The Good News About What’s Bad for You... The Bad News About What’s Good for You

In this “two books in one” volume, Wilser (The Maxims of Manhood) covers a wide range of topics, devoting the first part to the good news about food and drink (from gluten to gin), bad habits (profanity, gossip, messiness), vices and diversions (pot, porn), and bad mind-sets (stress, selfishness). Throughout, Wilser weighs the pros, cons, trade-offs, and risks of these behaviors, digging deeply into current research and using interviews with various experts to prove—or disprove—conventional wisdom. Cautioning that he’s a reporter, not a physician, Wilser also dives into more serious subjects, such as the efficacy of yearly mammograms. Journaling his way through two brief cleanses—one, the more traditional, consisting largely of juice, and the other simply cutting out junk food (he lost weight on both)—Wisner concludes that moderation is best and “excess is the enemy.” Readers can flip the book over to glean the “bad news” from pithy sections on food and beverages (from kale to diet soda), healthy habits (homework, meditation), and fitness (standing desks, ball chairs.) Anyone fascinated by health-related research studies and surprising factoids (people who suffer cardiovascular events tend to consume too little sodium, not too much) will be amply entertained and informed by Wilser’s lively compendium. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (Dec.)