Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free – From a Bestselling Doctor (Eat for Life)

Super Immunity is a scientifically-based study on the health benefits of a plant-based diet. The author, a nutritional physician, actually advocates a low-meat or even no-meat diet, including vegan. From a purely scientific view, which is the view I always take with things like this, the book is a fascinating insight into what makes fruit and vegetables so good for you. It explains how nutrition is divided into ‘macro-nutrients’, which are fats, protein and carbohydrates, and ‘micro-nutrients’, which are vitamins and minerals. The author argues that far too much emphasis is put on diets that regulate fat/protein/carbs, and not enough on diets that regulate the vitamins and minerals we get, as it’s these that most impact our long-term health. More importantly, it is explained that, as well as vitamins and minerals, fruit and veg contain a third category of micro-nutrients called ‘phyto-chemicals’, this literally means ‘plant chemicals’, and these are a group of compounds that enhance our immune system and help fight disease. Significantly, phyto-chemicals are only found in fruit and veg, not meat. If you’ve ever wondered why fruit and veg come in so many different colours, it’s the phyto-chemicals that make these colours. The science behind nutrition and the health benefits of fruit and veg is superbly explained and is a fascinating read. I have to say the author is very anti-meat to the point where he seems to blame meat for every disease known, and I did begin to wonder if this was his opinion rather than fully-proven science. I think meat definitely gets a bad press these days but the supposed health-risks of meat is far from proven, and there’s no escaping the fact that meat is a very rich source of the B vitamins, protein, fats, and minerals like iron and zinc. Also, the anti-meat brigade often forget one thing – we don’t just eat to survive, we eat for pleasure as well, and there’s nothing better in life than a juicy steak or some lovely hot wings! But putting aside the anti-meat bias of the book, the author makes a very powerful case for a more plant-based diet and I definitely intend to take on board what I’ve learnt. One new word I learnt from the book is “flexitarian”, which is a vegetarian who eats a bit of meat. Personally, there’s no way I’ll ever give it up meat, but maybe being a ‘flexitarian’ is a good compromise for me.

This is only a review for the first half of the book, I did not try any recipe. I always defined myself as carnivorous (although I love eating fruits) and never liked eating cooked vegetables or green leafs. But the author makes a very good case, backed by scientific evidence, for a better diet based on grean leafs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, berries, and little meat if any. He also debunks many myths such as all the drugs doctors prescribe for benign colds that only mask the symptoms without really curing the disease. I related to that part a lot: I instinctively never went to any doctor for colds and always let my body naturally deal with it. Thanks to this book, I now know better what to eat and what to avoid, and the real consequences of the food that we all know we should avoid (refined sugar, wheat, processed food in general, etc.) Now enough of the theory and let's talk about the practice. If you're like me, fond of meat and fruits but not vegetables, a good solution I found was to buy a juicer. I recommend the Omega 8004/8006 (in Europe it is called Omega 8224/8226) for that. I basically juice carrots, apples, pears (I like those), maybe half a grapefruit, some tomatoes, and I add all those grean leafs (kale, chard, spinnach, anything) and vegetables (broccoli, coliflower, etc) that I normally never eat. A juice made with a masticating juicer is extremely high in nutrition that will get absorbed within 10 to 15mn on an empty stomach. I drink 0.5 to 1L a day (unless on holidays) I've been doing this for few months, never been better. My bowel movements occur more often and I have more energy. Drinking juice had reduced my craving for coffee: I used to drink 2 Latte Macchiato a day (with 2 shots of espresso in each), and I cut down to a maximum of 1, much smaller amount, with only 1 espresso shot (and only when I feel tired from lack of sleep). My craving for meat reduced dramatically, I couldn't believe it. I used to require meat for lunch AND dinner, and sometimes I'd even eat it for breakfast if available. Now not anymore, I eat meat for lunch because I don't like mainstream vegetarian food, but for dinner I often do without and I eat fruits, drink a juice, or even an occasional vegetarian recipe (homemade, such as korean bibimbap). When I go food shopping, I know buy loads of veggies instead of buying lot of meat. So I recommend juicing if you would like to incorporate veggies and green leafs in your diet but hate the taste. Not to mention the loss of nutrients when you cook those...

