The Angry Chef’s Guide to Spotting Bullsh*t in the World of Food: Bad Science and the Truth About Healthy Eating

Anthony Warner The Experiment (APRIL) Softcover $15.95 (336pp) 978-1-61519-460-5

Advice on diets and nutrition is plentiful, particularly on the internet; figuring out what advice to follow is confusing. In The Angry Chef’s Guide, Anthony Warner provides clear rules to help determine when dietary advice is best ignored.

Divided into five parts, the book lays out a clear and convincing argument against fad diets. Each section aims to debunk specific dietary beliefs, such as the power of superfoods and the dangers of cutting whole food categories from one’s diet.

The book does not offer solutions or provide counter-recommendations. Instead, its focus is on the fallacies of psuedoscience and on recognizing potentially harmful recommendations. The importance of critical thinking, trusting the scientific method, and understanding that correlation does not equal causation are heavily emphasized.

Warner is a chef with a background in biochemistry. The scientific explanations in the book clearly reflect that knowledge base and are fairly detailed, though his writing is conversational and peppered with obscenities. This makes for reading that is both informative and amusing.

The book takes aim at some very popular programs, including the GAPS and paleo diets. It also criticizes celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow for endorsing programs without offering any evidence to back up their claims. No person or plan is exempt from some potent criticism. The author’s passion for food is obvious, as is his desire for logical thinking and eating.

Though it may disappoint those who are seeking an easy answer, The Angry Chef’s Guide is full of logical, science-based information. Anyone who is overwhelmed by trying to make sense of the plethora of available diets will find this book freeing.