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Old Dec 26, 2014, 06:47 PM
vital's Avatar
vital vital is offline
Grand Poohbah
 
Member Since: Oct 2014
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,589
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwi33 View Post
I think that there are very complex issues here but I am sceptical of anything written by Dr Hyman. He has no professional experience of psychiatric medicine.

On the other hand, he is the owner of an entity called "The UltraWellness Center" - a pretentious label is never a good sign.

The titles of some of his books (none of which seem to have been peer-reviewed) include:

The UltraMind Solution: The Simple Way to Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety, and Sharpen Your Mind

The UltraSimple Diet: Kick-Start Your Metabolism and Safely Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 7 Days

The UltraMetabolism Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes that Will Turn on Your Fat-Burning DNA

He seems to like the term "Ultra" and the notion of "Fat-Burning DNA" is particularly nonsensical for any evidence-based biomedical scientist.

He looks to me to be just another evidence-free complementary/alternative medicine practitioner who makes money by selling books and other products through his "UltraWellness Center".
"Turning on your fat burning DNA" is a reference to epigenetics

Epigenetics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a absolutely real, scientifically established thing. You genes can be turned on an off depending on, among other things, what you eat.

As to peer review, both popular and academic books are reviewed by the publisher. This is not exactly the same as the review process for a journal article, but it it completely normal and is not at all a cause for suspicion.

Dr. Hyman does write bestsellers, goes on TV, etc., but this is the only way to have an impact on the health of large numbers of people. He is really trying to help you and your response is just a shame. If you decide you don't like him, you might have a look at Andrew Weil's materials. He has much the same advice on most topics.

- vital