Masala Body: An Engineer’s Guide To Eating

This book is for the parent overwhelmed by conflicting advice. For the person newly diagnosed with diabetes who has been told six contradictory things about maida. And for the twenty-five-year-old who has developed a genuine fear of refined oils and leftover food.

In Masala Lab, Krish Ashok used the principles of everyday science to explain how ingredients become delicious food, ending with a plate of biryani on your table. In Masala Body, he follows that same plate on its remarkable journey through your body.

Backed by rigorous science and written in his trademark witty, accessible style, Krish explains what happens from the very first bite to the final exit, separating evidence from myth along the way. The result is a refreshingly clear guide to how our bodies really process food―and why so much of what we’re told about eating has less to do with health than with fear, misinformation, and marketing.

By the end of this book, you’ll know not just what happens to the food you eat, but how to think clearly about every nutrition claim you encounter.

Krish Ashok is not a doctor, but he understands biology with the curiosity of a first-principles thinker. He is not a nutritionist either, but he can read a randomized controlled trial. He trained to be an electronic engineer, works as a software engineer, and wrote the bestselling Masala Lab to understand what happens to food in the kitchen. This book exists because he then wanted to know what happens to it after you swallow. He likes the scientific method not because it offers him the ability to bully people with knowledge, but because it is the only method that persuades the smartest humans to admit mistakes and correct themselves. He lives in Chennai with his wife, who sagely prevents him from converting the living room into a gym, and his aviation obsessed son. You can follow him at @_masalalab on Instagram and @krishashok on YouTube.