The Diet Compass: the 12-step guide to science-based nutrition for a healthier and longer life
Bas Kast is a German author and scientist. He studied psychology with a focus on brain research. He was born in 1973 and spent the first 14 years of his life in the Netherlands. On his Facebook page, he shares a lot of additional knowledge about food and nutrition.
This book pick is somewhat different since it is not prose but a non-fiction book we are reading: Der Ernähungskompass/The Diet Compass: the 12-step guide to science-based nutrition for a healthier and longer life.
When science journalist Bas Kast collapsed with chest pains when he was only 40, he was faced with an existential question: had he ruined his health with junk food? He decided to radically change his eating habits in order to heal himself. But what is really good for you? This was the beginning of a journey of discovery into the latest research into aging and nutrition — and it lasted several years.
What do people with a particularly long life span eat? How can you lose weight efficiently? Are afflictions typical of old age avoidable? Can you ‘eat yourself young’ with certain foods? Much of what we think is healthy can even be harmful. Bas Kast has filtered out from thousands of sometimes contradictory studies scientifically founded findings of what really makes for healthy eating.
This book has been hugely popular in Germany and changed many people's eating habits for the better. Even if you are trying to eat "healthy" you always hear different things (that often are completely opposite) about nutrition and you are never sure whom to trust. But we Germans love hard facts and since this book was just translated into English this makes the club pick for the German Book Club.
I recommend reading it in German for people with fluency levels C1 or higher (since it contains many scientific words). For everybody else, I recommend getting the German and English versions to help you understand everything properly.
If you would like to participate in the Book Club post the answers to the questions (and all other comments) in the comments and hopefully we will have a fruitful discussion.
Since it is not a novel we are discussing the questions look somewhat different this time.
Questions:
Did you find the book interesting and why did you like it or didn't like it?
Do you think you recognized something specific "German?"
After reading the book: Do you feel like Germans have a different attitude towards nutrition and science? If so: What are the differences?
What was the most shocking and the most helpful takeaway from this book?
If you read the book in German: Was the fact that it often described chemical processes and food categories helpful in understanding it better?
Was there anything about the book or writing that stood out to you?
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