About book Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative To Trans Fats (2006)
Dr. Mary Enig was ignored by the decision makers when she said -- long before trans fats required labeling in America -- that man-made transfats are bad, very bad. She was right while almost everyone else was wrong, and that's why I'm very interested to hear what else she has to say about dietary fat.What she says is right, I am sure of it too, because my own body hacking experiment shows that no, you don't get fat by increasing your good-fats, and that you may actually improve body composition. I also know that increasing your good fats improves immune function, because while almost everyone else was struck down by colds and flu last winter (resulting in a temporary three-fold increase in doctor presentations in our area) I lasted the whole winter without a cold or a sniffle. This wasn't normal for me. When I did finally get sick from a stomach bug later in the year, recovery was swift.I'm sure this improvement in immune function was from cutting out sugar and increasing fats, and especially incorporating coconut oil into our diet. This is what the authors of this book recommend. I'd never tried coconut oil before. I thought everything would end up tasting like coconut, but that's not the case.I have yet to try most of the recipes in the back of the book, because it's summer right now and I have given the bone broths and liver soups a rest, but I fully intend to try some of them out when the weather turns colder.The reason I don't rate this book five stars is because I don't intend to make use of white flour, or bread, which I suspect are not good for most people, gluten intolerant or otherwise. I've been listening to a number of other people who don't agree on this point, but I'm sure that for readers who do want to continue eating 'healthy whole grains', soaking them first is essential, in the manner described in this book. I think I recall hearing Sally Fallon say she makes her own bread out of sprouted whole grains or something. We have given up bread because I can't be bothered and I don't have a close relationship with bread anyway.I should have read this book nine months ago for the step-by-step instructions on how to completely restock the kitchen. This is an extremely useful section, though it probably didn't need to be included twice, in both of the weight-loss and weight-maintenance sections. The shopping guide at the back is inevitably Northern American in focus, and maybe there are other versions of this book out there -- I ordered it from America, after all -- but those brand names are unavailable here, so with an 'International' audience in mind (read: non-North American) a more detailed guide on what to look for would have been more useful. There is that, but it doesn't go quite far enough. For example, the reader is instructed to buy 'cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil' but I'd add 'organic' onto that, so long as we're aiming for optimal.What I really like about these two women is their down-to-earth approach to health and diet. They are a welcome antidote to the weightloss maniacs out there, and all menopausal women should probably read the bit which goes something like this:"If you're a woman of menopausal age and you still fit into the same clothes you wore when you were in high school, you're probably not carrying enough weight. At your age, bone health, good skin and muscle tone are far more important than any little pooch of fat you're probably carrying around the belly."I'd highly recommend listening to Sally Fallon in interview. You can find numerous podcasts via iTunes by searching for her name. She's been advocating a traditional, high-fat diet for many years and so she's able to answer questions in detail, yet in layman's terms.
I decided to read this book because I want to know which healthy fats I should add to my diet. The book should've just been titled "Cocunt Oil and Cod-Liver Oil" since those are the two fats emphasized throughout the entire book, especially coconut oil. The beginning of the book begins with a look at past and current research egarding the good and evils off dietary fat, with Enig and Fallon clearing up misconcpetions about saturated fats that are found in animals, dairy, nuts, and especially cocount oil. The authors also describe how these healthy fats positively effect different body systems. Another chapter deals with their nutritional approach to weight loss. Before doing so, the most popular diets are analyzed (ie: South Beach, The Zone, Ornish, Weight Watchers) with Enig and Fallon concluding that these diets are lacking in fats, calcium, or essential nutrients such as Vitamin A, B, and D. While the Atkins diet was favored somewhat, the authors state that the old Atkins was better and that the new Atkins is too high protein with not enough fat. Keep in mind that this book was published in 2005. In 2010 the book "New Atkins for a New You" came out, and the authors cleary state the new Atkins is NOT high protein. Anyway, Enig and Fallon finally get into their weight loss plan that is supposed to help you quickly lose weight with suggested menu plans, which contain cocount. What I basically got from the book is that 1 tablespoon of coconut oil before meals will help with satiety, too much olive oil is bad for you, and soy is definetly bad for you. I can't see myself preparing foods with coconut as a constant ingredient. And a lot of the recipes in the book are time consuming and contain exotic ingredients that are hard to find. It's just easier to take the tablespoon of coconut oil.
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This book deserves all the high ratings it has been given. I've read dozens of books on diet but this one really stood out. Part of the book was about weight loss but the bigger part was about health, and very useful. This book is probably the book I would recommend if you could only buy one book containing practical information about what to eat. We need to eat real food! I can't afford to follow every suggestion (grass fed organic meats only etc.), but I have already made changes to my diet that I know will be benficial to my health. (I'm just going to ignore the bits about eating grains and legumes though as they are not for me.) The only improvements I would suggest are a simplified list of what to eat and how much roughly of each food type that DOESN'T assume you'll eat nothing but their recipes, and more information on what to do if you are allergic/intolerant of dairy, eggs, wheat and are not eating all grains or legumes for health reasons and because high carb foods such as grains and legumes don't agree with you. I am going to try some raw milk though, to see if I can tolerate it. I got this book out from the library and ended up actually buying a copy because the recipes at the back all looked so good and useful. I almost never do that! But it really is just a 'keeper' in my opinion. Ignore the flashy cover and the title this is a solid book about health and diet.
—Jodi
It's okay. I read "You: On a Diet" not because I wanted to go on a diet but because it gets all sciency about what goes on in your body when you eat! Fascinating.
—Racheal
This book is about healthy eating through Coconut oil, fish eggs, liver (and other products), as well as cod liver oil supplements. It is sort of an Atkins diet with these products added. There are many recipes included. I guess I will have to make a decision at some point about low-carb and high-fat diets for health and weight control. The authors present compelling reasons why the standard dietary advice is wrong. It falls in with some other reads that I have recently completed. This is a major decision for anyone, since the approaches are almost mutually exclusive. (Except for eliminating Fructose and its aliases, which is common to almost all dietary regimes). I must admit that I have just lost 23 pounds on the Adkins, and that I have added some coconut oils to my diet; but these authors go further in both the amounts of coconut products necessary and their types. The Cod liver oil, I can easily do by substituting one of my Omega 3 fish oil tablets for some Cod Liver. Maybe at 65, my worries are trifling; a younger person would have to eat this way for many more years than faces me--with more significant benefits and/or dangers.Anyhow, its another broadside challenge to our low-fat, high-carb official recommendations that we get from the Government, Heart Association, Cancer Foundation, etc. Boun Appitito
—William Nist
