Welcome to the 6th edition of Stuff I Like, where I talk about products, services, blogs or shows that I like.
Here we go!
Red Pen Reviews
You know how sometimes you read a book about exercise and nutrition, and there are a million references to studies at the back?

It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling that the author did their research, so you dont bother looking up the research for yourself, to see if the studies from the references are accurately represented in their books. You just take their word for it.
But what if they have an agenda (*cough* vegans *cough*)? Maybe they picked the parts of the studies that fit their narrative? Or maybe they misrepresented the evidence in some other way?
Unless you have all the time in the world on your hands, and you decided to dedicate yourself to fact checking full time, you just wouldnt know.
Well, Red Pen Reviews is that service. They are a team of researchers that look at popular health and nutrition books, and go through the references.
After all, just because a book is a bestseller doesnt actually mean that its a good book it just means that its a well-marketed book.
At a quick glance, every book is scored along certain criteria:
- Scientific accuracy
- Reference accuracy
- Healthfulness
And youd be surprised at how many popular books have a pretty bad score. For example, the famous book, The China Study (the vegans bible): only 48% scientific accuracy, and 58% healthfulness score. Another example: The Obesity Code (one of the books that really popularized intermittent fasting): scientific accuracy: 31%. Healthfulness: 75%. And another popular book: Eat Right 4 Your Type (the popular blood type diet) scientific accuracy: 30%; reference accuracy: 25%.
You can also click on each book to see much more in-depth reviews.
Because of its scientific rigor, thats why I love Red Pen Reviews.
WeCook
From my previous articles, you know that I hate to cook, but love to eat. So I dont cook. I get ready-made meals delivered to me, that just need to be heated, and are ready to go.

Ive used 3 different services in the past, but right now, my favourite is WeCook. There are a bunch of reasons why I love WeCook:
- It tastes great! After all, a lot of healthy food tastes healthy. Bad. Bland. Bitter. Blech. Not WeCook they dont sacrifice taste for health.
- Its healthy. A lot of food thats tasty isnt healthy. With WeCook, its both. They focus on high-protein meals, and almost each of their meals is a combination of meat/fish, veggies (zucchinis, asparagus, carrots, etc.), and a starch (usually rice, potatoes, or sweet potatoes). But you can customize it however you want there are vegetarian options, or if you dont want a starch, you can get the entire meal with just meat/fish and veggies.
- Variety. Youre not eating the same meals over and over and over. Each week, you get something different. Ive been using WeCook for about 5 or 6 months now, and in that time, Ive tried dozens of different recipes. My favourites are their lasagna, as well as chorizo chili.
- You know when its going to arrive. They send you a text message the day of the arrival, so you can track where your order is, and get an estimate of what time theyll arrive.
- If you live in a condo/apartment, you can make it so that the order comes directly to your door, and not just to the concierge.
If you want to try it as well, just click on this link, and itll give you $60 off your first 2 orders.
Bryan Walsh – PracticeUp
Do you ever wonder where the professionals get their information from? A chunk of my information comes directly from research (studies, meta analyses, etc.). But also, a chunk of my information comes from Dr. Bryan Walsh.
Hes a naturopathic doctor in Maryland, but has a very good membership site called PracticeUp. I dont think it would be worth it to you if youre a layperson, but if youre a personal trainer, naturopathic doctor, or medical doctor, the information is fantastic.
There are a lot of people to follow online when it comes to health information, but the reason I chose Bryan Walsh is:
- His scientific rigor. In a short, 45-minute presentation, he might reference 10-20 studies, that you can go check out on your own
- Hes unbiased he doesnt sell any supplements or lab tests. He doesnt talk about brand names, only ingredients.
- Hes a great teacher. A lot of great scientists and practitioners are quite honestly boring. Brilliant minds, horrible communicators. Not Bryan. Hes very engaging and enthusiastic, and is easy to learn from.
The amount that I pay in membership fees vs. the amount of time I save is well worth the trade. In fact, he could probably double or triple the price, and it would still be worth it. Just dont tell him that
Menno Henselmans Blog
Menno Henselmans is a researcher in the realm of exercise science. Hes not just on the cutting edge of research hes the one sharpening the edge.
But unlike a lot of researchers who are just lab rats, happy to work on their research in obscurity, Menno has a blog where he translates complicated research into laymens terms.
A big shame in academia is that academics frequently create ground-breaking research, but that research doesnt trickle down to the layperson for 15-25 years. Menno helps bridge the gap faster, thanks largely to his popular blog.