The Cure For Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages About Health, Fitness, And Happiness (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Maybe I had mistaken expectations for this book, but I was hoping for more science. Instead, it's written in a more self-helpish way than I would have liked. Part of this is the decision to forgo footnotes, instead putting all the actual studies and books Caulfield relies on in a long references section in the back of the book. (And I'm not kidding about long. When I finished the actual text of the book, my Kindle told me I was at just about 70%. The acknowledgments and index made up about 10% of the book, and the references about 20%.)He'll say something like "50% of your diet should be fruits and vegetables," without really saying where that comes from or what it means. Is that 50% of volume or calories? There's a big difference. Nor does he say how he came upon that number. Should someone whose diet is 60% vegetables eat less of the things? No idea. So though this is probably good advice for a lot of people, it's fuzzy science at best. I liked the chapter on gene therapy/screening the best, because it's a field where Caulfield is personally involved. This was the only chapter in which I learned much of anything new.I also liked the way he threw some personal quest into each of the chapters--to work out like a Hollywood star, see if alternative treatments could cure his motion sickness, etc. This wasn't very scientific either, as Caulfield admits, but it was entertaining and often enlightening.In the alternative medicine chapter, I don't think he gave the practitioners a fair shake. He went for commentary almost exclusively to people who are publicly known as opponents of alternative medicine. For the other side, he relied on sources like websites and publications, rather than going directly to someone who endorses, say, homeopathy, and confronting them with evidence that the effectiveness of their modality is questionable. Personally I think the alternative health industry is almost pure bullshit, but it's more enlightening to go to the source in addition to their opponents.So I sort of liked this book; it was interesting, and a fast read. I just think it could have been so much better. Can't believe I didn't review this right after I finished it.This book is an absolute must-read, written in engaging and accessible prose. Spend $20 on this book and a few hours of your life reading it before you invest in a personal trainer, a weight-loss supplement, or a life coach (not that I'm equating all three categories!).Caulfield debunks just about every relentlessly marketed myth from the diet and fitness 'industries' there is in this one - and he does it nicely (i.e. there's no Richard Dawkins or George Monbiot foaming at the mouth prose going on here).
What do You think about The Cure For Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages About Health, Fitness, And Happiness (2012)?
Very useful debunking of many current areas of hype and misinformation.
—Brittanyrosea
It was interesting, but didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.
—NikkiBoo
