The Dieting Doctor; Which Diet Wins?: A Memoir in Essays and Recipes

Food shapes our bodies, memories, and desires. It carries meaning far beyond fuel or nutrition. In The Dieting Doctor, Shahar Madjar, MD, explores what we eat, why we eat, and how food connects physiology with emotion. With storytelling, clinical insight, and humor, he guides readers from the anatomy of digestion to the psychology of appetite, from puzzling medical cases to family meals that linger long after the plate is empty.

Dr. Madjar then examines the crowded landscape of modern diets, asking which diets truly work, what science supports them, and why some approaches endure while others fade.

Finally, he returns to his kitchen in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where curiosity and experimentation shape a collection of Mediterranean-inspired recipes that bring together science, flavor, and joy.

The Dieting Doctor is a memoir of appetite and inquiry—a book for anyone who has wondered not only how to eat, but what food really means.

This third volume in Dr. Madjar’s Trilogy, following Is Life Too Long? and Take Love Twice Daily, completes a journey through the body, the heart, and the table.

About the Author

Shahar Madjar, MD, is a physician, writer, and observer of the human condition. His essays blend medicine, philosophy, and humor to illuminate the struggles and small triumphs of everyday life. He is the author of Is Life Too Long? Essays about Life, Death, and Other Trivial Matters; and Take Love Twice Daily. He lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he continues to practice medicine, write, and cook Mediterranean meals with curiosity and joy.