Two experts show that today's biggest health problem may be the consumption of too much unreliable information about nutrition. Using up-to-date information and basing their approach on sound scientific principles and legitimate studies, the authors help the reader sort fact from fiction, and, equally important, fact from "maybe". Illustrations.

This important new book is a guide to understanding cancer and its causes. Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, a nationally known consumer health advocate, explains in layperson's terms what the average consumer can do to reduce the risks of contracting this most feared of diseases. For decades, Americans have assumed that cancer strikes in wholly unpredictable ways and that it is simply a matter of fate that one person is afflicted with the disease while another is not. Yet Whelan points to research showing that when it comes to cancer risks, we largely determine our own fates. Science has made great strides in recent years toward understanding the causes of this complex illness. As a result Whelan believes that we now have the knowledge to significantly reduce the incidence of cancer nationwide. But how does the average person interpret the confusing array of warnings and suspicions regarding cancer risks, which are reported almost daily in the news media? Whelan goes to great lengths to separate the unproven hypothetical causes of cancer from reliable scientific findings. Above all, tobacco in all its forms and uses is the main culprit: estimates now attribute some 40 percent of cancer incidence to exposure to tobacco. Whelan also discusses other contributing factors such as diet, alcohol, radioactivity, sunlight, drugs, sexual behavior, environmental factors, and occupational risks. The Complete Guide to Preventing Cancer presents the most recent state-of-the-art information on cancer risk and prevention in nontechnical language and a user-friendly format.

"Panic in the Pantry" was written to help consumers become fully aware of the real facts behind news about the safety of our food supply. Whelan and Stare examine the power wielded by health food lobbyists who band together and exert political pressure to protect their profitable ventures. They discuss the concept of "relative risk" and why it should be used to place information about food additives and preservatives into proper perspective, as well as why the Delaney Clause - a law intended to protect us from cancer causing chemicals in our food - cannot fulfil the noble purpose for which it was drafted and therefore should be repealed. Also examined is the research behind the banning of cyclomates and the attacks on saccharin and aspartame that left many Americans wondering whether they are doomed to be chubby or develop cancer.A lengthy discussion of California's Proposition 65 provides insight into the chaos that can result when fearmongers are able to secure legislation based on panic about food supply. The authors also address the flight to "natural" products, which may lead to serious health problems as well as added consumer expense. The contemporary back-to-nature mania is rejected as a hoax perpetuated by opportunists intent on taking advantage of frightened and impressionable consumers.