Eat like a pig, run like a horse How food fights hijacked our health and the new science of exercise

Despite its flamboyant title, the thesis of this book is sound: regular physical activity is more important for good health and longevity than your weight and diet. Yet according to one survey, 80 percent of Americans don't exercise or play recreational sports. Marx de Salcedo denounces "the false prophets of diet-focused health." She constructs her case for exercise's crucial role in interviews with researchers and experts and briefly reviews relevant information on nutrition, metabolism, and aerobic fitness. One exercise physiologist proclaims, "that it is far better to be fit than it is to be thin." Marx de Salcedo integrates a considerable amount of personal narrative (the onset of her multiple sclerosis symptoms, her family's experience with the COVID-19 pandemic) into the science writing. Chubby indoor cats, rodents used in scientific experiments, "buff" nematodes, ultramarathon-running horses, busy bats, and other animals are featured. As a population, we generally move much too little and eat too copiously, an unfortunate formula for developing chronic diseases and shortened lives. Regular exercise enhances physical and mental health. The benefits of simply moving your body are potentially life-changing.

Marx de Salcedo (Combat-Ready Kitchen) is a food and science writer living with multiple sclerosis. While learning about her disease and weighing treatment options, she found that exercise helped prevent her flare-ups. Inspired, she went on to examine human metabolism and how exercise affects both humans and animals. Her book mixes conversations with friends, interviews with researchers, and bits of scientific data written conversationally. It concludes that exercise is, for many, the most important factor in maintaining health and preventing disease. Marx de Salcedo writes that MS has both metabolic and autoimmune components, and cites studies showing that physical activity and alcohol in moderation helped control MS and that people with high levels of LDL ("bad cholesterol") and triglycerides had more MS attacks than those with high levels of HDL ("good cholesterol"). The book has footnotes and a bibliography and makes an important point about exercise, but its notion that diet is not important is problematic. Marx de Salcedo cites literature from reputable journals, but some is cherry-picked to support her stance. VERDICT An optional purchase for libraries building medical collections.--Barbara M. Bibel