheer volume of information a bit disheartening and frustrating! With each new eccentric theory or health promise came statistics completely debunking or challenging it. Almost every argument had a counterargument—washing your hands is good because it removes germs/washing your hands is bad because then you don’t build up immunities.
Jacobs is a funny guy, and it’s not easy to make any sort of health book entertaining, but the downside is that he focuses a little too much on wacky/off-the-grid topics rather than the more studied and proven. The result is eye-crossing hodgepodge of factoids that’s pretty tough to digest.
For the most part, I enjoyed the book, but did not feel particularly enlightened by Jacobs’ 2-year adventure.
That’s not to say that the book was worthless. Jacobs touches on subjects which were important reminders for me (floss!) and which gave me pause (should I re-evaluate the benefits of high-intensity interval training?).
The book is also punctuated by a few moments of poignant thought, which point to what I ultimately took from it: You can go crazy trying to keep up with the “healthiest” trends, but at the end of the day—you know what you need to do to take care of yourself.
I went into the book with essentially the same tenets of health that I came out with. And I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing! In fact, I think it indicates our innate ability to take care of ourselves when we’re communicating with our bodies. A port in the storm of modern information overload.
I want to end with a few of my favorite quotes from the book, to give your minds a quick stir before heading into the week 🙂
1) Jacobs’ guide while writing the book: “What is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas.”
2) “…we essentially have two selves. Those two selves are often at odds. There’s the present self, that wants that frosted apple strudel Pop-Tart. And the future self, that regrets eating that frosted apple strudel Pop-Tart. The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. Honor him or her. Treat him or her like you would treat a friend or a loved one.”
3) “The problem for Americans is that we’ve Balkanized our lives. We go to the gym for an hour (if we’re dutiful) and then sit for the rest of the day. Movement is sealed into an airtight container.”
4) “The idea is that if you are unduly fixated on eating healthfully, you’ll stress yourself out–so much so that the damage from the stress outweighs any potential benefits of the good food.”
5) “Some level of delusional optimism is healthy. As long as that delusional optimism is balanced with a sensible understanding that we have pathetically little control over our fates. It’s a tricky mix, but a crucial one.”
6) “The point is, you can eat your Brazil nuts, meditate like a champ and run five miles a day, but it won’t help you if you trip on the sidewalk and crack your skull.”
7) “The way we think about danger is illogical. We cannot do risk assessment to save our life…we drive to the store to get “organic veggies”…then check our email at the next red light.”
Pretty nifty, huh?
Before I head to bed, I just gotta give a quick shout out to Delta Airlines giving out BISCOFF COOKIES on flights!
LOOOVVEEE these cookies!
Have a great Sunday night everyone!
I totally hoarded those biscoffs last time I was on a Delta flight. So good. I love those quotes from the book too, being realistic about things is always better than being a fanatic, and we will never be in control of everything!
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4) “The idea is that if you are unduly fixated on eating healthfully, you’ll stress yourself out–so much so that the damage from the stress outweighs any potential benefits of the good food.”
One of my faves!
Same and it’s so true! There’s not healthy about obsession!