Eat Like the Animals: What Nature Teaches Us About Healthy Eating

This title is not available for you

Sorry, this title is no longer available. Please try using the search feature as another version of this work may be available. If you think we've made a mistake, please contact Audible Customer Care at 1-888-283-5051.

Continue browsing
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Eat Like the Animals: What Nature Teaches Us About Healthy Eating Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

David Raubenheimer (Author), Steven J. Simpson (Author), Paul Panting (Narrator),
4.5 out of 5 stars 181
See all formats and editions

A New Scientist Best Book of 2020

How is it that a baboon and a blob of slime mould instinctively know what to eat for optimal health, balancing their protein, fat and carb intake in perfect proportions?

In new, groundbreaking research that is transforming our understanding of nutrition, animals from locusts to lions and yes, humans too, demonstrate the remarkable science behind appetite.

Appetite communicates the body's nutritional needs to the brain, and eating in accordance with your body's demands, like the animals, should ensure optimal health, but the modern fast food world wreaks havoc on this evolutionarily honed system.

In several landmark studies, Raubenheimer and Simpson prove that appetite can be hacked – we can eat for optimal health, for increased fertility or for a longer lifespan. Understanding the science of the appetite offers tremendous power in shaping our bodies and controlling our lives.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 35 minutes
  2. Author
    David Raubenheimer, see all
  3. Narrator
    Paul Panting
  4. Audible release date
    March 19, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    William Collins
  7. ASIN
    B082PWWTC1
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next page

Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 35 minutes
Author David Raubenheimer, Steven J. Simpson
Narrator Paul Panting
Audible.com Release Date March 19, 2020
Publisher William Collins
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B082PWWTC1
Best Sellers Rank #298,427 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#135 in Genetics (Audible Books & Originals)
#173 in Anatomy & Physiology (Audible Books & Originals)
#390 in Evolution (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
181 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Pantograph
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent nutritional intelligence
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
Everything the authors assemble here make more sense than any of the myriad books on health and diet that I’ve read over the last ten years. Anyone thinking about keto, carnivore, vegan or any other food cult needs to take heed of the intrinsic ability of our bodies to attempt to reach protein targets within a narrow band.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rock
5.0 out of 5 stars gold
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is my favourite book I read in 2022 so far. Good structure and storytelling. Eat what you love. Eliminate ultra processed foods, enough portions of protein…
Helpful
 Report
A. Clarke
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but be skeptical about dietary advice
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
I saw an interview of these authors, and it intrigued me enough that I bought the book. For the most part, the book did not disappoint. The book is very readable, and the authors make a compelling case for their protein leverage hypothesis. They have done studies of locusts, crickets, mice, primates, and humans. The studies have all shown that, with only minor exceptions, all organisms leverage protein. The organisms have inherent protein requirements, and will unconsciously choose to eat to meet those requirements. If the only foods available are low protein, they will overeat to get as close to the protein requirement as possible.

The implications for people are clear. Ultra processed foods are high in fat and carbs, but low in protein (which is more expensive). So people tend to overeat these foods. The authors do say that it is possible to overeat protein (doing so may reduce growth and longevity), but that doesn’t generally happen in the modern food environment (unless one is ingesting a lot of protein supplements). They argue that the overeating to meet the protein target may be responsible for the worldwide epidemic of obesity.

Why not five stars for this book? I found the last 30 pages or so quite disappointing. In that section, the authors present their dietary recommendations to the reader. Here, they move away from their own research, and, for the most part, simply parrot mainstream (and somewhat outdated) nutritional beliefs. They warn against low carb and high fat diets, seeing them as “unbalanced” and not sustainable. Their own research isn’t in this broader nutritional area (it focuses almost exclusively on protein), and they don’t have medical experience. In other words, they have moved to conclusions beyond their own expertise.

So I am very skeptical about these general nutritional recommendations. I am perhaps biased, having followed a low carb diet for 4 years, losing 60 pounds in the process and improving a lot of health markers (and sustaining these improvements). For more general nutritional advice, I would recommend that readers consult the recent work of researchers and clinicians who study and/or treat obesity with diet. My own favorites are Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Sarah Hallberg, Dr. David Ludwig, Dr. Robert Lustig, Nina Teicholz, and Gary Taubes. The Diet Doctor website, a non commercial, research based site, is also excellent. Though one can pay to subscribe to access more of the research it has available (I do subscribe), it does not sell anything else—no books, no supplements, no meal plans. (It is where I heard the interview of the authors of this book—and one can also see presentations and articles by many of the other people I just mentioned. If you want to read their books, you need to go to a bookstore.)
34 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Most helpful book for eating
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
I have spent decades trying to refine what I eat for health and wellness. After reading this book I feel like I have the tools to refining my diet to what is optimal for me. I found the whole book fascinating and really appreciate this authors have discovered.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
San
5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for all in the field of nutrition
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2020
Verified Purchase
Protein leverage is easily the most important single concept in nutrition, and it deserves far more airtime than it gets. I would recommend this book highly to anyone, and it really should be absolutely required reading for anyone in the field of nutrition.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Robert Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on nutrition ever
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
This is a book on nutrition by two professors of biology. It makes some fairly extravagant claims early on ("Little did we know that before our session that day was over, the seeds for a new approach to nutrition .. would be sown"), but their research and reasoning gradually won over my skepticism and I have no hesitation in awarding this book five stars.

