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Evolution Rx: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Our Innate Capacity for Health and Healing
A revolutionary-yet simple and practical-guide to staying fit and healthy based on evolutionary medicine.
Countless books and nutrition experts have advised modern readers to adopt the best of the "cave-man diet" that avoids processed foods and refined carbohydrates. But how and what people eat is only the beginning of what the study of human evolution can teach us about overall health and well-being. Based on the latest research in the burgeoning field of evolutionary medicine, Evolution Rx provides readers with not only an understanding of the underlying science of this discipline but with a practical means to making nutritional and lifestyle changes that address a wide range of topics from exercise and injury prevention to allergies, heart health, cancer, Alzheimer's, and more:
• Why eating more fat, not less, can fuel weight loss
• Why human bodies can't register fullness when eating carbohydrates-and what to do about it
• Why getting more sun leads to better health
• Why stretching before exercise-or after an injury- is a bad idea
• Why children should be encouraged to get dirty
Provocative, science-based, and practical, Evolution Rx presents a new and powerful way to understand the human body and how to promote vibrant health.
Countless books and nutrition experts have advised modern readers to adopt the best of the "cave-man diet" that avoids processed foods and refined carbohydrates. But how and what people eat is only the beginning of what the study of human evolution can teach us about overall health and well-being. Based on the latest research in the burgeoning field of evolutionary medicine, Evolution Rx provides readers with not only an understanding of the underlying science of this discipline but with a practical means to making nutritional and lifestyle changes that address a wide range of topics from exercise and injury prevention to allergies, heart health, cancer, Alzheimer's, and more:
• Why eating more fat, not less, can fuel weight loss
• Why human bodies can't register fullness when eating carbohydrates-and what to do about it
• Why getting more sun leads to better health
• Why stretching before exercise-or after an injury- is a bad idea
• Why children should be encouraged to get dirty
Provocative, science-based, and practical, Evolution Rx presents a new and powerful way to understand the human body and how to promote vibrant health.
- GenresNonfictionScience
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2009
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71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2010
In Evolution Rx, Dr. William Meller takes a broad look at human health through the lens of the developing field of evolutionary medicine. Evolution, he asserts, was pretty smart when it put us together, and many of our current health problems can be traced to the fact that the circumstances in which we currently live vary greatly from those which our bodies adapted to over millions of years.
Take diet, for example. We evolved in environments in which food was relatively scarce, so the cravings we developed for sweet and fatty things were to ensure that we stocked up on these precious resources whenever we came across them. Nature never anticipated the easy access of high-fructose corn syrup, however, and Meller attributes our current obesity epidemic to the fact that we have simply gotten too good at satisfying cravings that at one time were crucial for our survival.
In another chapter, he takes a look at our immune system. In a direct rebuke of those offering nostrums to "boost the immune system," he points out that we currently suffer far more from problems of an overactive immune response than an underactive one. In tracing our history, he shows how our immune systems were designed to deal with far more dirt, germs and parasites than they get in our current sanitized environments, and theorizes that many autoimmune and allergy issues are due to the immune system not having enough to do. A discussion of how Crohn's disease patients who were treated with a benign intestinal parasite experienced significant recovery and a look at the numerous studies showing how kids raised in environments with animals and dirt have fewer allergies seems to support this theory.
Along a similar vein, Meller devotes another chapter to the current bugaboo of toxins. After an elegant discussion of how "the dose makes the poison," Meller argues that the food we ate 30,000 years ago was far more toxic than anything covered in today's conventional pesticides could even come close to. We evolved giant, extremely efficient livers to deal with the fact that we were constantly eating foods that had developed their own natural poisons in effort to try to keep us from eating them. A side discussion of the theory that morning sickness evolved to ensure women only ate the safest of foods during the baby's earliest development is an interesting one. Meller doesn't deny that human ingenuity has managed to come up with the occasional chemical that does genuinely harm us, but he makes a reasonable argument that the majority of the current fear over toxins is unjustified and concerns over issues ranging from mercury in fish to BPA in waterbottles are significantly overblown.
Other issues Meller addresses in this book include injuries, how we evolved to heal them, and why modern medicine can't much improve on that process, why the idea that we need 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is a myth and what our bodies are really designed for, the importance of vitamin D and natural sun, why we really don't need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, issues relating to sexual attraction and reproduction, why the "disorder" currently referred to as ADD was so crucial to our evolutionary survival, and how genetic defects that cause serious diseases were at one time beneficial to us.
