Not All Fat is Bad
Written: Mar 18 '06 (Updated Mar 18 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy, quick read. Good scientific basis
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: A good read that is a valuable addition to your dietary knowledge.
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| gamblin_man's Full Review: |
A chance encounter early in the rising popularity of The South Beach Diet launched the curiosity gene I was born with. The premise of that diet is that there should be a balance of fat, carbohydrate, and protein in everyone’s diet. The key to The South Beach Diet is that there are good and bad fats and carbohydrates. If the diet is composed mostly of the good ones and shuns the bad ones, better health and lower weight will result.
My first foray with the curiosity gene was into the role of carbohydrates in health, both good and bad. I then wandered onto the role of fats where I discovered an easy to read and easy to understand treatment of the role of fats. It is Good Fat Vs. Bad Fat. The cover asserts that” “The right kinds of fat can: prevent heart disease, reduce risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, promote weight loss.” This, with the exception of the cancer claim, matched what I had read in The South Beach Diet, so I bought it. After a year of ownership and periodic review of the contents, including checking against other sources, I believe what this book has to say.
Good Fat vs Bad Fat
In 240 standard-format paper back pages, Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, PhD, takes a complex subject and lays out for the reader the case for picking, rather than shunning, the fats you eat. She tells in easy to grasp language why some fats are bad for you and raise cholesterol and triglycerides, even damage your basic cellular structure, and others do the opposite.
Why This Review
Three years ago my doctor put me on a statin for high cholesterol. He is a traditional family doctor, far from a practitioner of naturopathic medicine, but with an open mind. The statin dropped the cholesterol readings and the triglycerides well below the trigger points and all was well. Seven months ago he took me off the statin due to side effects. The most recent blood work showed the cholesterol numbers still in good shape but the triglycerides up. Questioning brought out I had been working on reducing saturated fats and trans-fats in my diet. He questioned how much fatty seafood I had added and it was very little. His prescription – add Omega 3 to my diet. The rest was working. I reviewed the book again and, believing it is worthwhile, decided to share it with others through this review.
The Subject Matter
Good Fat vs Bad Fat is written in five parts. It also contains a useful glossary of terms, an index, and references of related study material. I know this makes it sound like a textbook but it isn’t.
Part I is titled, “Fats: The ‘Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”
This part tells us what fats are, why they are, and what they do. It separates the good from the bad, the ugly from the beautiful. It starts right off with fat’s bad rap. “Fats. They’re the black-hatted bad guys of nutrition, the most demonized of all nutrients. Even the word fat itself conjures up all sorts of negative associations when used in everyday language. Take the expressions fathead, fat chance, fat cat, and fatso for example. Fat is practically a four-letter word.”
This is the tone of the entire book; a layman’s language treatment of a very technical subject. It gets us ready for the detail in the later parts with definitions of the various fats and their cousins, like cholesterol, and tells us that some are good and some are bad. It begins to tell us why.
There are some scientific words in this and all the book’s parts, but they fit and you will soon read them just as easily as you do the everyday words of a book. For example, it will explain that fats are a member of a group of compounds called lipids. Later when you see lipids you will think fats and their cousins.
It differentiates saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. It defines the essential fatty acids. Yup, some are essential for health and even for sustaining life, so essential that if you don’t eat them your body will try to make them. Some it can’t make. Without those you will die, or at least be suffering a reduced quality of life.
The point this part makes is that all fats have taken the rap for those that aren’t good for us. That good fat, taken in moderate amounts is not only good for us, but essential for our health and well being.
Part II is titled, “Omega Healing”
Fats as medicine is the theme of this part. This is the part I reread in its entirety after being put on omega-3 pills by my doctor. The first sentence: “Question: What do heart disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, bowel disease, psoriasis, and depression have in common?” The answer, detailed throughout this part, is that they can all be treated with a group of fats called omega-3s.
The title of the first chapter of this part, numbered three to confuse us, is, “Fishing For Good Health” It tells what the role of omega-3 is and where it can be best obtained. It recommends eating the food over taking the supplements. It has charts that help define the foods and their value, as does each part of the book. It also talks about shark liver oil and its extra value. If you can’t abide seafood or are a vegetarian, it talks about plant sources of omega-3.
Part III is titled, “More Good-for-you Fats”.
This part starts with a discussion of the “Mediterranean Diet” and its value in the fats area. It starts with a description of a Greek salad and talks, in unappetizing terms, about what you are eating. By the end of this part it will sound most appetizing indeed.
It goes on to expound on heart-saving fats, the cholesterol lowering margarines are introduced here and the scientific proof that they work is detailed. A list of “fake fats” and their uses is included.
Part IV is titled, “Fat Burning Fats”.
Fats can burn fats? Is that real? According to the author it is not only real but pretty well known in nutritional circles. These are medium and short chain fats (you will be comfortable with these terms after you read the book) that have some of the characteristics of carbohydrates when ingested. They help burn fat in the diet and fat circulating in the bloodstream. It tells you where to find these fats, how to use them, and what they can do for you. Chapter ten, the second chapter in this part is sub-titled “The Dieters Fat”. You get the idea.
Part V is titled, “Designing a Fat-healthy Diet”
It puts all you have learned together in a life-style for you. This is the meaning that nutritionists use when they use the term diet. The first part is how to modify your eating habits to include good fats and exclude bad fats. The second part is recipes to help you understand how to do it.
Summary
This book is easy to read. It is full of good, scientifically based knowledge. It will help you live a richer, fuller, healthier life. Reading it, however, is not enough. You must embrace its principles along with a choice for a healthy lifestyle.
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My Review References
The South Beach Diet
South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet Good Fats, Good Carbs Guide
The South Beach Diet Quick And Easy Cookbook
Carbohydrates
Good Carbs, Bad Carbs
The New Glucose Revolution
Fats
The Good Fat, Bad Fat Counter
Recommended:
Yes
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