There are some entertaining anecdotes, such as the reaction of Richard Dawkins to some student taken with the notion of "postmodernist science". And such as the explanation given by a "senior figure" at Cambridge for delaying publication of an early paper by the authors: "He said he believed we were probably right, but we had to understand how hard it would be for those scientists like him in the human nutrition field to realize they had missed something that now seemed so obvious and had been beaten to it by two insect biologists."

It appears that every organism has an appetite or taste for specific nutrients that happen to be lacking in its current diet. For example, man has distinct appetites for three macronutrients (protein, carb, fat), and two minerals (calcium, sodium). A locust has distinct appetites for protein and carbs. As a result, as long as a varied natural diet is available, an organism can be trusted to eat an uncannily precise combination of foodstuffs which satisfies its need for these specific nutrients. ("Our appetites are better gauges than our calculators.") This has been tested not only on mammals (e.g. human, ape, monkey, mouse), but on insects (e.g. cockroach, locust, grasshopper), and even slime-molds. We lack appetites for other micronutrients, but historically we could afford to take them for granted.

What if the animal has access to only a few foods? In that case, it gives priority to protein. Hence, if the only available food is protein-sparse carbs, it will binge on carbs to meet its requirement for protein, storing the surplus energy as fat. If, on the other hand, the only available food is protein-rich food such as meat or leaves, the animal will stop eating once its protein-needs are met, unless it it is at risk of emaciation, so as to minimize the damage done by metabolizing protein. After a year-long experiment on fruit-flies, and a subsequent multi-year experiment on mice, the authors made several remarkable findings. First, that all protein beyond a certain minimum will progressively shrink telomeres and shorten lifespans. Second, that longevity is a result not of calorie-restriction, as had been thought since the 1930s, but of protein-restriction. Third, that the price paid for a minimum-protein diet is a shutdown of growth and reproduction. Moreover, given a free choice of diet, an animal strives for the protein-ratio that maximizes reproduction, rather than the minimum ratio that maximizes longevity. This is unsurprising because its appetites are dictated by its genes, and genes can be counted on to prioritize their own selfish interests ahead of the interests of the organism.

What if the animal is exposed not to the natural foods which it evolved with, but to processed foods which never occur in nature? Highly processed food tends to be (1) low in protein, because protein is relatively expensive, and (2) low in fiber, because that concentrates the flavors and makes it taste better. Our protein-appetite causes us to eat more of it to obtain protein-satiety, while the lack of fiber enables us to eat pathologically large amounts and ultimately become obese. Obesity in turn leads to insulin resistance - which not only impairs the ability of the body to supply glucose to the cells, but sustains the breakdown of existing tissue into glucose, thereby increasing the body's need for protein. In short, junk food gives rise to an intensifying cycle of protein-deficit and obesity.

The book briefly touches on a few exceptions or anomalies in its "science of healthy eating". Why, for example, do gorillas prefer a protein-surplus to a carb-deficit when forced onto a high-protein diet? And why should babies on a high-protein diet (e.g. cow's milk) be more prone to obesity later in life? The authors acknowledge that their answers to questions like these are speculative. Nutrition is not, and probably never will be, an exact science, but their scholarship definitely provides a clearer perspective. That aside, the book is a good read, and as engaging as a detective-story.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
bytheway
5.0 out of 5 stars "Protein Leverage":
Reviewed in Germany on February 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
Omnivore ( = alles fressende) Tiere (also auch Menschen) haben ein angeborenen Sinn dafür, wieviel Protein sie benötigen, einen "Protein-Appetit". Sie nehmen so lange Nahrung zu sich, bis dieses Maß erreicht ist. Bekommen sie nur proteinarme Kost, essen sie, um genug Protein zu bekommen, zu viel (und werden zB übergewichtig). Ist die Kost zu proteinreich, essen sie zu wenig (und riskieren Untergewicht oder andere Mangelerscheinungen).

Eins dieser Bücher, die sich einer rein literarischen Bewertung entziehen, weil hier eine faszinierende Zusammenfassung jahrzehntelanger Forschung geboten wird. Es liest sich trotzdem überaus amüsant (ein skurriler Humor typisch für australische Insektenforscher? denn so haben die beiden Wissenschaftler angefangen).

Die Protein-Leverage-These bestätigt (und erklärt) meine Erfahrung als Ernährungsmedizinerin: es ist tatsächlich schwer, Menschen darin zu beeinflussen, mehr (oder weniger) Protein zu essen, als sie wollen. Und die empfohlenen Proteinmengen quer durch die verschiedenen Ernährungsformen sind überraschend ähnlich! (Die Unterschiede liegen im Kohlenhydrat- und Fettanteil).

