Page 60 - Fall2010

All Thumbs Book Reviews

years ago. And they have no explanation for why the National Academy of Sciences clearly stated just a few years later that
cancer is increasing in children. the only safe level of trans fat in the diet is zero. I believe that estimation
The authors assure us that there is no need reflects the general consensus of science today, so the trans fat fad is over.
to be concerned about artificial sweeteners such This raises an important point, namely that science seems to change its
as sucralose or NutraSweet. Sucralose is the key collective mind quite frequently about a lot of things.
ingredient in Splenda, and I hear it was originally When this book was written, the authors could and actually did say
developed as a pesticide. Since there is no such that drinking raw milk, along with other freedoms of food choice, is an
thing as a dangerous pesticide, there is no worry. inherent right of American citizens. I wonder whether their faith in the
No need to be concerned about GMO foods, almighty FDA would be shaken now that, according to the FDA, we no
either, and if you nevertheless demand GMO longer have that right. Perhaps it was just a fad.
disclosure on food labels, you should understand The point of this book is that fads come and go and they don’t work. I
that protecting the sanctity of commercial inter- certainly agree that this is true with most fads. Weight-loss diets come and
ests is more important than giving you informa- go and don’t work, so you should stick to the scientific paradigm, which
tion. is to eat less and exercise more. Except it looks to me like that doesn’t
There is a section at least ten pages long on work either. It becomes very hard to distinguish any difference between
why irradiation is not only harmless, but good scientific fads and any other fads. This makes me think: pot … kettle …
for you. So chow down on that de-weaponized black.
plutonium. While this book gets a definitive THUMBS DOWN, it is still worth
Stare and Whelan claim the evidence against reading as an example of unabashed support for the food processing in-
trans fat was uncertain at the time they wrote dustry and dinosaur nutritional concepts on their way to extinction.
their book. I’m very skeptical of that, but even so, Review by Tim Boyd

PLEASE DON’T EAT THE WALLPAPER!
by Nancy Irven

Subtitled “The Teenager’s Guide to Avoiding Trans Fats, Enriched Wheat and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” this little book
reminds us that white flour, the chief ingredient in bread, cake, crackers, pasta and thousands of other processed foods,
can also be used to make glue for wallpaper. Irven then shocks us with real life examples of student meal diaries—it’s a
wonder these kids are even alive with their diets of sodas, gum, candy bars, chips, pretzels and breakfast cereals. Irven is a
chiropractic physician and her book describes her efforts to help high school students improve their diets. They learn the
many reasons to avoid white flour, industrial fats and refined sweeteners; how to read labels; and how to make healthier
choices, such as butter, meat, eggs and honey.
The THUMB is UP on this excellent introduction to the dangers of processed foods, although the book is not without
flaws. Irvin refers to trans fats as “plastic,” which is a misinterpretation of “plasticization,” a technical term used in the food
processing industry to describe treatments that change the characteristics of margarines and spreads. And while praising
saturated fats, she argues that marbled steak is not good for us. Overall, however, Irven has accomplished a Herculean task,
that of getting the attention of modern teenagers, hellbent for physical degeneration. She provides practical advice and real
life examples of beneficial dietary changes that teenagers can actually accomplish, albeit against tremendous odds.
“I’m so very glad that you spent your time to teach my class and me about all these nasty foods we are eating on a
daily basis,” writes one of Irven’s students. “But you didn’t leave it there. you taught us even more—by explaining all the
healthy foods we could eat and how much they helped.” From a modern teenager, that’s high praise!
Available on Amazon. Review by Sally Fallon Morell
60 Wise Traditions FALL 2010