Health Power Hour Reading

Name of Book: Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath

Name of Chapter: The Three Building Blocks: Forget Fad Diets, Forever; Make Inactivity Your Enemy; Sleep Longer to Get More Done

Thesis: Rath identifies the three key points of living a healthy lifestyle as food, activity, and sleep. 

Summary: This chapter talked about how to start on the process of being healthier. Rath talks about quality of the food over the quantity and how really the key to being healthy is to be active, not just exercising. He also introduces the topic of sleep and how less sleep actually decreases "well-being, productivity, health, and ability to think" (17). Those who get more rest tend to maximize their achievement, which is seen in the way they practice: in short, focused bursts that last no longer than 90 minutes. 

Name of Chapter: Big Changes Through Small Adjustments: Every Bite Is a Net Gain or Loss; Step Away From Your Chair; Sleep Makes or Breaks a Day

Thesis: Rath uses his three main topics (eat, activity, sleep) to show how to improve overall health with small changes to one's everyday routine.

Summary: With food, Rath discusses how there is only loss and gain while eating. Any sort of processed food or extra sugar is a loss, but it also turns that entire meal into a net loss. He also brings up an interesting point is stating, "the only way to make this a clear net gain was to order my salmon without the barbecue sauce"(21). This shows how you as a person have to put in the effort to conscientiously make this decision to make your meal a net gain rather than a loss. Next, Rath moves onto talk about how sitting increases risk of early death, obesity, and other health risks. He suggests walking or taking the stairs, which can increase your energy level 150-200%. Following the same pattern to his other chapter, he ends with sleep and shows how the amount of sleep you start off with affects you the rest of the week. 

Name of Chapter: One Good Choice at a Time: What Counts More Than Calories; Use Product Placement at Home; Work Faster While You Walk

Thesis: Rath demonstrates how actively making changes to one's lifestyle is beneficial. He shows this through his use of statistics and personal experiences.

Summary: Rath states that only 1% of the population actually take time to read past the "Total Calories" on the nutrition label. He suggests that you should make it a habit to have "a ration of one gram of carbs for every one gram of protein"(26) and to avoid anything with a ratio higher than 5:1 (chips/ cereal average 10:1). His next advice is product placement. Place healthier food option out on the counter tops and at eye-level in the pantry as they are the most likely items for you to grab. The easiest things to grab will be the first ones you reach for, so organize the rest of your kitchen cabinets accordingly. Along with food placement, Rath talks about how he built his work station into his treadmill and walks an extra 5-10 miles a day. 

Name of Chapter: Forming Better Habits: Sugar Is the Next Nicotine; Substitutes are a Nicotine Patch; Take Two Every Twenty

Thesis: In this chapter, Rath underscores the importance of movement throughout the day and argues that sugar is like a drug. 

Summary: Taking a very strong stance on sugar, Rath states, "Sugar is a toxin. It fuels diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer"(31). We consume more than 150 pounds/person every year, which will soon cause sugar to kill more people than any type of illegal substance. It's impossible to stop altogether, so start by reducing the amount of added sugar you intake. This counts for sugar substitutes as well because they will only cause you to crave sugar later in the day. Rath then moves onto explain how you should try to take a 2 minute (walking) break every 20 minutes. 

Name of Chapter: Giving Your Immune System a Boost: Judge Food by the Color of Its Skin; A Vaccine for the Common Cold

Thesis: Focusing on the immune system, Rath provides picking produce and getting "good" sleep as two ways to defend against viruses.

Summary: When at the grocery store, Rath suggests to pick "produce with dark and vibrant colors" (36). Along with vaccines, studies have shown that a good night's sleep (7 hours or more) were less likely to develop a cold. But how do you know how much sleep you're actually getting? Again, it's quality of quantity. Technically you can be in bed for 9 hours and only get 5 hours of "good" sleep. 

Overview Questions:

This reading relates to what we have learned in class so far and even a little more than that. It covered the topics of exercise, diet, and sleep. Rath discusses topics such as choosing the correct produce, looking at the nutrition label, and exercising/ being active throughout the day, which are all themes and subjects that we touched on in class. 

Tom Rath is a reliable source, so the information in here is worth listening to. He has written five international bestseller in the past 10 years. He obtained degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. He works as a scientist at Gallup and is also a guest lecturer at University of Pennsylvania. 

Overall, I like what Rath had to say. He gave reasonable tips and changes that anyone could make to their everyday lifestyle without it being too much of a hassle. Suggestions like looking at the ratio of carbs to protein and getting up for two minutes every 20 were intriguing to learn, and I hope to apply them to my lifestyle as well. As shown by the tips and information provided by Rath, this book is more practical than theoretical. He states facts from scientific studies that further his arguments. While the book is directed to benefit individuals, I believe that overtime this book could have a lasting impact on society as a whole if everyone were to listen to some of Rath's tips.