Kale and Coffee

Book excerpt: Internet celebrity Kevin Gianni was intent on finding the keys to perfect wellness and sharing them with the 10 million viewers of his YouTube show, Renegade Health. So he and his wife bought a 36-foot, bio-fueled RV – dubbed "the Kale Whale" – and spent two and a half years crisscrossing the continent, talking to experts and ordinary folks about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to a healthy life. Gianni drank wheatgrass shots, gave up sugar, said goodbye to coffee, and used himself as a guinea pig to uncover the truths and myths behind every nutrition plan said to guarantee good health. As he cycled through "healthy" diets – vegetarian, vegan, raw foods, and more – he got sicker and sicker. Finally, he hit bottom and had to give up healthy eating to save his life. Kale and Coffee is the often hilarious, picaresque tale of how Gianni went from skinny, raw-food vegan faddist to bloated, out of shape omnivore before finding the middle way to an imperfectly healthy and (more) balanced life. The journey takes him from the Peruvian Andes to salt flats in Mexico to a pig farm and butcher shop near his northern California home. Along the way, he has his brain scanned and his pantry tested for toxic metals, does an all-water fast, runs the grueling Tough Mudder endurance race, and obsesses on the secrets of the world’s longest-lived people. With the humor and practical wisdom that have delighted millions, Gianni shows you how to sidestep the health hype, diet fads, and weight-loss promises littering the path to wellness. Drawing on his own experience and the advice of trusted experts, he guides you in finding your own personal plan for optimal nutrition and fitness. Includes the Kale and Coffee 21-Day Jumpstart