Eine Ausnahme kann sich aber ergeben durch die um die Jahrtausendwende (meist) übliche FALSCHE Interpretation der "Paläo"- beziehungsweise "Low-Carb"-Ernährung. Die "Nuller"-Jahre standen noch unter dem Diktat der Fett-Phobie. "Früher aß der Mensch hauptsächlich Fleisch" wurde also oft mit "früher aß der Mensch hauptsächlich mageres Fleisch" gleichgesetzt. Die Kohlenhydrat-Kalorien wurden durch Protein-Kalorien ersetzt. Und anders als Tiere (daher die Aufforderung im Titel: "eat like the animals"!) können Menschen sich offenbar durchaus dazu zwingen, ihren "Protein-Appetit" zu ignorieren, und mehr Protein zu essen, als gut für sie ist - wenn sie denken, dass es so sein müsse (Gewichtsabnahme, Muskelaufbau, Mangelerscheinungen vermeiden). Und wenn sie durch eine unnatürliche "food-environment" verführt werden (Protein-Shakes etc). Dass zu viel Eiweiß zu Unwohlsein führt, haben alle selbst erlebt (low-carb all-you-can-eat Büffets, "Teller-leeressen müssen"-Mentalität bei zu großen Fleischportionen...). Und der Extremfall "Rabbit-Disease" ( = Protein-Toxizität) wurde zB nach Arktis-Expeditionen beschrieben: wenn versucht wurde, den Kalorienbedarf durch (zu mageres) Fleisch allein zu decken.

Aber wie viel Eiweiß ist zu viel?

Es kommt darauf an! Geht es um maximale Fruchtbarkeit? Dann darf es etwas mehr sein. Oder um Langlebigkeit? Dann sollte es weniger sein: zu viel Eiweiß behindert u.a. die Selbstreparatur der Zellen.
(Tiere wählen hier offenbar immer Fruchtbarkeit - die Autoren vermuten hier augenzwinkernd Abweichungen zu menschlichen Prioritäten). Nach abgeschlossener Familienplanung könnte es für uns Menschen also sinnvoll werden, etwas unter unserer Protein-Leverage zu essen: falls wir so alt werden wollen wie in den "Blue Zones".

Dieses Buch (und überhaupt das Gesamtwerk der Autoren) leistet einen ungeheuer wertvollen und vom Ansatz her faszinierend neuen Beitrag dazu, die nach wie vor nicht ausdiskutierte und immer noch oft falsch interpretierte "Proteinfrage" weiter zu klären.

Was mir noch fehlte / was ich mir wünschen würde: eine Differenzierung im Kohlenhydrat- und Fettbereich. Interessant ist aber der Hinweis, dass es bei rein carnivoren ( = fleischfressenden) Tieren eher eine "Fat-Leverage" gibt. Carnivore Tiere sind erst ab einer bestimmten Fett-Menge "satt" - und können typischerweise wesentlich höhere Proteinmengen tolerieren, um die benötigte Kalorienmengen zu erreichen.

Auch bei Menschen gibt es (überwiegend) carnivore Life-Styles. Interessant wäre zu wissen, ob es größere genetische Unterschiede in der Proteintoleranz beim Menschen gibt. Die Erfahrungen (zB von ursprünglich lebenden Inuit-Kulturen) sprechen aber eher dafür, dass diese Kulturen ihren Kalorienbedarf vor allem über Fett decken und über keine (wesentlich) höhere Proteintoleranz verfügen.

Was die Bedenken gegen low carb Ernährungen betrifft: "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living / Performance" von Jeff Volek und Steve Phinney sollten diese ausräumen: eine wohlformulierte low carb Ernährung ist moderat im Protein-Anteil! (Wer Angst vor zu viel Proteinen bei low carb hat: Ketone messen!)
One person found this helpful
 Report
Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars Nutrition science presented in a compelling way
Reviewed in Australia on September 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Very hard to put down. I loved the scientific findings and the fascinating way they were presented. I'm not sure how much practical use it will be in helping to modify my eating habits. But the first step is gaining knowledge. This book delivers that in spades.
One person found this helpful
 Report
RobertK
5.0 out of 5 stars A new point of view
Reviewed in Germany on August 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Those two authors describe a new aspect why we got into this real pandemic called obesity and diabetes. The problem is our hunger for protein. Very well written.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Dr P K Cottee
5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a brilliantly written book explaining the origins of our dietary requirements and where it has all gone wrong. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in healthy eating and weight control. It's not a diet book but it does show how small changes in our dietary intake can make very significant changes to our weight and health outlook. It provides very strong and clear evidence as to how the all powerful food industry has manipulated the Western diet to their own advantage and to the massive detriment of society fuelling the current obesity crisis.
Important reading!
20 people found this helpful
 Report
Mrs. Penelope Goward
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and researched
Reviewed in Australia on July 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
Worth reading if you're confused about today's food and what is best to eat. Well written and researched. Delightful stories as well.
One person found this helpful
 Report