cover image Healthy, Sexy, Happy: A Thrilling Journey to the Ultimate You

Healthy, Sexy, Happy: A Thrilling Journey to the Ultimate You

Nancy DeVille. Greenleaf (Greenleaf, dist.), $24.95 (316p) ISBN 978-1-60832-138-4

Self-appointed lifestyle expert DeVille's (Death by Supermarket) advice on avoiding contaminants, toxins, and other ills in the interest of health is best taken with a grain of salt. Combining common sense advice (eat free-range and locally grown food, don't smoke, stay hydrated, get enough sleep and exercise), strong claims (canola oil is "deadly," low cholesterol can lead to accelerated aging, cancer, infertility, and "dumbing down"), directives (avoid processed food "except in dire emergencies"; "factory animals are tortured in concentration camps...") and odd information ("snacking was never a part of human behavior until after WWII when food manufacturers introduced the concept"), DeVille comes across as kooky, repeatedly offering warnings about everything from the usual suspects (Aspartame; high-fructose corn syrup) to plywood and cereal in all its forms. Her wild assertions and near-constant references to her previous book undermine what could have been an informative examination of what's going into the processed food that Americans consume daily. Instead, DeVille sounds like a Chicken Little who finds contaminants everywhere she looks. While that may well be the case, beating the drum of eating only "real, living food" is a pat response to a complex problem. (May)