It Starts With Food Book Summary - It Starts With Food Book explained in key points

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It Starts With Food summary

Name: It Starts With Food
Rating: 3.6 (76 reviews)
Author: Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig

Dallas Hartwig Melissa Hartwig

Discover the WHOLE30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

3.6 (76 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

It Starts With Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig discusses the connection between food and overall health. Through a 30-day plan, it aims to change eating habits for improved physical and mental wellbeing.

Topics

Weight Loss Healthy Living Simplify Podcast The Body Diet

Table of Contents

It Starts With Food
Summary of 7 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Eat right to reset your body and become healthier in 30 days.

While you might think that bag of salty chips after a long day is a treat you’ve earned, really you’re just hurting yourself!

Modern food producers have spent decades researching the science of human craving, designing snacks and other products to hijack your brain and make you want foods that are not just nutritionally poor but also physically dangerous.

These blinks take you on a journey to show you what the food you eat does to your body, changing it in sometimes surprising and even scary ways. Importantly, you’ll learn how to reset your body’s natural balance and become healthier and happier by making better choices about what appears on your plate.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how that afternoon bar of chocolate messes with your brain;
how to make life easier for your immune system; and
why you should always listen to your gut.

The food you eat has a big impact on your mental state and the health of your immune system.

Have you noticed that certain foods make you feel weak or stressed out? Food can have a profound impact on how people think and feel.

This is why diets don’t work unless they fundamentally change your food cravings. If you find yourself returning to junk food after a phase of dieting, it’s not necessarily because you lack willpower – it’s because certain foods really mess with your brain!

Humans have evolved to appreciate three basic flavor categories: sweet, fatty and salty. Sweet foods give you energy; fatty foods give you calories; and finally, salty foods keep you hydrated.

The fact is that humans are hardwired to like these flavors. Food producers know this and have used this fact to their market advantage.

Processed foods such as the hamburgers and french fries from your favorite fast food outlet, chocolate bars and even frozen meals offer a supernormal stimulus, meaning these foods are either sweeter, saltier or fattier (or all three) than non-processed foods. This extra boost makes us crave such foods even more.

When you eat a chocolate bar, for instance, your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that gives you feelings of pleasure. The more chocolate you eat, the more your body craves the effect of dopamine; and this feedback loop makes you want to eat more chocolate in the future.

Yet food doesn’t just scramble your brain, convincing you that another cheeseburger can’t be all that bad. It also affects your immune system, potentially causing inflammation.

Inflammation in the body usually happens as a normal response to an injury or illness, but chronic inflammation is different. Chronic inflammation occurs when your immune system gets confused and your body starts attacking itself, as it can’t differentiate between “you” and a foreign invader, such as a virus.

A lot of processed food today contains chemical compounds that can be difficult for your immune system to process. Such chemicals can stress your body, leading to chronic inflammation and even serious illness.

What you eat can make your body’s hormones misfire, confusing your brain and damaging your body.

Food can actually change how your hormones work. Your body’s hormones are supposed to keep your system in balance, but certain foods can throw your body’s system off balance.

Insulin, which controls the body’s blood sugar levels, is the most important hormone associated with food. Chronically high levels of blood sugar are harmful, and can cause diabetes. Insulin is supposed to prevent this by telling your body to store extra sugar as glycogen, to be used later when your body needs it.

To maintain the body’s optimal health, try to avoid grains, legumes, seed oils and dairy products.

Most people know it’s unhealthy to eat too much sugar or drink too much alcohol. But other foods that may seem more benign can also be bad for your health.

Try to keep all grains and legumes out of your diet, even such “healthy” options as quinoa or whole-grain (or brown) rice. While grains are nutritious, they are not as nutritious as fruits and vegetables. They have a higher calorie content, too. When you eat grains, you may eat fewer fruits and vegetables because grains can fill you up so easily!

Eat plenty of meat, good fat, fruits and vegetables.

So we’ve listed foods to avoid, but which foods then should you eat?

A healthy diet should contain a lot of meat, seafood and eggs, as well as foods that contain the “right” kinds of fat. Such choices are protein-rich, and protein helps the body grow, recover from an injury or a strenuous workout, and in general is one of the more satiating nutrients.

Improve your health by changing the way you eat. Turn off the TV and pay attention to your plate!

Most people eat without thinking much about how they are putting food in their bodies, whether in front of the television or on the run. If this is you, it’s time for a change!

Eating right starts with listening to your body. Your body tells you what you need. If you listen, you don’t even need to count calories! Try the following tips.

Use the Whole30 program to make permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle.

Baby steps don’t work when you’re trying to make a big change in your lifestyle. You need a radical change to break bad habits, or you’ll just fall back on them.

That’s why the Whole30 plan is so effective. The Whole30 plan aims to reset your metabolism in just 30 days and stop your unhealthy food cravings.

Final Summary

The key message in this book:

The food you eat has a big effect on your mood, psychology, immune system and strength. So give your diet the attention it deserves! Avoid grains, dairy products and unhealthy fats, and make sure you get plenty of protein, vegetables and fruits. Kick start your metabolism and suppress your cravings with the Whole30 plan, but don’t lose hope if you slip up now and then. The Whole30 plan makes you healthier and stronger for life!

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What is It Starts With Food about?

It Starts With Food (2012) gives you the inside scoop on the profound effects food can have on your body and well-being. Importantly, these blinks explain how you can alter your diet to both lose weight and feel better, body and soul.

It Starts With Food Review

It Starts With Food (2012) is an insightful book that delves into the connection between the food we eat and our overall health and well-being, making it a worthwhile read. Here's why this book stands out:

With its science-backed approach, the book provides readers with practical knowledge on how to nourish their bodies and achieve optimal health.
Offering a step-by-step plan, it guides readers in transforming their relationship with food and making sustainable lifestyle changes for long-term wellness.
The book's engaging and accessible writing style keeps readers captivated, ensuring that the topic of nutrition remains interesting and relevant.

Best quote from It Starts With Food

Theyve turned real food into Frankenfood.

—Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig

Who should read It Starts With Food?

People interested in improving their overall health
Dieters who have tried everything
Busy executives seeking to eat more healthily

About the Author

Melissa Hartwig is a sports nutritionist who has been featured in several publications, including The Wall Street Journal. Dallas Hartwig is a physical therapist and sports nutritionist. It Starts With Food is their second bestselling book.

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