Meller concludes his discussion of each topic with a list of suggestions for how to deal with many common medical maladies from an evolutionary perspective. Many of his suggestions make a great deal of sense and appear well supported by research. Others, however, appear to have less solid scientific grounding or contradict other research I've seen. In his chapter on Vitamin D, for example, he dismisses supplements and recommends instead getting 30 minutes of sun 3 times a week. Yet others argue that those in the northern half of the US and/or who have dark skin simply can't get enough from the sun during the winter to manufacture sufficient quantities of Vitamin D internally. Applying Meller's own evolutionary perspective, I find it questionable to think that an hour and a half of sun a week would be sufficient for the manufacture of such a crucial vitamin when for most of our history we spent 12 hours in the sun every single day.
In addition, Meller's chapters on sexuality and psychology read more like oversimplified surveys of somewhat speculative theories. While I found these sections interesting, I had less confidence in what he was saying. Also, while his suggestion that we should solve our dietary problems by returning to a meat-dominant Paleolithic diet may have grounding in evolutionary theory, it's an unrealistic solution for a planet of limited resources and a population pushing 7 billion.
Overall, I found this book useful in that it effectively and logically debunks a number of common unproven ideas about human health. But I think in his effort to make what is ultimately a highly complex topic accessible, Meller both oversimplifies and overreaches. There is a lot of good information in here, but I came away from this book feeling like it was more of a starting place than the complete reference it presents itself to be.
Take diet, for example. We evolved in environments in which food was relatively scarce, so the cravings we developed for sweet and fatty things were to ensure that we stocked up on these precious resources whenever we came across them. Nature never anticipated the easy access of high-fructose corn syrup, however, and Meller attributes our current obesity epidemic to the fact that we have simply gotten too good at satisfying cravings that at one time were crucial for our survival.
In another chapter, he takes a look at our immune system. In a direct rebuke of those offering nostrums to "boost the immune system," he points out that we currently suffer far more from problems of an overactive immune response than an underactive one. In tracing our history, he shows how our immune systems were designed to deal with far more dirt, germs and parasites than they get in our current sanitized environments, and theorizes that many autoimmune and allergy issues are due to the immune system not having enough to do. A discussion of how Crohn's disease patients who were treated with a benign intestinal parasite experienced significant recovery and a look at the numerous studies showing how kids raised in environments with animals and dirt have fewer allergies seems to support this theory.
Along a similar vein, Meller devotes another chapter to the current bugaboo of toxins. After an elegant discussion of how "the dose makes the poison," Meller argues that the food we ate 30,000 years ago was far more toxic than anything covered in today's conventional pesticides could even come close to. We evolved giant, extremely efficient livers to deal with the fact that we were constantly eating foods that had developed their own natural poisons in effort to try to keep us from eating them. A side discussion of the theory that morning sickness evolved to ensure women only ate the safest of foods during the baby's earliest development is an interesting one. Meller doesn't deny that human ingenuity has managed to come up with the occasional chemical that does genuinely harm us, but he makes a reasonable argument that the majority of the current fear over toxins is unjustified and concerns over issues ranging from mercury in fish to BPA in waterbottles are significantly overblown.
Other issues Meller addresses in this book include injuries, how we evolved to heal them, and why modern medicine can't much improve on that process, why the idea that we need 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is a myth and what our bodies are really designed for, the importance of vitamin D and natural sun, why we really don't need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, issues relating to sexual attraction and reproduction, why the "disorder" currently referred to as ADD was so crucial to our evolutionary survival, and how genetic defects that cause serious diseases were at one time beneficial to us.
Meller concludes his discussion of each topic with a list of suggestions for how to deal with many common medical maladies from an evolutionary perspective. Many of his suggestions make a great deal of sense and appear well supported by research. Others, however, appear to have less solid scientific grounding or contradict other research I've seen. In his chapter on Vitamin D, for example, he dismisses supplements and recommends instead getting 30 minutes of sun 3 times a week. Yet others argue that those in the northern half of the US and/or who have dark skin simply can't get enough from the sun during the winter to manufacture sufficient quantities of Vitamin D internally. Applying Meller's own evolutionary perspective, I find it questionable to think that an hour and a half of sun a week would be sufficient for the manufacture of such a crucial vitamin when for most of our history we spent 12 hours in the sun every single day.
In addition, Meller's chapters on sexuality and psychology read more like oversimplified surveys of somewhat speculative theories. While I found these sections interesting, I had less confidence in what he was saying. Also, while his suggestion that we should solve our dietary problems by returning to a meat-dominant Paleolithic diet may have grounding in evolutionary theory, it's an unrealistic solution for a planet of limited resources and a population pushing 7 billion.
Overall, I found this book useful in that it effectively and logically debunks a number of common unproven ideas about human health. But I think in his effort to make what is ultimately a highly complex topic accessible, Meller both oversimplifies and overreaches. There is a lot of good information in here, but I came away from this book feeling like it was more of a starting place than the complete reference it presents itself to be.
