Sorting Fact from Fiction in Health Literature
Expert reviews of nutrition books
Red Pen Reviews publishes the most informative, consistent, and unbiased reviews of nutrition books, helping you sort fact from fiction
Our latest reviews
Introduction Intuitive Eating is part of a movement that rejects dieting for weight loss and promotes the acceptance of larger bodies (the book is aligned with the Anti-Diet, Health At Every Size, and Body Positivity movements). It emphasizes what it sees as the downsides of dieting and the culture around it, such as long-term weight regain, […]
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Introduction Red Pen Reviews chose to write a review for Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia for a couple of reasons. The first and most important is that it was fully funded in our last funding drive, which guaranteed a review of the book. Secondly, it has received significant attention since […]
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What is Red Pen Reviews?
Red Pen Reviews is the only organization that publishes structured, expert-led reviews of popular nutrition books—free to the public. Our expert reviewers assess each book for scientific accuracy, reference accuracy, and healthfulness. We aim to empower readers, counter misinformation, and improve the standards of health writing. We’re funded entirely by reader donations, and we don’t accept funding from food or drug companies.
In-Depth Book Analyses
Explore Our Latest Reviews
The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet
Smart, Simple, Science-Based Strategies for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off
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The Salt Fix
Why the Experts Got It All Wrong–and How Eating More Might Save Your Life
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The Pegan Diet
21 Practical Principles for Reclaiming Your Health in a Nutritionally Confusing World
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The Proof is in the Plants
How science shows a plant-based diet could save your life
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Why We Get Sick
The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease–and How to Fight It
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Anti-Diet
Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating
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Fast 800 Keto
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Metabolical
The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine
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How Not to Diet
The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
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Everything Fat Loss
The Definitive No Bullsh*t Guide
93
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REd pen review process
How We Review Books
Red Pen Reviews uses a unique, structured review method to assess the information quality of nutrition books. Our method breaks each review into three core categories that are scored using a rigorous and consistent process.
Scientific Accuracy
We check whether three key claims in the book are supported by high-quality evidence.
Reference Accuracy
We randomly choose ten references and check whether they say what the book claims.
Healthfulness
We check whether the book’s advice does what it claims, improves general health, and meets nutritional needs.
Hall of fame
We’ve reviewed over two dozen popular nutrition books. Some are evidence-based – others aren’t. Here are our highest-scoring books.
Books Reviewed
Expert Categories
Qualified Reviewers
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy
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Fast 800 Keto
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The Diabetes Code
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"It seems as if every time I turn around, there’s a new book promising huge health benefits. Unfortunately many of these books make health claims and dietary recommendations that aren’t backed up by scientific evidence — even when the authors say that they’re science-based. So if you don’t have a nutrition-science degree, how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Red Pen Reviews (redpenreviews.org) is a good place to start."
Trusted reviews, thanks to you
As a nonprofit, Red Pen Reviews relies on reader donations to make high-quality reviews and publish them free of charge. Your support makes this possible.
Help Us Continue Providing Unbiased Reviews
As a nonprofit, Red Pen Reviews relies on reader donations to fund our expert reviewers and maintain our commitment to unbiased, high-quality content. Your support makes our work possible.