Eat Everything

by Dawn Harris Sherling

Discover the surprising reason restrictive diets don’t work—and a practical, science-based guide to reclaim your health through the power of real food.

Carbs aren’t causing your weight gain. Dairy may not be the reason for your upset stomach. And your liver isn’t fatty because of the occasional hamburger. It’s time to enjoy eating everything again—and to reclaim our health along the way. Eat Everything offers a better alternative to complicated, minimally effective, and highly restrictive diets. Physician Dawn Harris Sherling lays out compelling new evidence implicating food additives as the real culprits behind diet-related diseases and shares simple, actionable advice to heal. We’re constantly told to fear carbs, gluten, and dairy, and we turn to strict diets to solve our health problems. Yet Americans still have one of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world, and millions suffer from digestive ailments like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Digging into emerging research, Dr. Sherling realized it’s not the foods but the food additives, especially emulsifiers, that are at the root of our problems. Our bodies can’t digest them, but they feed our microbiomes and they’re everywhere in the ultra-processed foods that make up about half of our daily diets. In this refreshing and accessible guide, readers will learn:

• How to lose weight without a restrictive diet
• Why so many popular ultra-processed foods are actively harmful to our bodies
• How to navigate eating at restaurants—for any meal or occasion
• Tips for filling our grocery bags with real food
• Why avoiding food additives is beneficial for our bodies and minds
• How to embrace healthful cooking at home, with 30 delicious recipes


Dr. Sherling lays out the research on food additives and offers a straightforward guide to eating just about everything (yes, even bread, pasta, and ice cream!) without pain, worry, or guilt. This isn’t just another restrictive diet in disguise; it’s a call to rediscover our love of real food.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Audiobook, Food, Cookbooks

312 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2023

Reviews

[Ilaria 🌸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting and easy to understand. It presents real-life stories of people suffering from diet-related diseases and teaches us how we can eliminate food additives from our diet which is better for our health. Reading this book also helped me understand just how prevalent food additives are in American processed foods.
There are recipes in the back
of the book that you can try as well as an example of a week’s worth of additive-free meals you could make
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

[January · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat Everything: How to Ditch Additives and Emulsifiers, Heal Your Body, and Reclaim the Joy of Food by Dawn Harris Sherling, MD
7h 2m, read by Rachel Perry, 312 pages

Genre: Nonfiction, Cooking & Food, Diet & Nutrition, Health & Reference, Cooking Methods

Featuring: Author's Note, IBS, Diabetes, NAFLD, Epigraphs, LPS Bacteria, Microbiomes, Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, IBD, UC, Crohn's Disease, Colon Cancer, Anti-Inflammatory Diets, Additives Invasion, the Rise of Ultra-Processed Foods, Appendixes, Menu, Recipes, The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum

Quotes: "In 2022, the researchers who investigated the emulsifiers' effects on mice published a study showing destructive changes to human participants' microbiomes when they consume just one of the emulsifiers for only eleven days."

Rating as a movie: PG-13

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

My thoughts: 📱17% 1:13:37 Pt 1 Ch. 2 - What’s Gone Wrong With Our For - This is very good. I need the hard copy. Too many good quotes for audio.
📱38% 2:42:01 Pt 1 Ch. 4 - So far I have learned that the author's IBS went away while on vacation in Italy eating forbidden foods. Next, we learned that a lot of diseases are new and linked to additives in our foods. Finally, we learned that they are not regulated and laws have been put in place to keep them that way. Carrageenan was used in labs to cause inflammation in mice, but it is used as an additive in dairy products. They passed a law banning it from being used in organic products but later overturned the laws, it is currently banned from being used in baby formula.
📱75% 5:14:41 Pt. 2 Ch. 11 - She hasn't gotten all the information but this is still really good. I can't believe people don't like cooking. It's nice she said you can give up once in a while, it is hard to find real food out there.

This discussed BMs a lot for a food book, nevertheless, if anything is going to keep me out of the drive-thrus and snack aisles it's going to be fear of chronic diarrhea. I'm glad I read this book and will reread it in the future, it's very good but I think she missed some stuff.

