It’s a LOT of information and some of it I trudged through. But I really enjoyed the conversational aspect of how the author got the facts vs. myth across.

This book was much more than I expected. I love how the author made an effort to make a book about food myths and statistics an enjoyable read by incorporating an entertaining mathematical love story. Dr. Labos explains math in a way that makes this topic interesting to someone who loathes math but understands the importance of research and statistics. In a world where clickbait and article skimming are the norm, Dr. Labos makes it a point to teach readers to read between the lines and to not trust everything on the internet!

Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the advance reader copy.

I loved this book. It took a very different approach to explaining science. Through a great, fictionalized backstory, Dr Labos explains the good and bad about studies on the health effects of foods. I’ve seen a lot of conflicting information but Dr. Labos describes the studies that took place and explains why these conflicts arise. The true strength of the book to me wasn’t about what I should or should not consume; it was about how these studies are conducted. These lessons in epidemiology are the high points of the book. All the science is very well explained, with humour and the occasional laugh-out-loud moments. Overall this is a great read. Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the advance reader copy.

This is a very informative book, and I have only good things to say about the science content in it, which is very well detailed and explained. The format of the book, however, leaves a little to be desired : it's structured as if each chapter was a conversation the author has with someone (or multiple someones) else, and in which they explain the truth about a popular science myth. The idea is good, but the execution is a little awkward at times, making it harder for the reader to keep their suspension of disbelief from the first chapter onwards. Still, it's full of interesting information, and would make a nice gift for a teenager interested in learning more about the science of debunking - well, bad science, I suppose.

Dr. Labos has taken a massive amount of information around some common health related ideas and written a book in a way to help break that information down into understandable language. His book is similar to 'The Millionaire Next Door' by T.J. Stanley that looked at the world of finances and investments where conversations with average citizens are used to break down scientific and technical language. In Labos' book he meets several people on a plane, an old friend, and a barista to look at issues such as coffee, salt, red wine and chocolate to name a few. He explains the problems with some research studies and goes over flaws in most food/drink relates studies. The end of the book contains a chapter by chapter break down of all the sited studies for the reader should someone want to know more.

I appreciated this style of writing as the information covered can be quite overwhelming and having an epidemiologist summarize and review all the relevant studies, as well as describe the information gathering methods used in the studies, is incredibly helpful. The conversations are of course fake so at times feel a bit unrealistic but the method of information delivery is overall good.

'Medical studies are like movies. Not all of them are good.'

'The problem is old myths die slow deaths.'

'The core principles still hold true, and you know what those are. You know how to eat right. You don't need me to tell you. That's why this isn't a diet book. This is a love story.'

Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book that debunks some of the most common beliefs about food and vitamins. I found it full of new and useful information, which is nice to know. I was a bit put off by the formatting of the book, however. Everything was detailed in conversations between 2 or more people, which made it hard for me to keep track of who was saying what and what the actual science was. I prefer a more traditional format when it comes to science, but that’s just me. I can see how some may find the format entertaining and enjoyable, though.

This book was hard going with all the statistics and medical information, which since the author is a doctor is not surprising. His conversation with Katie and Jim at the airport and with the pretty female barrista in the coffee shop is a way to get the information across but when he reaches the point of a conversation with Alexi, i suffered from information overload. Like he said, diet is complicated. I found the book as a whole too complicated. Perhaps other readers will appreciate it more, and I was quite interested for a while. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.