NinaTeicholz's "The Big Fat Surprise" is all about everything we thought we knew about dietary fat is wrong. The book, impeccably
researched, is a fascinating read and is full of wow moments. Through years of scientific
researches and dietary experiments. the nutritionist and journalist, Nina comes
out with the amazing fact of how more and not less fat – including the
saturated animal fats (dairy, eggs, meat) actually leads to better health. She
actually insists that low fat and high carb diet introduced in early 50 years ago
in the US is actually a commercial connivance led by a top nutritionist and the
federal government.
Years of rigorous diet (low fat high carb) did not quite lessen the
obesity and other health issues (cardio vascular disease, obesity, diabetes
etc.) in the country. In no time the good fat is being replaced by high carb
food resulting in atrocious toxicity in our health meters. The good fats are
nutrient dense food as opposed to the empty and bad calories of high carb diet.
Carbohydrate is nothing but sugar and we all know by now that toxicity
associated with it. The factual evidence that the book is accentuated with is
remarkable and believable. Even though the book has severe critiques in the
medical practitioners, nutritionists and health gurus, it unrolls some serious
evidence based health facts.
Nina is critical of one man who she thinks is deeply flawed. In her own
words:
“Our distrust of saturated fat dates more than 50
years, and can be traced to just one man: a bullying, charismatic but revered
pathologist named Ancel Keys, whose quest for fame caused him to run roughshod
over basic scientific standards. His deeply flawed “Seven Countries” study was
the “Big Bang” of all our nutrition recommendations today. In an effort to
quickly address the terrifying heart-disease epidemic, Keys persuaded the
American Heart Association and ultimately the U.S. government to subscribe to
the notion that saturated fat was our chief dietary culprit. Fat generally —
and saturated fat specifically — came to be blamed for causing heart disease,
obesity and cancer. Eventually this unfounded belief became ingrained as our
national dogma, and many of our most esteemed nutrition scientists today
endorse this idea based on the same kind of soft science that originated with
Keys.”
The book, through austere diet trials, shows how high-fat,
low-carb diet is better for fighting obesity, diabetes and heart disease etc. An
amazing read and the book has been successful in addressing the basic dietary myths.
This book documents how 'misunderstanding, misconduct and bad science' caused
generations to be misled about nutrition.
"The Big Fat Surprise" is a pageturner and is available in Kindle, Paperback and Hardcopy versions. Buy your choice but do buy it. To begin with, you may get intimidated by the factual data and the citations (more than 100 pages) but trust me the intriguing story telling of Nina Teicholz will never fail you.