Although at times the medical explanations were overwhelming, I was impressed with the scientific explanations and am always glad to find a book that I can't sufficiently "skim" (i.e., I need to re-read it) and one that makes me want to dig deeper into a subject--in this case, endocrinology and organic foods. Although written for both men and women, some men may pass this one on the shelf because of its cover. Seemingly marketed as a diet book, Master Your Metabolism actually deals with hormone balance and establishing healthy eating habits. A couple things some readers may find offensive or annoying: the profanity sprinkled throughout the book and Michaels' "go green"/"heal the earth" philosophy. In the section on getting enough hours of deep sleep for hormone function, Michaels did not address the unavoidable lack of sleep for breastfeeding mothers and those in certain careers (e.g., active duty military). I found the references to having a "hot" body on the proposed plan more of a marketing ploy and not really appropriate to the content of the book.
Overall I was happy to come across this book and agree with Michaels' ideas on eating before you get too hungry and enjoying occasional "real" treats (e.g., ice cream) versus imitation ones (e.g. artificially sweetened diet reduced calorie low fat _________ [you fill in the blank]). I certainly needed the reminder to eliminate diet sodas and (most) processed foods from my personal menu, and to add whole foods. But now the challenge is to start practicing what I have learned!