Recommend to others: Yes. I think this topic is very important.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Dr. Sherling first started practicing medicine she encountered a patient who was having gut related issues and was down to only being able to eat granola bars. After extensive testing, Dr. Sherling was no closer to a diagnosis for the patient than when they first started. Throughout her career she continued to see people with these type of gut issues that had no obvious diagnosis - then it started happening to her too. It was on a family vacation to Italy that helped open her eyes. In Italy Dr. Sherling could eat all the foods that caused her problems at home - dairy, wheat, etc. What she found was that in Italy food was almost exclusively made with local, whole ingredients. In the US most people consume a lot of ultra-processed foods full of additives and emulsifiers. These additives and emulsifiers can wreak havoc on our microbiome, the good bacteria and fungi in our digestive tracts. In this book Dr. Sherling shows us her journey and how she now tries to help her patients with a whole-food focused diet in addition to any medications they may need. The book is divided into 3 sections - the first section explores what is wrong with our food and why these additives are causing health problems, the second section looks at specific types of foods and how to source better quality ingredients/foods, and the third section is how this plays out in real life with tips for still eating out, managing weight, and dealing with or finding the right diagnosis. In the Appendixes she includes a list of additives and why they might be problematic, a sample weekly meal plan for focusing on whole foods, and 25 whole-food based recipes. Overall, while I didn't agree with EVERYTHING she said this is a pretty impressive book. Dr. Sherling explores yet another layer of our industrial food system that is bad for us and how we can do better.

I'm thankful that I don't have any gut/digestion issues, but even if like me you don't have these issues these additives are not good and it's much better to eat whole foods anyway. I would add to her suggestions sourcing locally grown/raised food from local farmers. Or even better grow some of your own food too with a vegetable garden. I've found that homegrown vegetables taste WAY better than store bought and you're much more likely to eat the stuff you took the time to grow. I'm already a big proponent of homemade, from-scratch cooking so this book was right up my alley.

Two quotes I disagree with:

"You may have a hard time finding unadulterated cream on store shelves (at least without a co-op market or dairy nearby) because without some kind of emulsifying agent, the pasteurization process causes the cream to separate as it sits in the store's refrigerator. So you either need fairly fresh pasteurized cream or really fresh unpasteurized cream to go additive-free. As a physician, I cannot recommend drinking unpasteurized cream. Pasteurization has prevented thousands of deaths and millions of illnesses. It isn't a bad thing. It just makes finding good cream a challenge. Listeria, the bacteria you can get from unpasteurized dairy, is worse than additives." (p. 83)
[I personally know people who had life-long gut/digestive issues that were cured with raw milk. Yes, getting Listeria is MUCH worse than additives. But, raw milk can often be consumed even by people who are lactose intolerant and has so many benefits that pasteurization removes. The problem with most food-born illnesses is the industrialization part. How did people drink milk in the pre-pasteurization time and not all die from Listeria? Small and local is how.]

"After the highly successful introduction of sugar, and later high-fructose corn syrup, the cereal additives just kept coming. With an emphasis on marketing and convenience, more traditional breakfast foods didn't stand a chance. And so today we have an entire aisle in the grocery store devoted to ultra-processed breakfast bits delivered in brightly colored cardboard boxes...But you will have to pry the cereal box out of my cold, sleepy hand. One kid won't get out of bed. The other can't find her shoes. And we all need to get going! Mornings are challenging in most homes, and cereal provides a cheap and quick solution - one that most kids over the age of six can handle getting for themselves." (p. 92)
[I was REALLY surprised to see a medical doctor advocate for breakfast cereal. Cereal is one of the absolute WORST things you can eat with almost no nutritional value. And as for cheap? It is $5-8 for a box of Cheerios ($3+ for the generic store brand). Compare that to a dozen eggs. Eggs are a MUCH better breakfast and only take about 5 minutes to cook. There are PLENTY of other breakfast options that are much better than cereal.]

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received an ARC of Eat Everything: How to Ditch Additives and Emulsifiers, Heal Your Body, and Reclaim the Joy of Food in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for an opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was authored by an MD. The cover notes the book is, "A Science-Based Solution for Managing IBS, Type 2 Diabetes, Excess Body Weight, and More."

A great takeaway: Appendix A included a list of food additives, how they potentially alter the gut microbiome, and whether or not they have a role in inflammation. The author discusses both immediate and possible long-term effects of consuming each additive.

Twenty-five recipes are included in Appendix C, which I haven't cooked/baked so I cannot review them...yet. At least one breakfast smoothie recipe includes vegetables. (Hey, don't knock it until you try it. On a personal note: I have a favorite breakfast smoothie that includes pineapple and spinach, which I almost didn't try because it didn't sound great and it is absolutely delicious.)

