Ingredients - George Zaidan ***

Is processed food bad for you? That’s the big question that George Zaiden seeks to answer in Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of Plants, Poisons & Processed Foods. Of course, since this is a book, and not a tweet, the answer is a little more complicated than yes or no.

Taking a broader look, the book explores the things that we put into (and onto) ourselves when we eat, smoke, or use sunscreen. Zaidan seeks to explore not just whether these things are good for us or not, but how we know whether certain ingredients are harmful.

I really appreciate Zaidan’s dissection of the scientific method, and how we learn about the effects of various chemicals. He goes through the benefits and shortfalls of various types of scientific studies in even-handed and easily accessible ways.

I also enjoyed his commentary on the way the press presents nutritional findings. You often see things like 'Coffee causes/cures/prevents/worsens cancer' and Zaidan goes through where these often contradictory claims come from in wonderful detail.

The book is also very funny. The tone is conversational, and very easy to read. His analogies verge on the absurd, like giving chemical components names like Phillip, but they always come together in a satisfying way. Zaidan’s illustrations are also simple but effective in getting his point across.

The book is, by Zaidan’s own admission, meandering. The question of processed foods is raised, and then left aside as he discusses cigarettes and sunscreen. Though it comes together in a satisfying way later on, I often found myself wondering where the book was going. If readers weren't invested in the topic, I could see them dropping the book for something else. And I would understand that.

The conversational nature is also not for everyone, although I enjoyed it.One strange point is the mix of American and British references. It felt like someone had gone through the book and changed certain references (Judge Rinder is mentioned, and so is a Vauxhall Corsa) but the references weren’t changed throughout, so the changing terms often felt like cultural whiplash.

Ingredients changed the way I look at the food I eat, and demystified a lot of things that I didn’t realise I was ignorant of. If the meandering nature of it doesn’t put you off, it’s a book I’d definitely recommend.

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Review by Adam Murphy

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