May 23, 2019
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This website will help you wade through the inundated world of health and wellness information.
These days it can be tricky for people looking to get healthier to navigate all of the information — some accurate, some not — on the internet and in books. It’s easy for a rational person to get caught up in some sort of quick-fix supplement scheme after scrolling websites and hashtags.
Not even books are safe from health literature that ranges from inaccurate to harmful.
That’s where Red Pen Reviews swoops in. This peer-reviewed health literature rating platform comes suggested by Seattle Times wellness writer Carrie Dennett, who spoke to Stephan Guyenet, Ph.D, the founder of Red Pen Reviews.
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“Like many people, I’m frustrated by these competing claims and I want to know who’s right, or at least who is making scientifically persuasive arguments and citing evidence accurately,” Guyenet tells Dennett.
According to their website, Red Pen Reviews serves to provide informative and unbiased health book reviews for free to those interested, which have been thoughtfully scoured by reviewers with a masters degree or higher. It’s also worth noting that reviews are currently funded by reader donations only.
“We exist to help consumers distinguish between books that are evidence-based and will promote health, and those that aren’t evidence-based and may harm health,” the website reads.
Red Pen scores books based on scientific accuracy, reference accuracy and healthfulness. Within each of these categories, there are several other criteria rated which is then averaged out into the book’s total score.
Check out the books Red Pen has reviewed in the past here, and considered referencing their reviews as you pick up health-focused books. Or, see how their reviews measure up against must-read health book lists, like this one from Well and Good.