[Laura Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very helpful book. I started reading books about food in the early 2000s when Michael Pollen and others were writing about real food. This book reminded me a lot of those books, but this one was super helpful because it specifically focused on healing the body. It wasn’t a hard read at all. I will say, she used a lot of the same words over and over. The English teacher in me wanted to hand her a thesaurus. 😂 But the premise of the book made a lot of sense. The problem is not one category of whole foods, but rather additives in ALL the shelf stable, ultra processed ones. Even the whole grain, high fiber, organic and plant based. I read a review saying this plan was “too complicated”. If you’re a home cook ( or can learn to be one!), I disagree. Just make most of what you eat and read labels on the stuff you can’t. I will say, the chapter on eating out made me realize how difficult this would be for someone eating out a lot!

Over all- this is a pretty sane look at an American food system gone wild.

[Carina Treitl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone deserves to read this. Amazing book!

[Bright Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat everything by Dawn Harris Sherling, M.D. is a book which encourages us to eat real, whole foods and to free ourselves from the harm that can be caused by food additives—especially emulsifiers, thickeners and modified starch which can affect our microbiome and increase inflammation.

I found this book interesting and easy to understand. It presents real-life stories of people suffering from diet-related diseases and teaches us how we can eliminate food additives from our diet which is better for our health. Reading this book also helped me understand just how prevalent food additives are in American processed foods.

There are recipes in the back
of the book that you can try as well as an example of a week’s worth of additive-free meals you could make.

Thanks to Netgalley and BenBella Books for providing me the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book.

[Lrph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've only just recently realized I can't eat the way I always did and still have happy and healthy bodily functions. Dr. Dawn's book is easy to digest and a useful roadmap on how to eat whatever you want without wishing you hadn't.

[Rishav Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eat Everything is an eye-opening book discussing the (colloquially) lesser-known impact of additives on gut health, which may lead to weight gain and severe health issues. Having noticed unnatural weight gain after moving to the US despite maintaining a reasonably healthy lifestyle, I found that Dr. Sherling’s book helps connect the dots.

While the book offers a lot of clarification and knowledge, I found it repeated the core ideas several times—likely necessary to fill 300 pages. Still, I do not want to diminish the valuable information in this book despite the verbosity. Here are my key takeaways in case you don’t want to invest 7 hours in reading it:

Restrictive Diets are bad: The main culprit is usually the quality of calories not the quantity.

Lax Regulations: The US has lax reporting standards for additives, and the food industry is nefarious in downplaying the impact of harmful chemical ingredients. In fact, many additives are allowed in US food because of the "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS) loophole.

Hidden Additives: Emulsifiers and thickeners are typically detrimental to gut health and often creep into perfectly healthy whole foods like yogurt. Even almond milk often has Carrageenan linked to inflammation. Furthermore, low quality spices may have any caking agents.

Antibiotic Impact: Products extracted from animals raised with antibiotics may have a severe impact on the human microbiome.

Read Labels: Read labels religiously. If there are ingredients that don't seem natural or act as a "catch-all" term (like "natural flavors"), try to avoid them.


here is an AI compiled list of chemicals
THE "DETERGENTS" (EMULSIFIERS) These strip the gut's mucous layer, leading to "leaky gut" and inflammation.

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC): Acts like dish soap in the gut.


Common Sources: Ice cream, gluten-free breads, cottage cheese, plant milks.

Polysorbate-80: Highly inflammatory; linked to metabolic syndrome.


Common Sources: Pickles (check the jar!), ice cream, cooking sprays, multivitamins.

Polysorbate-60: Similar to P-80.


Common Sources: Commercial frostings, soft baked cookies, donuts.

Mono-glycerides: Hidden source of trans fats; disrupts microbiome.


Common Sources: Peanut butter (no-stir), margarine, whipped toppings, bakery bread.

Di-glycerides: Usually paired with mono-glycerides.


Common Sources: Packaged cakes, tortillas, margarine.

Soy Lecithin: "Natural" but can be pro-inflammatory for sensitive guts.


Common Sources: Chocolate bars, protein bars, tea bags, salad dressings.

THICKENERS & GUMS These can cause significant bloating, gas, and fermentation.

Carrageenan: Derived from seaweed but highly inflammatory.


Common Sources: Almond/oat milk, deli turkey, cottage cheese, heavy cream.

