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Diet Cults

the Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us
Dec 07, 2016Eosos rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I can't say that the style of writing in this book really impressed me much but if the author was aiming to make it easy to read and accessible, I suppose he's done that. It really came across as more chatty rather than scientific, like a neighbour leaning over the fence and saying, hey did you hear about so and so? I could have gone for something a little more scientific, maybe with some better facts and figures, though I do not in general disagree with his view of these fad diets I don't think he really came across as knowledgeable as he could have. His alternative to these diets is a practical plan he calls 'agnostic healthy eating' that really just breaks down into eating more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff, though he does seem to be assuming that anyone following this plan will be exercising a fair bit. None of the diets in this book are really bad for you though, they all work for some and not for others, as the anecdotes show. They tend to be adopted by particular types of people and it works for them. If the body builders want to eat Paleo, so be it. What I really got from this book is that humans are determined to be judgemental, with every proponent of a diet insistent that it's the only way and what we need to learn is that the human body is super adaptable, just pick something that works for you and try not to bore all your friends and family with constant talk about food and exercise.