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An Apple A Day (Hardcover)

by Joe Schwarcz (Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
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Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1 edition (Dec 6 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0002007649
ISBN-13: 978-0002007641

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #25,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#8 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Organic
#8 in Books > Science > Chemistry > Organic
#70 in Books > Science > History & Philosophy > History of Science

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Product Description

Book Description

Eat salmon. It's full of good omega-3 fats. Don't eat salmon. It's full of PCBs and mercury. Eat more veggies. They're full of good antioxidants. Don't eat more veggies. The pesticides will give you cancer.

Forget your dinner jacket and put on your lab coat: you have to be a nutritional scientist these days before you sit down to eat - which is why we need Dr. Joe Schwarcz, the expert who's famous for connecting chemistry to everyday life. In An Apple a Day, he's taken his thorough knowledge of food chemistry, applied it to today's top food fears, trends and questions, and leavened it with his trademark lighthearted approach. The result is both an entertaining revelation of the miracles of science happening in our bodies every time we bite into a morsel of food, and a telling exploration of the myths, claims and misconceptions surrounding our obsession with diets, nutrition and weight.

Looking first at how food affects our health, Dr. Joe examines what's in tomatoes, soy and broccoli that can keep us healthy and how the hundreds of compounds in a single food react when they hit our bodies. Then he investigates how we manipulate our food supply, delving into the science of food additives and what benefits we might realize from adding bacteria to certain foods. He clears up the confusion about contaminants, examining everything from pesticide residues, remnants of antibiotics, the dreaded trans fats and chemicals that may leach from cookware. And he takes a studied look at the science of calories and weighs in on popular diets.

An Apple a Day is a must-read book for anyone who looks forward to digesting the truth about what we eat.

About the Author

Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society. He teaches courses on nutrition and the applications of chemistry to everyday life. His informative and entertaining public lectures range from nutritional controversies to the chemistry of love. Schwarcz has received numerous awards, including the Royal Society of Canada's McNeil Award, and is the only non-American to win the American Chemical Society's prestigious Grady-Stack Award. He is the author of five titles, including Let Them Eat Flax. He was also the chief consultant for the blockbuster titles Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal and The Healing Power of Vitamins, Minerals and Herbs. A regular guest on Daily Planet, CBC, CTV and TVO, and the host of a weekly radio show on CFRB in Toronto and CJAD in Montreal, Schwarcz also writes a weekly column for The Gazette (Montreal). He lives in Montreal.

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	47% buy the item featured on this page: An Apple A Day 4.5 out of 5 stars (4) CDN$ 20.76
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth is out there (well, in here actually), Jun 26 2008

By	Livestrong (Victoria, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

What a wonderfully refreshing change this book is. In an age where foods or supplements are deemed essential for life one day, then toxic the next, or both at the same time, the author Joe Schwarcz explains with clarity and scientific authority just what is really going on. He cuts through the latest 'miracle food' marketing hyperbole, 'astounding' research results, and explains what the substance actually is, how it operates, and the current scientific understanding of its effects on the human system. Perhaps even more importantly, he is not trying to sell you anything, not trying to convert you to some radical 'fad' or lifestyle. All he is doing is cutting through swathes of near-hysterical media bandwagons to promote common sense backed by sound scientific evidence.

In some instances, such popular myths can acutally cause harm. The take-up of pollutants in some oily fish, for example, have been shown to occur in minuscule amounts. But detrimental health effects can occur if consumers cut out such foods since the scientifically established health benefits massively outweigh any risk that such pollutants may pose. Another concern is that all our food today is contaminated with 'chemicals'. As the author states, such statements are meaningless without appropriate context. Take the eponymous apple of the book's title. Apples contain nail polish remover (acetone), rubbing alcohol (isopropanol), and cyanide. Should we be worried about eating apples? Of course not. Context is everything. The amounts of these, and over 300 other chemicals found in apples, are too small to be of any consequence. Whatever effect the fruit has on our health is a reflection of all of these naturally occurring substances.

The material is presented logically in three main parts: "Naturally occurring substances in our food supply", "Manipulating our food supply", and "Contaminants in our food supply". You can read from beginning to end, or dip into specific chapters at random. I suspect, though, that you will have the book read in very short order. It is gripping, with each easy to read chapter being only a few pages long.

Sections such as those describing the artificial sweetener 'debate', for example, are fascinating and the results not what I was expecting at all. The author reserves particular outrage on our behalf at the 'scientific' results of so-called media-friendly 'doctors'. One, for example, fools us with her 'Dr.' status which turns out to be an honorary doctorate in humanities from an unaccredited religious institution. And yet she is influencing policy through media pickup and sensationalism, while proper controlled scientific studies graft away in the background, rarely making news unless a genuine breakthrough really has been discovered. I felt mounting outrage while reading through this, and many other chapters.

Typical of Schwarcz's concluding section is the subject of 'detox'. As the author puts it:

"Even if detox diets do result in improved feeling of well-being, their concept is flawed. The message is that our body will forgive our dietary sins if we periodically undergo a cleanse. That's not what sound nutrition is all about. Focus should be on eating in a healthy fashion all the time, not on making some dramatic alteration when a problem arises. But that idea doesn't sell nearly as well as claims of miraculously restored health by a short-term change in diet."

I couldn't agree more. If, like me, you are confused about what to believe in the field of nutrition today, how we are being massively manipulated, you absolutely must read this book. The author gives you the tools to make your own informed decisions based on genuine scientific research. Oh, and he does conclude with what he personally considers a good, healthy eating lifestyle.

I thought I was well-informed at a culinary level, not blinded by myth and rhetoric. How wrong I was. The author is to be congratulated on this superlative exposition.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, and easy reading, Aug 6 2008

By	D. Davies (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've recommended this book to many of my friends. The chapters are all about 4 pages so you can put it down anytime without losing the flow. His writing style is very good: easy to read, factual, with a bit of humour to make it enjoyable. Buy it - you won't regret it.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasure to read..., Mar 5 2009

By	Anny Chung "qteestuff" (Richmond, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoy this book. It is very easy to read, the chapters are short so that you won't loose the flow. I read this while having lunch at work and it's very enjoyable. Highly recommended.

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I bought this book based on two 5 star customer reviews, and because at the time, it was 94th in books on amazon.ca. I've purchased many books on nutrition from amazon. Read more

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