FOOD & DRINK
THE ANGRY CHEF: BAD SCIENCE AND THE TRUTH ABOUT HEALTHY EATING Review by Ursula Arens Writer; Nutrition & Dietetics Ursula has a degree in dietetics, and currently works as a freelance nutrition writer. She has been a columnist on nutrition for more than 30 years.
AUTHOR: ANTHONY WARNER PUBLISHER: ONE WORLD BOOKS; 2017 ISBN: 978-1786072160 (PAPERBACK) PRICE: £12.99
Mr Warner, aka Angry Chef, is a blogger. Like, it seems, most chefs, he enjoys sweary words; words which in print have a first and last letter and lots of ***s in the middle. Unlike, probably, most chefs, he studied biochemistry at university and really loves the language and methods of science. His occasional exposure to the fluffy thoughts of beautiful young things on social media platforms make him very angry, and his blogs are full of volcanic outrage at the muddled lifestyle claims advocating dietary purity with coconuts or avocados. He has lots of dietitian ‘likes’ on his posts, and obviously the time came when a publisher spotted the opportunity to elevate the impermanent blur of blogs, into the solid materialism of a book. Mr Warner gallops through a few of the dietary claims that have excited public attention in the past few years: detoxing, alkaline ashing, or going paleo, to more threatening and earnest dietary deviances such as GAPS or cancer ‘curing’ diets. There is method in the madness, in that all of these diets have small chunks of valid science within their claims. However, advocates massively distort and misunderstand details and come to silly or dangerous conclusions. It is the task of dietitians to provide constant, consistent, clear clarification and correction (the 5Cs of dietetics?). But for Mr Warner, this is not enough: he shrieks explosive and expletive filled fury, and perhaps this is also a correct response?
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www.NHDmag.com November 2017 - Issue 129
There are many excellent chapters. But first some gentle critique. The blogs are tight and punchy; the book contains much verbal padding; perhaps the attempts to achieve certain word counts to fill pages? Also, there is attempted humour in the form of imaginary backand-forth dialogue with the pseudonym friend, Mr Science Columbo. I was not amused. A red editorial pen should have been used with more vigour. Chapter 14 on Relative Risk is excellent. The vital difference in absolute and relative risks must be familiar to all dietitians and yet it is the basis for alarming daily headlines on food and health risk. Large jumps from a small baseline attract public concern, whereas small increases from higher base figures pass unnoticed, although the latter result in larger absolute numbers affected by a condition. We all know this and yet we are always caught out. Mr Warner discusses a study reporting associations between greater intakes of bacon and the 18% greater chance of developing bowel cancer (compared to non-eaters of bacon). He slices and presents the data in different ways and in one chart, the chance of avoiding bowel cancer comparing eating lots of delicious bacon every day with a bleak-life-without,