The book’s conclusion: a 12-week plan built on six steps. Take out fructose, simple carbohydrates, polyunsaturated oils and low-sacrifice foods, count calories for two weeks, and fast two days a week. Dieters often disagree on parts. Consult your doctor first.

Statistics are tools: they can show whether a difference is real, but never why it happens. The bell curve rarely fits biology, samples are small, and “average” people do not exist. A plain guide to what the numbers can and cannot tell you.

Epidemiology spots trends across large populations, but it shows correlation, not cause. A European study linked each daily sugary drink to 22% higher diabetes risk, and Ancel Keys’s famous cholesterol study used only seven countries. Here is how to read the headlines.

Three peer-reviewed papers on high-fructose corn syrup reach three different conclusions. Researchers, writers and companies all select the evidence that suits them, and null results rarely get published. How to read mixed messages in nutrition science.

How does science really work? Some fields test hypotheses, others collect and classify, and biology is moving between the two. Experience matters, but anecdotes are not proof: the plural of anecdote is data only when statistics are applied. A guide to reading health claims.

Gout is rising. The old advice blames red meat and purines. The author points to added sugar: fructose raises uric acid directly. Meat is linked to gout in studies, but may be a marker of a broader Western diet. Both views explained.

Fatty liver was once a disease of heavy drinkers. Now about one in three people has it. Monkey studies show high fructose can damage the liver within six weeks even without weight gain. Researchers still debate fructose versus total sugar and calories.

Statins clearly help people who already have heart disease. For healthy people with raised cholesterol the benefit is debated, and cardiologists disagree on over-prescribing. The author argues sugar and simple carbohydrates are the bigger target. Talk to your doctor before changing medication.

A “sluggish thyroid” is a popular excuse for failing to lose weight. The research suggests the reverse: excess weight and leptin problems disturb the thyroid, and thyroid markers often normalise when weight is lost. See your doctor if you have symptoms.