Key Takeaways:

• Offers a sharp, often humorous exposé of America’s wildest food fads, gurus, and miracle cures, skewering the more extreme corners of the health food scene.
• Critiques quackery, pseudo‑science, and charismatic personalities while also acknowledging the social anxieties—about weight, aging, and modernity—that make fads so attractive.
• Provides a skeptical, journalistic counter‑voice that documents just how large, colorful, and fragmented the mid‑century health‑food world had already become.