Xanthan Gum: Ferments in the gut; causes bloating/gas.


Common Sources: Salad dressings, gluten-free baking mixes, hot sauces.

Guar Gum: Can cause "explosive" fermentation.


Common Sources: Coconut milk (canned), yogurt, ice cream, soups.

Locust Bean Gum: Hard to digest; irritates sensitive stomachs.


Common Sources: Cream cheese, yogurt, plant milks.

Gellan Gum: Gut irritant used to suspend calcium.


Common Sources: Dairy-free milks, fortified juices.

Acacia Gum (Gum Arabic): Isolated fiber that causes bloating.


Common Sources: Candies, icing, soft drinks, wine gums.

Cellulose (Cellulose Gum): Essentially wood pulp filler.


Common Sources: Shredded cheese (anti-caking), high-fiber snacks, veggie burgers.

Modified Food Starch: Chemically treated starch; spikes blood sugar.


Common Sources: Instant pudding, gravy granules, "low-fat" yogurt, chips.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS These "trick" the body and kill good bacteria.

Sucralose (Splenda): Reduces good gut bacteria.


Common Sources: Diet sodas, protein powders, "sugar-free" syrups, light yogurt.

Aspartame: Linked to metabolic dysregulation.


Common Sources: Diet Coke, sugar-free gum, diet gelatin/jello.

Saccharin: Linked to negative microbiome changes.


Common Sources: Fountain diet sodas, tabletop sweetener packets (pink).

Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K): Disrupts gut flora.


Common Sources: Energy drinks, soda, pre-workout supplements.

SUGAR ALCOHOLS & "NATURAL" SUBSTITUTES

Erythritol: Linked to bloating and clotting risks.


Common Sources: Keto ice cream, "monk fruit" blends, protein bars.

Xylitol: Highly fermentable; causes digestive distress.


Common Sources: Sugar-free gum, mints, oral care products.

Sorbitol: Draws water into the bowel (osmotic diarrhea).


Common Sources: "Diabetic" candies, dried fruit (sometimes added), chewing gum.

Mannitol: Difficult to absorb; causes gas.


Common Sources: Diet candies, chocolate coatings.

Stevia (Processed Powder): Highly processed forms may disrupt gut signaling.


Common Sources: Low-cal drinks, baking blends, yogurt.

OTHER ADDITIVES

Titanium Dioxide: A whitening agent composed of nanoparticles.


Common Sources: Ranch dressing, white icing/frosting, coffee creamer, Skittles.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmmm…. While I think Dr. Sterling makes some good points, this is yet another book that finds one particular dietary culprit for all your health woes. In this case it’s additives, but mostly specific kinds like emulsifiers and gums. She focuses primarily on people with IBS symptoms (and to be sure, it’s an epidemic in this country) and blames additives like carrageenan, guar gum, polysorbate 80 and maltodextrin.

To be clear, I also think most of these ingredients are horrible for our health and don’t belong in food. But she focuses on 14 additives and ignores everything else that can cause problems. For instance, she is very concerned with how additives affect the gut microbiome but never once acknowledges that foods grown with glyphosate (roundup) have been shown to kill off healthy bacteria. She never once mentions studies showing that organic foods are better for our guts or talks about negative health effects of artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, unhealthy oils, etc. It’s that cliche that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

She advises to avoid these additives:
Acacia Gum Agar-Agar Carob Bean Gum Carrageenan Cellulose Cellulose Gum (Carboxymethylcellulose) High-Fructose Corn Syrup Gellan Gum Glycerol Guar Gum Inulin (Chicory Root Extract) Locust Bean Gum (Carob Bean Gum) Maltodextrin Mannitol Modified (fill-in-the-blank) Starch Mono- and diglycerides, Polysorbate 60 and 80 Sorbitol Soy and Sunflower Lecithin Stevia Sucralose Titanium Dioxide Xanthan Gum Xylitol

In some cases she gives great reasons but in other cases she is vague and unconvincing, like with stevia. She says she’ll eat a processed food with high fructose corn syrup sometimes but avoids stevia, while never really pointing out a serious concern with it.

She also talks about people with celiac but she gives no advice at all about how to cook gluten free without using ingredients like xanthan gum that we have all learned to use for successful gluten free cooking. Should my kids just give up on breads and cakes forever? It’s simply not addressed. Likewise, her recipes at the end all contain wheat. Also, she doesn’t really address the privilege needed for her recommendations, in terms of money and time. This is very much written for the middle or upper class woman who can toss out the food in her cupboards, buy better, and cook from scratch. I have done that even as a busy mom on an extremely tight budget, but it is certainly a struggle to acknowledge.

