light olive oil) can lower the set point. These flavorless foods must be consumed in a "flavorless window," at least one hour after and one hour before consuming flavors. Consumption of 100-400 flavorless calories per day lowers the set point, and therefore, lowers weight. The name is taken from the fictional Shangri-La, a reference Roberts explained by stating that Shangri-La is a "very peaceful place. My diet puts people at peace with food." The diet has been endorsed or mentioned by Tyler Cowen, Stephen Dubner, Tim Ferriss, Tucker Max and Wired Magazine writer Gary Wolf. It was criticized by UCLA nutritionist Dr. John Ford. Book Through word of mouth, the book became a New York Times bestseller. It made it as high as #2 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. At one point in 2006, Roberts' book was ranked #3 on Amazon while on Freakonomics, a friend and early supporter of the book, it was ranked #4. The Shangri-La Diet was also featured on Good Morning America, where journalist Diane Sawyer tried a tablespoon of olive oil. Criticism of Ranjit Chandra In September 2001, Dr. Ranjit Chandra, a prominent nutrition researcher, published a study about the effects of vitamin supplementation on the cognitive functions of the elderly. Roberts and Saul Sternberg, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discovered inconsistencies in the data presented, specifically in the data distribution and standard deviation. Roberts is quoted as stating "the results were not just implausible, they were impossible." The story received recognition in both the British Medical Journal and the New York Times. The CBC ran a three-part documentary about the controversy called "The Secret Life of Dr. Chandra". In 2005, Nutrition issued a retraction of Chandra's original paper. Death Roberts died on Saturday, April 26, 2014. He collapsed while hiking near his home in Berkeley, California. Occlusive coronary artery disease and cardiomegaly contributed to his death. References Further reading External links sethroberts.net, his official website with blog and forum "Self-Experimenter Freed Himself from Insomnia, Acne and Love Handles: Seth Roberts says the key to self-help lies in the scientific method," by Scientific American's J.R. Minkel What Makes Food Fattening? A Pavlovian Theory of Weight Control, outline of his theory of calorie-associated flavors raising the set point Self-experimentation as a source of new ideas: Ten examples about sleep, mood, health, and weight 1950s births 2014 deaths University of California, Berkeley faculty Writers from