November 13, 2011
There is a lot of good information in this book, but also a lot of questionable advice. He tells us not to push our dietary ethics onto our children (e.g. vegetarianism) and yet isn't he pushing his dietary ethics on us by insisting that the only healthy diet includes meat? He has some clearly legitimate scientifically-backed advice, and then some dubious claims tossed in without a lot of backup.
I recommend reading this article/review by Harriett Hall, MD, before tackling this book, and then keeping the article's information in mind while paging through: Evolutionary Medicine
I recommend reading this article/review by Harriett Hall, MD, before tackling this book, and then keeping the article's information in mind while paging through: Evolutionary Medicine
December 24, 2012
Interesting, but the evolutionary justifications he offers may be just-so stories.
December 25, 2019
I really enjoyed the way this book is written with it's foundation coming from the ways our ancestors lived. Love the storytelling that is weaved into this informative book.
July 31, 2010
I heard an interview with Dr.Meller on the Skepticality podcast and knew for sure I needed to read this book. The interview was fascinating, and the concept that our bodies have evolved to take care of itself, and looking at how and why our ancestors adapted reveals insights into how to improve our own health.
That being said, I don't think I would have enjoyed the book as much if I hadn't heard the interview. I strongly suggest if you read the book to also find that interview. The book itself is more of an overview of Dr. Meller's hypothesis. The interview went far more in death into some of the topics that the book only touches on. However, there is a good reason for this, the book is written in such a way that it is approachable for non-medical, non-science and more typical background. it is written for the common man.
The book reads as a how-to guide of sorts, where Dr. Meller tackles such subjects as the caveman diet and why we crave the foods we do, how to give your immune system a good healthy workout, aches and pains and what they mean, and why the sun might be more beneficial than originally thought. He traces everything back to thinking about how our ancient ancestors evolved to adapt to a world that was constantly trying to kill them. he justifies his arguments with more anecdotal than scientific proof, but as I said before this is a book for a layperson. If you want more on the science, look for additional interviews and material to find out what is going on behind the pages.
A few things from the book have made me completely rethink some of y positions on healthcare. For instance, when my kids have a fever, Instead of rushing to give them fever reducing medicine, I only do so if the fever is uncomfortable, or their pediatrician (who also support this idea) recommends it. What else stuck out to me was the idea that pain means you need to slow down and let your body heal. I try to remember and pay attention to that.
In all, it's an easy and quick read, and it will make you think. when my kid hangs out with a kid with a cold, I'm helping build his immune system.
That being said, I don't think I would have enjoyed the book as much if I hadn't heard the interview. I strongly suggest if you read the book to also find that interview. The book itself is more of an overview of Dr. Meller's hypothesis. The interview went far more in death into some of the topics that the book only touches on. However, there is a good reason for this, the book is written in such a way that it is approachable for non-medical, non-science and more typical background. it is written for the common man.
The book reads as a how-to guide of sorts, where Dr. Meller tackles such subjects as the caveman diet and why we crave the foods we do, how to give your immune system a good healthy workout, aches and pains and what they mean, and why the sun might be more beneficial than originally thought. He traces everything back to thinking about how our ancient ancestors evolved to adapt to a world that was constantly trying to kill them. he justifies his arguments with more anecdotal than scientific proof, but as I said before this is a book for a layperson. If you want more on the science, look for additional interviews and material to find out what is going on behind the pages.
A few things from the book have made me completely rethink some of y positions on healthcare. For instance, when my kids have a fever, Instead of rushing to give them fever reducing medicine, I only do so if the fever is uncomfortable, or their pediatrician (who also support this idea) recommends it. What else stuck out to me was the idea that pain means you need to slow down and let your body heal. I try to remember and pay attention to that.
In all, it's an easy and quick read, and it will make you think. when my kid hangs out with a kid with a cold, I'm helping build his immune system.
April 5, 2010
This is another way of looking at health. Very common sense and I agree w/ many of his assertions.
It is definitely written for the lay public so the inference that bacteria and viruses think was bothersome to me. It does make for a more easily read book however.
It is definitely written for the lay public so the inference that bacteria and viruses think was bothersome to me. It does make for a more easily read book however.
December 21, 2009
How to take care of our body based on evolutionary science -- what works, what is a waste of time, and why. It is worth reading.
May 22, 2013
A very interesting (non-fiction) book about why our bodies work the way they do according to the theory of evolution, and how we can use that informtation to our advantage.
Read
April 30, 2010A truly excellent look at human evolution and how it relates to health, healing and lifestyle. Despite the kooky sounding title, it's definitely not a book of woo.
February 2, 2011
Adds additional perspective on why our bodies do what they do. Provides insight into why some health issues are more difficult to combat. Another set of pieces to the puzzle that of us.
Currently reading
March 21, 2011LOVED the interview on the Skepticality podcast with the author. definitely a must-read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews