Barry Groves

Forget what you know about living a healthy lifestyle. It’s likely wrong—and killing you. That is the clear message in the book "Trick and Treat" by Barry Groves. A quick perusal of the abstracts at the start of each chapter makes it easy to dismiss Groves as some contrarious crank. But read on. This guy has done his homework (there are 53 pages of citations). In a clear, methodical, detailed style, Groves compiles the evidence against today’s multi-billion dollar health industry.

I show more didn’t have to read much of the book before I became angry. At first I was angry at Groves for calling into question everything I have come to believe about living a healthy lifestyle. He advocates eating meat not vegetables. Replace your bran breakfast with eggs and bacon. Scrap the margarine and vegetable oils and use butter. Sunbathe without the sunscreen. This guy must be crazy. But as I continued to read, his arguments continued to make more sense. After all, why should we humans suddenly change a diet that has carried us through our evolutionary development? And is it a coincidence that the rise of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and a host of other ailments coincide with our obsession with “healthy” eating? Not according to the extensive evidence compiled by Groves. My anger eventually became aimed at the professionals and government that persuaded me to believe in an unnatural “healthy” lifestyle. I ended my reading of this book curious to know more about Groves’s recommendations.

I found "Trick and Treat" exhausting to read. It seems Groves has found every possible study that supports his premise from the past two centuries and includes all of them in his book. But he has a way of explaining the complexities of human physiology and biochemistry that make these subjects understandable to the layperson. I was frustrated, though, that there were not more details included in the book about how to return to a more human-friendly diet. I suppose I will need to read one of his other books for that information. After reading "Trick and Treat," I am eager to do so. show less

In "Trick and Treat: How ‘Healthy Eating’ is Making us Ill", Barry Groves blames the current health crisis in modern western society on three things: the pervasive high-carbohydrate, low fat diet; governmental interference in health care; and a health/pharmaceutical industry that capitalizes on the situation by promoting unhealthy practices, and then treating the disease conditions that result. "Trick and Treat" is divided into two parts. Part One describes the corruption in the health show more industry, points out the problems inherent in a high-carb, low-fat diet, and then prescribes a diet that leads to good health. The prescribed diet is high in fat – specifically animal fat, not polyunsaturated vegetable fat – and low in carbohydrates, with 60-70% of calories from fat, 15-25% of calories from protein, and a mere 10-15% of calories from carbohydrates. Part Two describes numerous diseases the author claims are the result of high carbohydrate consumption. These range from life-threatening disorders such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer to less serious problems such as acne, near-sightedness and dental problems.

Groves not only turns the current thinking about what comprises a healthy diet upside-down, but also refutes many other widely-held beliefs about health. He tells us to restrict or eliminate bran from our diets, but not to worry about our sodium intake. He is a proponent of sun exposure, but suggests that we forego sunscreens, and says that while exercise may increase fitness, it has minimal health benefits. Although many of Groves’ assertions are unorthodox, they appear to be well-researched and documented. There are over 50 pages of references. The book also contains a glossary, an appendix, and an index.

"Trick and Treat" is an illuminating albeit controversial book. Groves’ arguments are quite convincing, but not easy to completely accept without further investigation. In the meantime, having never been a "fat-fan", I will continue to remove skin from poultry and fat from beef, but plan to enjoy a bacon and egg breakfast on the nearest occasion. show less

I share the author's scepticism of conventional wisdom and criticisms of the current state of health care. However, I'm not convinced by his evolutionary arguments for a meat-based diet - in fact, I'd argue the opposite - there are strong health benefits to being vegetarian.

This book really shook up what I thought I knew about nutrition and healthy eating. It seemed very well-researched and intriguing. I'm definitely going to investigate his claims further. At the same time, the book read like a textbook. It was very dry. I consider myself a pretty quick reader, but this one was dense, and dry, and it took me forever to slog through it.