The Cure for Everything

February 27, 2012
We’re mercilessly bombarded with advice and products aimed at getting us to look good and feel better. In this entertaining and thought-provoking slam at Big Food, Big Pharma, and our own delusions, Canadian health law and policy researcher Caulfield immersed himself in the world of health science to weed fact from fantasy. He “exercised like a maniac”—including with a trainer-to-the-stars who dished on the unenviable regimes of Tinseltown’s most gorgeous celebs—and went on an impossibly strict diet during which he shed 23 pounds. Caulfield, a dedicated sprinter, also got his genes tested and “sulked for days” because they made him an “unlikely sprinter”; he visited an acupuncturist and tried out a variety of naturopathic and homeopathic “remedies”—including one to soothe his motion sickness—only to discover that nothing works as promised. But Caulfield’s often hilarious, always fascinating journey unearths a few simple truths: intense exercise is best; eating fewer calories, more fruits and veggies, and no junk is better than any fad diet; and that you need to be “skeptical, scientific, self-aware and patient” to decipher greed-fueled mixed messages from food, drug, and diet conglomerates. No one says it’s easy, Caulfied notes, but the truth never is. Agent: Chris Bucci, Anne McDermid & Assoc., Ltd.

May 1, 2012

How does health information get communicated? What are the channels, and how much is health information spun so that commercial or ideological interests are met rather the needs of patients? These are the types of questions that Caulfield (law, Univ. of Alberta) hopes will be asked after reading his illuminating, entertaining, and informative book. A frequently published academic in the world of health law and policy, the author made sure to experience personally aspects of the four topics he chose to explore here: fitness (working out with a Hollywood-based personal trainer), diet (eating only nutritionist-recommended foods), genetics (deciding what to do with the information gleaned from a complete genetic screen), and alternative remedies (treating motion sickness). Readers will grasp just how much message twisting is happening. Caulfield also talks to researchers and business representatives, among others, who help him illuminate the extent to which health information is manipulated. His goal is to teach readers to be skeptical and bring educated judgment to bear on all health information they encounter. VERDICT Caulfield has the ability to make this tangled web of a concept approachable and understandable, even if some may not be ready yet to believe that all the crunches possible will not guarantee noteworthy abs.--Elizabeth J. Eastwood, Los Alamos Cty. Lib. Syst., NM

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Health information can be corrupted by money, ego, and ideology. The influence of big business and marketingespecially in the areas of food, fitness, and pharmaceuticalsis enormous. How then can we determine what information is truly trustworthy? In The Cure for Everything, Caulfield gleefully dismantles medical myths. He faults the fitness industry for being more concerned about aesthetics and looking good than an actual desire to get people healthier. Fitness falsehoods are rectified. For example, stretching is generally ineffectual in preventing injuries or enhancing performance. Toning (the spot reduction of fat) is fiction. On the other hand, weight lifting is wonderfully healthy, and high-intensity interval training is the best exercise. When it comes to diet, the author's biggest recommendation is small portions. Caulfield is not convinced genetic testing will predict your future. He even subjects himself to complementary- and alternative-medicine practicesnaturopathy, acupuncture, and homeopathybut finds evidence of efficacy lacking. The Cure for Everything concludes that there is no such thing. Instead, a dose of skepticism can be quite healthy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)