What’s the secret to good health and wellness? According to Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, there is no secret, nor is there a complex and provocative regimen required for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The blatant lack of a secret answer is what makes Dr. Emanuel’s new book, “Eat Your Ice Cream,” puzzling. He doesn’t offer a single original tip regarding diet, exercise, and mental acuity. Everything the author presents has been shared before in countless books, articles, blog posts, and online videos.
Dr. Emanuel is a bioethicist and oncologist who holds the titles of vice provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
He doesn’t come across as a starchy academic or a stern doctor. Instead, he has a pleasant and often whimsical approach, mixing common sense medical and dietician observations with a sprinkling of light humor.
Rules to Follow
Dr. Emanuel subtitles his book “Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life,” and these rules come with a multitude of facts, reminders, cautions, and pleas to back up their worth. Each rule gets its own chapter, where the author spells out the best approach to improving one’s physical and emotional health.
The first chapter carries the title “Don’t Be a Schmuck,” but the underlying theme is more obvious in the subtitle “Avoiding Self-Destructive Risks.” The negative chapter title comes from Dr. Emanuel’s teenaged years, when his father made an exasperated Yiddish-tinged response to the author’s disastrous purchase of a broken-down car.
The risks are more than obvious to anyone who has been cognizant of health warnings. Dr. Emanuel tells the reader to avoid smoking, vaping, cannabis, excessive alcohol intake, excessive tanning (either on the beach or in the salon), colonic cleansing, and narcotics.
Oddly, despite recent warnings about the dangers of vaccinations and cancer screenings, he calls for getting them.
Some people may question his labeling of gun ownership as a health risk based on the claim that those weapons account for “55% of all suicides and 80% of all homicides in the United States.” Using that logic, one could argue that automobile ownership is a health risk, since 100% of drunk driving and road rage incidents involve motor vehicles.
Connecting and Consuming
Dr. Emanuel switches gears for his second chapter, “Talk to People.” This chapter details the importance of friends, family, and social relations in maintaining one’s mental health. He calmly explains that a life apart from others isn’t healthy, noting how “introverts might even gain more from social engagement than extroverts.”
The third chapter, “Expand Your Mind,” takes Dr. Emanuel’s mental health focus further by discussing how wellness activities can support both physical and mental health. These could include taking continuing education classes, participating in book clubs, pursuing new hobbies that require sharp mental acuity (such as learning a new language or instrument), and trying new recipes.
While his historic example of the hyperactive Benjamin Franklin during his septuagenarian and octogenarian years might seem a tad esoteric, his points about staying active and mentally stimulated are well-taken.
The fourth chapter shares the book’s title of “Eat Your Ice Cream.” Here, the author goes into great depth on the value of nutritious food consumption.
Dr. Emanuel gives a thumbs down to calorie counting and keeping strict records of what’s consumed. Instead, he prefers to simply omit the unhealthiest aspects of one’s daily intake.
The author recommends omitting soda, unhealthy snacks, and ultra-processed foods. He also warns against protein bars; although marketed as being healthy, these are high in sugar and salt while low in fiber.
Of course, he advocates for the healthiest selections of the food chain, though he also concedes that a wee bit of rule bending won’t kill anyone, provided it’s done in moderation.
As he writes, “Consider dessert a special occasion, something you do episodically—a couple of times a week, and in small portions.”
Dr. Emanuel’s last two chapters, “Move It!” and “Sleep Like a Baby,” raise considerations on the value of exercise and a healthy night’s sleep as part of a wellness strategy. Admittedly, there’s nothing new or unexpected in those sections of his book.
The book’s afterword, “Be a Mensch” (a Yiddish term for a person of integrity and honor), offers obvious advice that the restoration and preservation of one’s wellness shouldn’t exist as an island unto itself.
“A long life is worthwhile only if it is filled with meaningful relationships and activities,” he opines. “These wellness practices should enhance the best parts of your life and allow you to more fully enjoy the activities and people you love for many years to come.”
Maybe the smartest aspect of “Eat Your Ice Cream” is Dr. Emanuel’s admonition that achieving and maintaining good health isn’t a solitary triumph but rather an important achievement that enables the individual to create and maintain a happier world.
‘Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life’
By Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD
W.W. Norton & Co.: Jan. 6, 2026
Hardcover, 256 pages
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