The new science of how hormones impact every aspect of our health.

A lot has been said about hormones and how they can help and heal our bodies, or cause damage, but into all of this has been thrown a lot of pseudo-science and speculation. In this book, Dr Max Nieuwdorp, a University of Amsterdam trained MD, PhD, and an internist, endocrinologist, and professor, takes us into the human body and the human experience, via hormones and the endocrine system. Hormones impact every system in our body, impacting how we look feel and behave, and an imbalance has a huge impact on our lives and feelings. He takes us from how hormones impact our conception and growth before birth, through various stages of life and into old age.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. I only had a rudimentary understanding of some aspects of this part of our lives and bodies, and was interested to learn more. I have heard various dubious claims about hormones and things, and I feel like there’s a lot of misinformation, claims of cures and pop science around the issue that this book does a lot to dispel. The book covers a lot of detail and information, and includes some diagrams and text boxes to aid understanding, but it’s written in an informative, slightly chatty and enthusiastic way. By that I mean that while it’s very factual, it’s also a very easy and accessible read. In fact, it’s quite a page turner. I liked the stories of real lives and cases, history of discoveries, that peppered this book. But I think for me, I was really struck by how amazing our bodies are and I have a new found respect for my system. For me, it was a bit of a life affirming read.

I’m not sure if it’s just my copy, because I was reading an advanced proof so a couple of things may change before final printed, but the book is translated out of (I think) Dutch, because the author is from the Netherlands, and there were a few oddly phrased sentences and slightly confusing paragraph structures. Not many, just a couple. I was struck by how a scientist and doctor from this country has a different view of medicine because he’s not practicing under the American system, in which health is more commodified, and this felt refreshing. They seem like a more chill bunch over there, at least about certain aspects of life.

In all, this is one of my favourite reads of this year, so far. As I was going about my life, I found myself turning to friends, telling them little anecdotes or interesting facts that had struck me from reading this and I have a new found respect for all the cool things by endocrine system is doing. It’s a great read, a page turner and an endlessly fascinating subject that we’re still learning more about all the time.

Read It If: you love learning more about the human body or you’ve ever heard about hormones and wanted to know more. A very interesting and accessible read that avoids pop-science.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for the copy of this book for review.