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Drop Acid–how to lower uric acid values
Drop Acid
by David Perlmutter
with Kristin Loberg
Be prepared when you read Drop Acid for a book that concentrates on a medical theory that attributes many of our medical woes including obesity, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, premature death, stroke, coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s and hypertension to high levels of uric acid. In his efforts to convince the reader of his theory, Dr. Perlmutter, a neurologist, spends about half of his book expounding in detail the scientific basis of the principles of his LUV (Lower Uric Values) Diet, a trademarked designator. He spends a further 16% of the book at the end on notes for further reading.
The second part of Drop Acid lays out a plan of action for the reader to follow in lowering uric acid levels in three main areas: food; sleep, exercise, exposure to nature, and timing of meals; followed by fine tuning the process. He concludes with recipes that he developed with Tricia Williams, a food therapist.
I was really excited to read this potentially life-changing book. Unfortunately, my eyes glazed over during the details of the first half, and I failed to be convinced that this is a program I personally want to commit to. Even the recipes are challenging. Although Perlmutter claims substitutes can be made in ingredients, I have to ask why one would suggest recipes that specifically include Castelvetrano olives, za’atar seasoning, Tuscan kale, or dulse flakes.
I apply a healthy dose of skepticism when members of the medical community make a business out of healthcare. Perlmutter, in an effort at full disclosure, shares that he is on the board of directors of a company marketing a device, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to measure and monitor blood glucose, a device he maintains is not necessary for his program but would be very useful. He frequently in the text refers the reader both to that device and to his self-promoting website. He also introduces the website of Tricia Williams where his business is again promoted and ready-to-eat meals following this diet are available for purchase.
I am not a scientist or a medical professional, and I have not tried his program myself. I am reviewing the book for readability and appeal, not evaluating the efficacy of the LUV diet.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown & Co. for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 2/5
Category: Health, Mind, and Body
Notes: 1. Perlmutter is the author of a family of five books focused on gluten-free diets. His flagship book for that effort is Grain Brain.
2. Perlmutter ties his Covid wagon to a uric acid star, seemingly willing to accept most of the pandemic deaths as the inevitable result of comorbidities associated with high uric acid rather than admit most could have been avoided with the right therapeutics.
Publication: February 15, 2022—Little, Brown, & Co.
Memorable Lines:
As you will soon learn, long before any symptoms develop, asymptomatic hyperuricemia may well be fomenting an unending, irreversible storm and subtly stoking biological processes that ultimately result in elevated blood sugar and blood pressure, bad cholesterol, excess body fat, and systemic inflammation, which opens the door for any number of chronic degenerative conditions.
Contrary to what Big Corn will tell you, fructose and glucose are not siblings with equal biological effects. Fructose is more like glucose’s evil twin: when you eat glucose, your body uses it to produce energy; but when you eat fructose, it triggers changes in the body that favor the storage of energy in the form of fat.
If elevated uric acid precedes and predicts biological mayhem and future risk for most chronic diseases, then we must start paying attention to this important metabolite.
THE CURIOUS SPACE QUEST
Hunt with Newton: What are the Secrets of the Universe?
by Julia Golding with Andrew Briggs and Roger Wagner
Illustrated by Brett Hudson
Hunt with Newton is interesting and informative at the same time. Part science fiction, part theological inquiry, and part historical information about science, Julia Golding’s book takes children on a time travel adventure with a tortoise and a cat. The writing in that part of the story is somewhat strained. Anecdotes about the scientists are more interesting. Readers will also appreciate the inclusion of fun do-it-at-home science experiments. There is a timeline of 17th and 18th century discoveries that might have been better placed as an addendum, because it is dry without the depth needed to hold the reader’s interest. In discussing the scientists, the author jumps about a bit in time periods making the book somewhat disjointed. The connections made between science and religious thinking are interesting.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lion Hudson Limited for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Children’s Nonfiction
Notes: 1. No grade level indicated for intended audience
2. Part of a series: The Curious Space Quest
Publication: February 1, 2019—Lion Hudson Limited
Memorable Lines:
“The point I’m trying to make, Milton, is that, like many people at the time, he didn’t see a difference between science and magic.”
