Eat Fat, Lose Fat - The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats - Mary Enig, Sally Fallon

In this new addition to the fast-fix diet book shelf, Enig and Fallon attempt to correct what they see as Americans' false belief that tropical fats and oils (such as coconut and palm) are unhealthy, asserting that those fats (and coconut, especially) are beneficial saturated fats that should be more heavily incorporated into our diets. Enig, a biochemist and nutritionist, along with Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (a non-profit dedicated to helping people implement healthy approaches to nutrition), say "high-fat, low-carb really works," eschewing the disastrous effects a high-fat diet can have on a person's heart. They like the Atkins diet, but say it doesn't take advantage of the "metabolism-boosting" powers of coconut oil. Their approach skews more toward traditional diets and away from modern diets (e.g., chose animal fats over vegetable oils; raw or fermented dairy products instead of pasteurized ones). Though based on considerable research, the book is somewhat off-putting. Its emphasis on one ingredient-in the recipe section, for example, one sample menu has readers eating a dish with coconut in it seven times in one day-seems nutritionally suspicious. 
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"If permanently losing weight while improving your health is a real goal, I highly recommend Eat Fat, Lose Fat."
—Dr. Joseph Mercola, bestselling author of The No-Grain Diet 

"Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon are two of the most important voices in the wellness revolution. Eat Fat, Lose Fat is a must read."
—Jordan S. Rubin, author of The New York Times’ bestselling The Maker’s Diet

*****

This book has been my dietary bible since reading it a year ago. It is a sourcebook for people wanting to eat a traditional diet, which is a diet solidly grounded in current dietary research, not unproven theories of the past. Look past the gimmicky cover here, as this is not a book about fads. It is a book about coconut oil as the foundation for an overall diet that is health-enhancing.

"Eat Fat, Lose Fat" is part of the growing body of literature supporting the eating of "real food", which is food that is healthy, tasty, not disease-promoting, slow, of exceptional quality, nutrient dense, organic, vital, traditional, local, seasonal, and clean. "Real foods" are the opposite of "fake foods", which are foods that are processed, dead, fast, nutrient poor, chemicalized, devitalized, rotten, spoiled, dead, old, or contaminated with antibiotics and growth hormones. It is based on scientific studies published in journals such as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Lancet, and even JAMA. It is also based upon looking at the dietary practices of people of different cultures, a fascinating anthropological study that illuminates how indigenous people throughout history instinctively knew things that we are just now "discovering" with modern scientific methods.

The authors are Mary Enig, a world-renowned biochemist and nutritionist who spearheaded, with her research over 25 years ago, the recent move against trans fats at last, and Sally Fallon, The book is written in an interesting style, and is full of facts, explanations, how-to's, tips for

Chapter 1 sorts out the facts versus the fears about fats, debunking fat myths one by one, citing recent studies. The authors explain contradictory findings and flaws with past studies. One surprising fact is that most studies done in the past with coconut oil were done with fully hydrogenated coconut oil, a far cry from today's organic, extra virgin coconut oil or traditional society's raw coconut oil.

Chapter 2 explains the lipid hypothesis (and makes it interesting for non-chemistry majors like me) and explains the relationship between fat and heart disease and cholesterol. She explains how quality fats actually protect you from heart disease. This will be of particular interest to those eating a low-saturated-fat diet in hope of preventing or recovering from heart disease. All of this is written in a logical, yet not dry style.

Chapter 3 details the effects fats have on your various body systems, and the important nutrients that these systems need that can only be obtained from fats.

I know that up until this point this review makes the book sound boring, but it is very exciting, filled with facts and ideas that work.

Chapter 4 explains why diets with healthy fats help you to lose weight and be healthier at the same time, including important effects of healthy fats upon metabolism. This chapter also explains problems with ineffective weight loss theories of the past. It discusses the pros and cons of the Atkins diet, Ornish (low-fat vegetarian), Zone, South Beach, Weight Watchers, juice fasts, and the glycemic index.

Chapter 5 discusses the principles of healthy traditional diets, which surprisingly are similar the world over. It discusses individual foods at length as well as MSG, superfoods, fermentation, supplementation, raw vs. cooked, and more.

Chapter 6 is all about weight loss, based on four core principles:

1. Eat three meals per day, and always eat breakfast.

2. Eat traditional fats, including coconut oil.

3. Eat nutrient dense foods, particularly those supplying calcium and vitamins A and D.

4. Restrict calories moderately.

It also discusses special weight loss tips, such as taking coconut oil before each meal (and gives you 25 ways to use coconut oil in your meals). Of particular interest to me was why you should restrict your calories moderately but not too much. The chapter takes you step-by-step and day-by-day into starting your weight loss program, effectively holding your hand with shopping lists and daily menu plans.

Chapter 7 is about dietary emphases for recovery from various illnesses and health issues.

Chapter 8 is an everyday gourmet diet for those who are interested in maintaining their weight. It also covers dining out.

The rest of the book (about 100 pages out of almost 300 pages) is recipes and resources.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for those who are serious and committed to their health, especially including those who are unwilling to lose weight through dangerous fad diets.

*****

Underneath this book's mainstream title and flashy hot-pink packaging lie a revolutionary premise. Real foods - including meat, eggs, butter, cream, coconut oil and other traditional high-fat foods - are the keys to weight loss, high energy, brain function, feelings of wellbeing and disease prevention. So throw out those low-fat, highly processed and packaged foods, forget about being a vegetarian, "bread-atarian" or "soy-atarian" and go back to enjoying the whole foods that your healthy ancestors really ate. In the process, you'll not only regain your health and find your perfect weight but totally enjoy your food. This book is a simpler version of the authors' grassroots classic NOURISHING TRADITIONS with the same sound science but a new emphasis on the healing power of coconut oil. As a Clinical Nutritionist, I have found that coconut cream and oil are very healing to the thyroid and greatly speed the recovery of former vegetarians and heavy soy eaters. The book also answers the many questions clients have about trans fats, vegetable oils, cholesterol and the dangers of the currently popular low fat/high protein diets. Highly recommended.