I have been following Robb Wolf since he released his first book, The Paleo Solution, back in 2010. Our CrossFit community had formed a book club of sorts and Robb’s book was first on the list. Since then, I’ve followed along as he’s broadened his reach into podcasting, seminars and health coaching. I enjoy his no-nonsense, humour laden writing style so when he released his second book, Wired To Eat, I knew it would be making it to my bookshelf fairly quickly.
In broad terms, Wired To Eat focuses on exactly that – ancestrally, we are wired to eat as much as we can for survival. Our ancestors needed to eat all they could when food was plentiful to prepare for times of famine. In today’s world of hyper palatable, processed foods that are super convenient to procure or even have delivered right to your home – our wiring is creating a multitude of problems. As the author states, if you are “not fat, sick and diabetic, you are, from a biological perspective, ‘screwing up’” (pg.13). We ARE wired to eat, but to eat foods that are whole and unprocessed and to have to expend a lot of energy sourcing these foods. Modern diets are devoid of both of these factors and we are paying the price. By following the concepts laid out in Wired To Eat, readers can work toward balancing their blood sugar, decreasing insulin resistance, repairing their appetites and preventing chronic disease states.
Although both of Wolf’s books are similar in style and promote a “Paleo” style approach to eating, I found it interesting to see how his dietary lens has shifted in the last decade. Wired To Eat focuses much more on people’s bioindividuality. Yes, he still promotes the paleo approach and a low carbohydrate, whole foods diet, but he specifies that this way of eating is just a starting point. It is a way to rewire your body to a whole, natural foods appetite and then focus on customizing it to your own unique needs. The book focuses mainly on carbohydrate tolerance by testing the affects of certain carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. The main takeaway, however, is that no one diet is perfect for everyone and we must do the work to find out what works best for our own “wiring”.
The bioindividual approach of this book lines up perfectly with my beliefs as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Beyond diet, the author also delves into the importance of non-dietary factors, such as sleep, community, stress and movement on one’s overall health. He spends a lot of time on these areas, seeing them as pillars of health, just as important as diet. These are all areas of focus in my practice as well.
I think this book would be a good, informational read for any reader. So many people try a “Paleo” style diet as a last resort and I feel we must educate people to incorporate a whole foods, ancestral type diet before they are in crisis. The information in this book can be quite scientific and some may feel a little overwhelmed by it. However, Wolf does a great job making the information as approachable and enjoyable to read as possible. I think Wired To Eat would be a great resource in combination with working with a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who can clarify specific ideas and be available for further discussion. Anyone who has become “carb-phobic” would also benefit from this resource, as it can slowly guide them through the process of adding in certain carbohydrates and finding out how well they handle them.
Wired To Eat highlights the importance of bioindividuality. It delves deep into the why and how of personalized nutrition and how lifestyle choices also play a vital role in one’s health. Through his humour and casual writing style, Robb Wolf makes these topics both accessible and enjoyable for his readers and provides a plan that makes changing one’s dietary outlook and health doable.
