Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest For tional Perfection

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"Absorbing and meticulously researched." -- The New York Times - "[M]easured, funny and fascinating. . . . If you need s to survive (you do), you should read this book." --Scientific American, Food Matters - "A hidden, many-faceted, and urgent story." --Booklist, *STARRED* Should I take a multi? Does C really prevent colds? Can I get enough D from the sun? Are dietary supplements safe? How much of each do I need? In Vitamania, award-winning journalist Catherine Price takes readers on a lively journey through the past, present and future of the mysterious microents known as human s -- an adventure that includes poison squads and political maneuvering, irradiated sheep grease and smuggled rats. Part history, part science, part personal exploration, Price's witty and engaging book reveals how s have profoundly shaped our attitudes toward eating, and investigates the emerging science of how what we eat might affect our offspring for generations to come. When s were discovered a mere century ago, they changed the destiny of the human species by preventing and curing many terrifying diseases. Yet it wasn't long before s spread from labs of scientists into the realm of food marketers and began to take on a life of their own. By the end of the Second World War, s were available in forms never before seen in nature-- gum, doughnuts, even --and their success showed food manufacturers that adding synthetic s to otherwise tionally empty products could convince consumers that they were y. The era of "vitamania," as one 1940s journalist called it, had be. Though we've gained much from our embrace of s, what we've lost is a crucial sense of perspective. s may be essential to our lives, but they are not the only important substances in food. By buying into a century of hype and advertising, we have accepted the false idea that particular dietary s can be used as shortcuts to --whether they be antioxidants or omega-3s or, yes, s. And it's our -inspired desire for effortless shortcuts that created today's dietary supplement industry, a veritable Wild West of overpromising "miracle" substances that can be legally sold without any proof that they are effective or safe. For the countless individuals seeking to maximize their and who consider s to be the keys to well-being, Price's Vitamania will be a game-changing look into the roots of America's ongoing tional confusion. Her travels to manufacturers and food laboratories and testing kitchens--along with her deep dive into the history of tional science-- provide a witty and dynamic narrative arc that binds Vitamania together. The result is a page-turning exploration of the history, science, hype, and future of tion. And her ultimate message is both inspiring and straightforward: given all that we don't know about s and tion, the best way to decide what to eat is to stop obsessing and simply embrace this uncertainty head-on. By exposing our extraordinary psychological relationship with s and challenging us to question our beliefs, Vitamania won't just change the way we think about s. It will change the way we think about food. Discover "[Price's] investigation, full of scurvy-ridden sailors, questionable tional supplements and solid science, is both entertaining and enlightening."