A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat

If you are not currently confused about how and what (and when!) to eat, you haven’t been paying attention. Everyone knows modern diets are causing all sorts of health problems – but why? Is it the fat? The sugar? Carbohydrates, or maybe too much protein? It is all very confusing. This book, unfortunately, won’t give you definitive answers, because there aren’t any! But it will address many of these questions, and in an informative and highly engaging, entertaining way parse the current studies and opinions on nutrition and health. You can read it straight through, or dip in at any point to laugh and shake your head at the craziness of current nutritional advice. The author is wry and very funny, even sardonic, which you really can’t help being when faced with some of the quackery out there, but he also takes great pains to cite studies on multiple sides of any issue, whatever is currently understood; his balanced approach gives him credence as a trustworthy and authoritative source. And this compilation of current knowledge into just a few paragraphs on each topic is a huge help to anyone looking for good information about nutrition. This is a great reference book, as well as an entertaining one.