I do think this is generally good advice, particularly for folks with IBS issues. And if you avoid these then you’re likely to accidentally avoid a lot of other foods that are probably harmful even if she doesn’t acknowledge them. Whether you go paleo or emulsifier free or whole food or Mediterranean, you generally will get healthier because you can’t eat 90% of the garbage marketed to us as food. And it is an educational read. Recommended even if I don’t entirely agree with all of her conclusions.

I read a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone dealing with inexplicable health problems, digestive or otherwise.

Dr. Sherling provides extensive research, anecdotal evidence, and specific guidance in avoiding food additives and regaining health. Her explanations are clear and easy to follow, and I really appreciate her balanced approach. There’s no “all or nothing” here, but rather tips for label reading, navigating social eating situations, and doing your best rather than striving for obsessive perfectionism.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a life changer. For years I have suffered with IBS and have tried everything I’ve heard of and recommended by doctors. Finally, a book that makes it clear how to eat everything and not get sick. Dr. Sherling did a lot of research and spoke to people all over the world to bring us the best medicine for our bodies…Good wholesome food! While this is not new news, the way she breaks it down in the book so everyone can understand, made it easy for me.

[Carolyn North · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Sherling’s book, Eat Everything!, is a game changer because of its’ practical strategies to help my family eat healthier. The book is fun to read and is extremely well researched. The book cites evidence based research about what food additives do to our body, including obesity, GI disorders, cognitive declines, to name a few. I love that the book makes it easy to shop for healthy food and it inspires me to cook from scratch! Highly recommended!

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses the problems of all the preservatives and additives put in our food and what we should do to avoid and which ones to avoid the most. I’ve long been a believer that this is the reason so many people are now getting food allergies and are having major digestive issues. Looking forward to trying some of the recipes and also watching food labels even more carefully.

[Karen Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have IBS and this book was a revelation ! It makes such sense of the problems that I have and I will be studying it and following the suggestions and strategies to see how it helps. Good straightforward advice.

[Kelly Pramberger]

I struggle with food and dieting and so I'm always trying to heal my relationship with the two. This book was great and provided a lot of helpful information about eating to improve how you feel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.

[Marcy Hahn-Saperstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable with no guilt! Just motivates you to go out there and take charge of your health. The author offers common sense and easy tips to fit healthful eating into the busiest lifestyles. I took it with me straight to the supermarket.

[KY · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its nothing new to me.
Its a easy read for the general public, not so much complicated fancy scientific words.
Part 2 contain topics on specific foods.

It was alright. I didnt learn something new, but i believe it can be beneficial to some.

[Melanie K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although saying Eat Everything with the title, what she really means is that more foods can be eaten if you get rid of the additives, preservatives, and emulsifiers. It was very informative on how to make better food choices and eat to nourish the body.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems to me to be good, solid, science-backed information for those that want to learn more about UPF additives and be inspired to avoid them written in a concise & clear manner. The only thing that is slightly misleading is the title -- but she works on justifying it.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative book with lots of examples and practical tips for avoiding additives and emulsifiers. Now I know what to look for when reading labels. Great book!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is definitely going to change how I eat. I’m excited for my new journey.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting read! Haven’t really heard this angle before, and was even more intrigued because my husband has UC. Will look into cutting out additives and emulsifiers from our foods if possible.

[Jill Mum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talked a lot about Italy which annoyed me. Learned some scary things about our food. Wish this info was more widespread

[Jeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Kirsten Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who struggles with gut health - this has been an eye-opening book!

The premise of the book is that REAL FOOD is not the enemy. Rather, our 21st century guts have been overloaded with microbiome changing substances that prevent us from being able to digest "normal food" as our great-grandparents once did.

I will say "Eat Everything" is pretty misleading lol. You will leave this book with a laundry list of "nonfoods" to avoid: maltodextrin, food gums, carrageenan, etc. But that's probably not a bad thing! I love my shelf-stable cookies as much as the next gal... but if these "foods" are waging war on my gut bugs, no thanks.

I hope that more people will read this and fight back against all the "non-food" additives that are being pushed by Big Food Corporations: even in "HEALTHY" options.