“The big step forward for science is that Pascal decided you could test if this idea is correct…”
Rocky Road to Galileo: What is Our Place in the Solar System?
by Julia Golding with Andrew Briggs and Roger Wagner
Illustrated by Brett Hudson
In a previous book, Harriet, a time traveling tortoise, was “tortoisenapped”by an Alexandrian scientist. As Rocky Road to Galileo opens, Milton, her feline time traveling companion, sets about to rescue her using the time machine. He discovers a Muslim invasion of Egypt has caused a dispersion of scientists, and with them Harriet.
There is a discussion of the Islamic Golden Age extending into Spain, a timeline of science in medieval Europe, and a look at the development of the scientific method along with a number of new technologies. Featured in this book is “Milton’s Notebook” in which the cat records some of his thoughts about what he is seeing and learning on their time travels.
The time traveling duo visit Friar Roger Bacon who emphasizes experimentation over reasoning and debate. Most of the scientists, both Muslim and Christian, had ideas about science and its relationship to religion. The cat and tortoise continue to jump about in time and land in Germany in time to see the first book printed on the Gutenberg press. They later go to Poland in 1510 to meet Copernicus who challenges rational earth-centered thinking. Other thinkers visited along the way are Martin Luther, William Shakespeare, and Galileo.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lion Hudson Limited for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Children’s Nonfiction
Notes: 1. Includes website suggestions for more information
2. Part of a series: The Curious Space Quest
Publication: February 1, 2019—Lion Hudson Limited
The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America
The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America
by Heather Won Tesoriero
Heather Won Tesoriero spent a year in Andy Bramante’s science research classroom. Andy, a former analytic chemist, left the corporate world to become a teacher, to make a difference. He and his students are award-winning, and The Class gives an in-depth look, not at what he does in his classroom as a model for cookie cutter programs across the nation, but at the teacher Andy and how he cares about his students and helps them be independent, creative thinkers in science and in their personal lives.
Andy’s students have to apply to be in his class which is centered around independent research and participation in multiple science fairs. Success in the science fairs can result in prize monies and affect college admissions. Along the way, the students learn advanced science (often in multiple fields), self-discipline, how to use professional scientific instrumentation, research methodology, and presentation skills.
The students in The Class live in tony and highly competitive Greenwich, Connecticut. Most would be considered nerds and most, but certainly not all, are from upper-class families. Many are children of immigrants and those parents are highly motivated to see their children succeed. Many of these very intelligent teenagers are also talented in other areas such as athletics and music. They will all go to good colleges.
The Class is formatted according to the school year with chapters about various students and Andy as they move through the seasons. We read of the students’ personal struggles as teenagers as well as their attempts to find a topic for research and bring their project to fruition. It doesn’t take long to become engaged in their struggles and begin to root for a good outcome.
This book has widespread appeal partly because the author seems to be invested in the subjects of her writing and makes them come to life. I learned a lot about the current world of college admissions. I must admit that the science involved in many of the projects was beyond the scope of my science background, but was explained well. I recommend The Class and wish Andy and his students well in their future endeavors.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Random House (Ballantine) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction (Adult), Science
Notes: 1. Some casual swearing throughout the book by both teacher and students.
2. The author made several snide slurs about the current presidency. Those remarks seem unnecessary and politically motivated. They are supposed to reflect conversations she heard, but they certainly seemed couched in her language, especially a disparaging comment about the First Lady. A writer selects what to share from the many words and events that pass before her. I think in this case she should have asked herself two questions as she put pen to paper: Is it necessary to tell my story? Is it kind?
Publication: September 4, 2018—Random House (Ballantine)
Memorable Lines:
Andy would have it no other way. To him, the whole reason he got into the teaching business was to work side by side with kids, to develop the relationships and let the science unfurl in all of its glorious unpredictability.
“All day, we’re telling the kids, do this, read this, use this—and if you don’t, you fail. They need a space where it’s okay to fail.” —Nancy Shwartz, Cos Cob school librarian and creator of Maker Space, a place at her school where creativity is prized
“We’ve moved from education, teaching people how to think, to training, teaching people how to bark on time. And highly structured curriculum and even scripted curriculum in some places—the teacher reads the lesson. Those are not places where someone is being educated. It can’t be… Which is more valuable to the person and to the society? I can memorize something and give it back to you in an orderly fashion, even in a comprehensively well-expressed fashion. Or I can think. To me, it’s not even a call.” —Thomas Forget, Ph.D., professor and Andy’s mentor
education pathways 