Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2014 -

In this thought-provoking, well-researched, revealing critique, award-winning journalist Price makes the case that past and current nutritional guidelines are based on the arrogant, largely incorrect assumption that people completely understand their nutritional requirements.  The proliferation of highly processed and engineered products prevalent in the marketplace today is partly due to the expectation of enhanced health and well-being from the isolated, purified nutrients that those products contain.  The discovery of accessory factors, or vitamines, as essential to human and animal health evolved from the understanding 100 or so years ago that human-made, purified diets were not sufficient to support life.  Consumers currently spend billions of dollars annually on isolated dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, botanicals, herbs, glandulars, and so on; many are synthetically formulated in overseas vats that are unregulated for safety or efficacy by the underfunded and legally restrained FDA.  Constant exposure to health claims, advertisements, and advice concerning these unregulated pills, capsules, liquids, bars, and the like has led people to assume abilities for these substances separate from the foods that originally contained them.  This book convinces readers that the best nutritional advice remains to eat a diverse diet of naturally nutrient-dense whole foods.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.