If you've read my blog for any length of time you know that I occasionally will write about food. I try to eat in a way that supports my health and that of my family, and sometimes I like to share what I've learned through research and trial-and-error.
Basically, I want to do the right thing when it comes to food.
I've said it before -- and, yup, I'll say it again -- I loved the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. It opened my eyes to some of the problems with our whole food situation here in the US and it changed the way I thought about certain foods.
Why Women Need Fat: How "Healthy" Food Makes Us Gain Excess Weight and the Surprising Solution to Losing It Forever
I was invited to review Why Women Need Fat for the BlogHer Book Review program and I quickly felt that this book is right up my alley. Lassek and Gaulin outline how a series of events -- a study on heart disease, an increase of the disease, media attention to heart issues -- came together to create a widely accepted theory that real fat is bad for your health, and that it must be replaced by fake fats.
The history of how it is we came to have our nutritional guidelines is so interesting -- I loved reading about it in In Defense of Food and I enjoyed reading about it in Why Women Need Fat, too. But it is also sad. Lassek and Gaulin -- like Pollan -- show that American women have been the targets of aggressive marketing to get them to switch to eating fake fats instead of real ones, to eat foods that have been modified and processed instead of whole ones.
Real, whole foods are what our bodies need. Unfortunately, for so long, we've been told to avoid certain foods. So, people drink skim milk and think they are being healthy. But then they snack on processed junk foods. They've swapped a whole food, real fat that their bodies can process and need for junk. And, as "they" say, junk in, junk out my friends.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and gained more information to support some of the changes to my diet that I have already been making. If you are interested in getting back to basics with food, check it out.
6 comments:
I haven't read either book but both sound very interesting. I agree with the concept, especially as a vegetarian who struggles with iron deficiency problems. Thanks for mentioning it! I'll have to check my local library! :)
I haven't read the book. Just wondering if it advises whole milk or 2%, which I've been drinking lately.
I have not read the book but I believe in what it says. I firmly believe that my body is meant to eat real foods. I have whole milk in my fridge. You wouldn't want to eat fat free cheese would you? Same for the rest.
And how is aspartame better than real sugar made from real sugar cane (not high fructose corn syrup however).
I remember reading somewhere that women who consume whole dairy products have less infertility issues for example.
For a long time, I had the wrong idea about eating healthy. I am still working at breaking some bad habits and choosing real, whole foods (including fats!) in my day to day life. Sounds like a great read, thanks for the review.
I haven't read the book so I just added it to my list to read. I loved the Pollen books as well. Thanks for the great review.
I haven't read it either, but it sounds spot on. Oreos and french fries are full of fat, which is junk. Almonds and avocados are also full of fat, but the good fat that our body needs. Babies need fat for proper brain development. We need it for shiny hair and strong nails, not to mention all the stuff it does at the cellular level.
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