I confess.  I bring lots of bias into this topic.  Along with many many other folk, I’ve been victimized by pseudo science run amok for many years — which I blame for leading me down a path into diabetes, coronary heart disease, and I suspect, has contributed to osteoarthritis and other inflammatory side trips.  That is a big indictment for a very widely held Low Fat Diet program, that only recently appears beginning to lose traction in the nutrition “science” world.  I’ve written earlier about my own wellness journey in Wellness Journey — how I got fat. and Wellness Journey — how I got lean again.  My weight round trip wasn’t spectacular.  My maximum weight was “only” 210 pounds, but on a 5’9″ frame, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was 31.0.  (BMI over 30 is “Obese”).  After assiduously tracking my calories in/calories out for over a year, I managed to drop down to a tad less than 160 pounds.  I stopped watching my diet so closely and unfortunately over the past two years have picked back up to 170 pounds — which is a tad “Overweight”.  (Note to self: cut the red wine and mindless eating of almonds and pecans!  Cut back to closer to 160!)  And I’m going to do that.  But I’ve begun to suspect that major challenge for my health and that of many other folk, is not so much the BMI, but the internal hormonal balance controlled by food (and beverage) consumption.

Last year, Nina Teicholz published her book, The BIG FAT SURPRISE: WHY BUTTER, MEAT AND CHEESE BELONG IN A HEALTHY DIET.   Several reviews prompted me to download and read her book.  Nina in an investigative journalist.  She spent close to 10-years researching the personalities, politics, research studies leading to establishment of the Low Fat Diet paradigm, and the grief that program has caused to so many.  This very persuasive, well researched follow up on likely primary cause of dramatic increase in obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes.  I suspect that insights here can help folk to understand this reality and change their diets to a wholesome, tasty, high-fat diet.   I think it can be transformative — in a very good way.

She created an excellent website and makes her past articles, TV presentations, TED-talks so easy to survey.  Check it out for more of what she’s done: In the Media – The Big Fat Surprise.

I’d be remiss if I neglected to reference the review, which prompted me to read her book here -> Your Government Approved Diet may Kill You. Aaron Tao.

Gary Taubes, a science journalist, blazed a trail several ago with first, his GOOD CALORIES / BAD CALORIES in 2007, followed by his popularized version, WHY WE GET FAT AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT, in 2010.   I thought his books excellent, but found the articles he’d written in New York Times Magazine and Science excellent introduction.  Check his blog if you’re interested: GaryTaubes.com/works.