Anyone a book worm? Thought I might invest in a... - Thyroid UK

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Anyone a book worm? Thought I might invest in a real book rather than Kindle download

TiggerMe profile image
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Any reviews on Tim Spector books I see he's done several?

They all get good reviews but with us being Special People🤗 with often a slightly skewed relationship with food I wondered how useful they are?

Davina McCall was singing its praises and she's in the thyroid gang

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humanbean profile image
humanbean

I don't know anything about Tim Spector, but just wanted to comment on the "real book vs Kindle" mentioned in the title.

I go out of my way to avoid buying real books these days. I was slow to start using a Kindle, but now I wish I'd started much earlier.

I have a house which is overrun with a couple of thousand books, maybe more, and they really annoy me. I have donated quite a few of the books I have bought to charity but my husband refuses to let go of any book that comes into the house.

In contrast I have a Kindle with another 500 books on it, and it takes up no room at all, and the books never need dusting or re-sorting

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply tohumanbean

I'm with you on that, I was never a book reader before the thyroid slowdown and I find it great in everyway.... especially since I got a waterproof one which stops the panic and momentary heart failure of dropping it in the bath each night as I invariably nod off!

But I do find it limiting when you really want to flick back and forwards when reading something technical like this kind of thing or even a recipe book or anything with pictures or diagrams

There is something about pouring over a book which helps me retain the information 🤔

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase

We bought Kindles years ago mainly to take with us in our camper van. Before we got it we used to take a complete library of books away with us and as you know they take up a lot of space.

I still use my Kindle but I’ve started buying cheap charity shop books to read in bed rather than use the kindle - even though you can adjust it for night time. I still sleep better if I stick to a real book. Like you Eeyore I find it tiresome if I want to look back when I’m reading a kindle so nowadays I only use it for fiction.

Tim Spector - I see him as an up and coming ‘Michael Mosley’ type - he is making a huge amount of money from his Zoe project and his writings and he has a face that television likes. I agree with a lot of what he says but he is definitely as they say ‘coining it in’ and I’m not sure about Davina McColl’s endorsement of the book - she strikes me as another person who jumps on a lot of bandwagons.

Gosh, aren’t I grumpy this morning 😉

humanbean profile image
humanbean• in reply toFruitandnutcase

We're all different. I find holding books painful - but then I do tend to read in bed for a long time.

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply tohumanbean

I know what you mean, I find holding some books challenging too, too thick and I just can’t do it. My husband reads huge books. The good thing about cheap books is you can bend them at the spine, I know that sounds awful but I only read paperbacks that are thin enough for me to hold.

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply tohumanbean

Yes, I find holding books awkward too, like you say a Kindle wins hands down in most situations, just getting the right lighting and font size for reading a book is a real drawback and page turning just when you've got comfy.... such a drag!

The paperlight one also allow me to read in the wee small hours without disturbing the snorer that woke me 😩

Thinking about it my sister will often pass me on a hardback which I never read due to these issues 🤔

I might have talked myself out of the book regardless of content 🤣

I'll get it on Kindle and read it 5 times to ingest 🤗if anyone thinks it's worth a read?

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply toTiggerMe

it’s funny, I used to work in a library and a lot of people used to make a beeline for the new hardback books. I really don’t like hardback books at all - I’d never buy one - yet my husband prefers them to paperbacks.

I think you’re very kind not wanting to disturb the snorer who wakes you

😉

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toFruitandnutcase

I’m plotting his demise whilst reading 🤣🤣 the joy of multi tasking

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toFruitandnutcase

I hadn't made the connection! Is he the rather irritating voice on the podcast?

I wondered the same about Davina, the world is just so commercialised

Who doesn't like a good grump once in a while 😉

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply toTiggerMe

I don’t know but I went off him when I read his opinion on vitamin D - I don’t think it is as straightforward as he makes out. Indiscriminate consumption of vitamins obviously isn’t good but equally it is necessary for people with osteoporosis and for thyroid health to name but two conditions. I agree with him though when he says that excess calcium isn’t good for you.

ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/bl...

Metabolical: The truth about processed food and how it poisons people and the planet

amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FD91PSM/...

It's written by a retired doctor and talks about how medicine is in a stranglehold of big pharma, among other things! I found it interesting. :)

This is a good book that isn't specifically about AITD but a general look at diet.

I can also recommend 'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollan.

:)

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply to

Processed food is a major health problem but it isn’t easy to get people to break their fast food habit. Ironic when you think how fast you can knock up an additive free quality meal in less time it takes to go out for a takeaway or get a Deliveroo.

I’ve just come across this book that looks interesting

What the Drug Companies Won't Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn't Know: The Alternative Treatments That May Change Your Life--And the Prescriptions That Could Harm You

And I found James Le Fanu’s book Too Many Pills interesting. Although he is another retired doctor turned journalist.

I’m off to have a look at Metabolical and In Defense of Food - the trouble is I suspect the majority of people who read up on this subject already eat a good diet, preaching to the converted.

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toFruitandnutcase

What the Drug Companies Won't Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn't Know: The Alternative Treatments That May Change Your Life--And the Prescriptions That Could Harm You

Sounds interesting! Like you say, we are old enough to know the pitfalls of fast food… short cuts have short comings!

My food has become more slow convenience, sourdough, sauerkraut, slow cooked meat… 🤗

DippyDame profile image
DippyDame

For me, it doesn't feel like a good read without a proper book!

I 've had a Kindle for years but we've never bonded!

Maybe I'm just a dinosaur but I like the feel of a fresh, new book

Oh, and I wonder how much time Tim Spector actually spends "doctoring".

Book v Kindle
Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply toDippyDame

🤣🤣🤣 I love it.

Think he’s more into research from the look of things. Like I say - I feel as if Tim is going down the Michael Moseley commercial route now. Once some of these doctors discover the glamorous world of TV - it looks like they go off ‘doctoring’. The Zoe project looks good but it is very expensive and there is a waiting list to take part.

DippyDame profile image
DippyDame• in reply toFruitandnutcase

He's said to be in the top 1% of the most cited scientists on the planet.

Hmmmm!!

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase• in reply toDippyDame

I’m sure he is - I bet he’s got an agent 🤣🤣🤣

Actually I’m probably being unfair about him I’m sure he is an expert in his field but if you look at the link to what supplements scientists / doctors take - it gives six different opinions.

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toDippyDame

So that could brainwash a whole generation, the cycle continues…

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toDippyDame

It's like the Imperial/Metric dilemma I've struggled with my whole life 🙄

AmandaK profile image
AmandaK

Tim Spector is highly respected. His main thesis is that no one diet fits all and that what works for one doesn't for another.

He has done a lot of research on gut issues, and has developed testing protocols to see how healthy a person's gut is, the results of which determine the way forward.

During the pandemic his analysis of the changing Covid symptoms as the virus was mutating, based on the submission of information by those testing positive, was illuminating and potentially vital for the way in which the pandemic was managed.

Shockingly he was ignored by those making decisions and who continued to provide incorrect information about the symptoms, relying on the original list at the beginning of the pandemic.

If Spector had been taken seriously far fewer people would have taken ill and far fewer would have died.

So I would suggest that he is worth listening to on other matters.

If you see his videos he is serious, straightforward and factual. I don't get the impression that he sees himself as a kind of celebrity and I don't think his personality is suited to the TV screen. Most importantly he seems a genuine and honest person who is concerned about the health of the nation whilst recognising that such good health is down to an individual's particular biomedical proclivities.

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toAmandaK

Excellent response thank you 🤗

I think I need to change my request to ask for people's nominations for most informative nutritional guide without any spin... just facts which I can tailor to my specific requirements?

I'd like a go to resource to refer back too as I just can't remember everything 🤯

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