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ellenpederson's review against another edition
3.0
The message of marketing influence on nutrition research is so important for people to understand, but this book on the issue felt repetitive. The concepts would make for an excellent long form essay, but I ultimately tuned out after a few chapters. For a faster-paced and broader book by Nestle which touches on some of the same topics, I would highly recommend Food Politics.
cltnbutcher's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty interesting but written in a very scholarly way that was not was I was expecting/wanted on this subject.
It also reiterates a lot of “no duh” information I’ve read and seen plenty before so it felt redundant mostly, with some new/surprising facts.
It also reiterates a lot of “no duh” information I’ve read and seen plenty before so it felt redundant mostly, with some new/surprising facts.
meganac's review against another edition
Ended up losing interest in this one. After the first few chapters it seems long-winded and unnecessary...example after example of how food companies skew science in their favor, interspersed with the author's opinions of nutrition. I would take the subject much farther than she does. I didn't feel the need to continue.
mkhunterz's review against another edition
1.5
The author seems more focused on constantly reminding the reader that she is better than all her colleagues because she is above corruption than on telling a straight forward and comprehensive narrative.
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I was familiar with the majority of the information provided in this book already. It was nice to read it from a seemingly more neutral source than the plant based crusaders I usually read. This also made the 2 chapters about whole food science quite interesting, as she was skeptical of some of those claims without being totally dismissive.
miloulou's review against another edition
4.0
Food science and nutrition research are both heavily influenced by industry, similar to the drug industry. None of the information provided should be surprising, but it’s no wonder people’s relationship with food has become so overly complicated when there’s so much conflicting information. Especially when contrasted with how smoking is so highly prevalent even though there is no doubt at all about the negative health impacts.
The idea that big junk food companies like Coca Cola, Hershey or Mars are funding a ton of research and investing in journal and academic relationships isn’t surprising. At this point, it’s almost expected, so the first five chapters were kind of just reconfirming this general knowledge for me.
The most enlightening chapter was chapter 6. While I already knew that there’s no such thing as a superfood, I had always considered the benefits of things like cranberry juice or blueberries was just part of an overall food trend. As it turns out, it’s a specific part of marketing food for the bottom line. As noted by Nestle:
“Foods are not drugs. To ask whether one single food has special health benefits defies common sense. We do not eat just one food. We eat many different foods in combinations that differ from day to day; varying our food intake takes care of nutrient needs. But when marketing imperatives are at work, sellers want research to claim that their products are “superfoods,” a nutritionally meaningless term. “Superfoods” is an advertising concept.”
I find it funny to think that beyond Big Tech or Big Sugar, there are companies like Big Pomegranate or Big Honey, but it really does exist. Hilarious because who would’ve thought, but it seems obvious once I think about it. Anything and everything can and has been monetized for maximum profit.
An interesting difference is the confusion around titles. To the general public, a nutritionist and dietician are interchangeable terms. However, like any other health care profession, the registered counterpart has more educational requirements for practice. I can see where confusion arises as titling requirements vary by country.
Anyways, the last few chapters of the book are devoted to more technical nitty gritty issues of conflict of interest and disclosures, which I think would only be of interest to people in the field.
The idea that big junk food companies like Coca Cola, Hershey or Mars are funding a ton of research and investing in journal and academic relationships isn’t surprising. At this point, it’s almost expected, so the first five chapters were kind of just reconfirming this general knowledge for me.
The most enlightening chapter was chapter 6. While I already knew that there’s no such thing as a superfood, I had always considered the benefits of things like cranberry juice or blueberries was just part of an overall food trend. As it turns out, it’s a specific part of marketing food for the bottom line. As noted by Nestle:
“Foods are not drugs. To ask whether one single food has special health benefits defies common sense. We do not eat just one food. We eat many different foods in combinations that differ from day to day; varying our food intake takes care of nutrient needs. But when marketing imperatives are at work, sellers want research to claim that their products are “superfoods,” a nutritionally meaningless term. “Superfoods” is an advertising concept.”
I find it funny to think that beyond Big Tech or Big Sugar, there are companies like Big Pomegranate or Big Honey, but it really does exist. Hilarious because who would’ve thought, but it seems obvious once I think about it. Anything and everything can and has been monetized for maximum profit.
An interesting difference is the confusion around titles. To the general public, a nutritionist and dietician are interchangeable terms. However, like any other health care profession, the registered counterpart has more educational requirements for practice. I can see where confusion arises as titling requirements vary by country.
Anyways, the last few chapters of the book are devoted to more technical nitty gritty issues of conflict of interest and disclosures, which I think would only be of interest to people in the field.