plenty of good information regarding diet and nutrition and probably very good for someone who is Vegan. I prefer a diet with more variety. I have given the book 4 stars due to all the information on each item of fruit / veg / pulses which is very good. I cannot comment on how effective the diet itself is as not tried it but after reading this book I have added ingredients to my diet

I'm a medical doctor and currently training to be a GP after having doing a couple years of Emergency Medicine. I spotted this book in Waterstones, it looked interesting so ordered it on my amazon app. The book is easy to read and the more you get into the book the harder it is to put down. I agree with Dr Fuhrman, that physicians today are largely the distribution arm of pharmaceutical companies whose goal is to make profit. It may sound cynical but doctors are good at diagnosing illnesses but very bad at health promotion and disease prevention simply because the medical school curriculum has so little focus on health. This is partly because most modern research into diseases is done by big pharmaceutical companies or they provide grants for such research. Television series has elevated doctors in most people's minds, but when you are diagnosed with a serious illness, you will see how little doctors can really do for patients. Today we are seeing diseases in numbers not seen before even if we account for increasing population and better diagnostic techniques. Just a few months ago - Cancer Research UK stated that colon cancer has increased by 29% in men in the last 35 years. In medschool we were taught that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with a cancer. MacMillan cancer services, which is charity supporting people diagnosed with cancer, believe that by 2020 - 1 in 2 people will have a diagnosis of cancer. I often see patients in clinic who get recurrent colds, various other infections or boils and keep being asked, "doctor why do i keep getting these infections?", and often we often don't have a good answer. In Super Immunity, dr Fuhrman argues that most people concentrate on macro nutrients such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates but many of us are deficient in micronutrients which are vital for health. The processed food we eat, though looks and tastes nice, is not real food as leaves the body starving of good nutrients. Most of what Dr Fuhrman claims is referenced. Though I haven't used the diet regime given in the back of the book, I have taken much of what was recommend on board. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Has changed the way I think about medicine and health. Prevent disease and age gracefully by eating raw, organic foods, exercise regularly and rest well. Common sense really.

Based on a mass of scientific evidence which is all listed in the rear of the book, this really shakes up conventional wisdom about diet and health. I have made major changes to my eating patterns as a result and feel much better because of it. This is the sort of stuff that should be taught in schools. What foods we really should be eating and how we can drastically reduce disease through good nutrition. For most people the contents will come as a surprise, but it is all backed up by a mountain of incontrovertible scientific evidence. If you want good health, the solution is in this book.

Brilliant Book. Very informative indeed. Excellent Advice too! I lost 2 stone very quickly using Dr Joel Fuhrmans plan & have so much energy when I juice its an amazing difference. I feel healthier too & have had less allergies. All in all a great read & very educational.

prompt delivery. Book as expected.

Great book that answers many of my questions. I feel so much better since following his recommendations. I eat beans everyday in my salad because he is big on beans. It only took my inner workings a couple of weeks to produce the right bacteria to digest beans without producing wind. I cook enough beans for a week's salads and freeze them in daily portions. I love eating his way and my bank account is looking healthier too.

This book can change your life if you read it and put the nutrition described into action.

Most cancers occur in the digestive organs and a big reason is not because of food in general but because of the additives and processing of food. Joel Fuhrman makes very good points on why we should rethink the way we eat and feed our families.

Really great opportunity to read is nutritional based treatment and his recommended phytonutrients veg and fruits adding longevity and healthy life ..highly recommended

this book should be read by a lot of people, it shows the way of eating and also what you have to avoid to be in good health

This is the only book that I have read that I take to bed to read it is that good, I don't want to stop reading it & when I finish it I will read it again to make sure I remember the facts. Then I will follow the "cook book" section at the end to ensure I am the healthiest that I can be especially in this era of the pandemic.