Exercise and Diet Myths?
 

This web page is a bit jumbled, but I was wondering if there was any truth to this person's claims.

http://www.biblelife.org/exercise.htm

In my opinion, some, but not much (there are many better and more accurate sources). I went to amazon.com to see if I could find out more about the author and his book. The solitary review is so glowing that I suspect it was written by the author himself or a very close personal friend (especially since the reviewer has no other reviews posted on amazon.com).

The book is self-published (ExaltPublishing.com is owned by the author, and apparently the only book published is the one being advertised). There's nothing wrong (necessarily) with self-published material, but it does indicate that there's been no fact checking outside of the author (the editor listed has the same last name as the author, so I suspect it's his wife or another relative - hardly an unbiased editor).

His biography on amazon.com, seems overblown and exagerated to me (bragging about how much more he knows than doctors).

He also talks about his "research" but as you read it, you realize he's not talking about scientific research with strict measures and controls, he's talking about personal observation.


To me, (especially with the books amazon links it to) it sounds like he's advocating a low-carb, primarian/paleo/ancestor diet. There is quite a bit of of research support for such diet and lifestyle changes, but I don't think this is the guy to get the information from.

Primal Blueprint comes to mine, not necessarily as the best example, but probably the most recent. Rather than saying "exercise causes health problems" (as this author seems to be saying), Mark Sissel talks about moderate exercise being more beneficial than excessive hard-core exercise... and he does provide research citations (although there are other books that do an even better job of citing the appropriate research).


Here's my reading list for paleo diets, I've only read about half of the books, but I believe all of them are published by mainstream publishers (not proof of fact-checking, but better odds of it, as there are many more people standing behind the information, staking their job and reputation on it to a greater degree than a self-published "manifesto").

Cereal Killer
Everyday Paleo
The Evolution Diet
The New Evolution Diet (different author, so it doesn't seem to be a new edition)
Going Against the Grain
Good Calories, Bad Calories
Life Without Bread
Neanderthin
The Paleo Diet
The Paleo Diet for Athletes
The Paleo Solution
The Paleolithic Prescription
The Primal Blueprint
Primal Body, Primal Mind
Refuse to Regain
The Warrior's Diet

Thanks. I'm actually trying a paleo-like diet, but I was more concerned with what that guy was saying about exercise. It sounded a bit weird to me.

It was really hard to find out what the guy was going on about, but...well, it kinda sounds like he's in cloud-cuckoo-land with some of that stuff about exercise. Most of it, to be blunt.

There's overwhelming evidence that exercise aids in weight loss and maintenance, so you can toss Myth #1 aside from the get-go. There are a lot of places you can go to double-check this, but the easiest way is just to do a Google search and add the phrase "site: .gov" or "site: .edu" (minus the quotes) at the end of your search tags. This will bring up credible, peer-reviewed sources of information from government and university sites. That includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health, and multiple specific studies from universities of your choice. :)

Y'know...I was going to go through and "myth-bust" all his myths, but when I got to the link about "marathon runner dies, 9,000 spectators are just fine," under Myth #2, I gave up. This guy doesn't understand science, statistics, anatomy, physiology, or much of anything else. He's an anti-science nutter who probably thinks the world is hollow, 5,000 years old, and filled with UFOs.

He may make some good points about diet and exercise here and there in his rants, but look at it this way: even a stopped clock is right twice a day. He's bound to get a few things right just because he rambles so much. :D

I am automatically suspicious of anyone who calls all modern scientific work "dogma" and "lies." His website is full of hatred and name-calling. Specifically, his section on adoption interested me since I am an adoptive mom. He said that adoption of Chinese or any foreign baby is an evil practice. Hmmmm....tell that to my blind daughter who would have been a street beggar or my 6 year old who would have grown up with no options for marriage or family b/c she didn't have a "family name." He lost all credibility for me with his dogmatic views that he claims over-ride science and humanity. Just my opinion! :D

Yikes, hatethesweatpants, I had no idea that he said that about adoption. What a weirdo. ::shakes head::