Book Review: The Big Fat Surprise

Note: Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing some of my papers written for my Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner certification. This is a review of the excellent book, The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz. 

In her 2014 book, The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz takes us on a tour of the history of fat philosophy for the western world. The 20th century saw a few new food philosophies surface, but none which made such far reaching impact as the low-fat diet recommendation, which through the coordinated work of government health advisories and regulating organizations, the medical industry, and the farm industry, not only drove public opinion and influenced the thinking of millions of Americans—and soon after, the rest of the western world—but changed the supply chain for foods, distribution, farming, and manufacturing.

Nina, a food journalist in New York City, was surprised to find that she lost 10lbs and felt better than ever while feasting on the rich foods she had to eat while reviewing top restaurants. She knew there had to be more to the story than “eat fat, become fat” so she began a nine year long journey of research, including interviewing every nutritional expert in the US and dozens abroad. When she came across startling information about trans-fats, which had been intentionally buried for decades, she knew she had to tell the story of how the food company industry influences nutritional studies for their profit, and how this is backed and protected by government agencies even though the many scientific studies have required altering, tampering, discarding data, mislabeling the fats studied, or other egregious sins of science to keep the whole charade going. This is that story.

Ask anyone if fat is bad for you, and you’re very likely to get an answer that was influenced by the false science run as a propaganda machine from the 1930s to the present. Is saturated fat bad for you? Will it clog your arteries? Does it make you gain weight more readily than a diet higher in carbohydrates? Isn’t a low fat diet, a high vegetable oil diet, or a Mediterranean diet better for heart health? For cancer prevention? For life-expectancy? Won’t high cholesterol give you heart disease?

The answer to all of these questions is no: the true science does not and did not support any of these conclusions. Nina states that “well intentioned experts, hastening to address the growing epidemic of chronic disease, simply over-interpreted the data.” (pg. 3) Even abstract guidelines such as “The Mediterranean diet” were aberrations, constructed as theoretical diets by researchers biased toward plant eating and away from meats, and do not have true ties to any of the long-lived people groups dwelling along the Mediterranean Sea. Those people don’t actually eat the foods listed in that diet in those proportions, and never have in their millennia of longevity.

All of the assumptions about saturated fat being unhealthful for humans was based on a hypothesis of a few researchers with strong personalities within the science community. Once this hypothesis became accepted, they silenced the many researchers who stood in opposition to the view. The US public, terrified of the growing epidemics of obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, dutifully tried to comply with the recommendations, not knowing how shaky was the scaffolding upon which they stood. As a result, diets changed to included less fat of all kinds, but particularly saturated fats, and an increase in carbohydrate consumption. What has been the health result of the revised diet? Nina states: “It’s heartbreaking to realize that the federal government’s “Healthy People” goal of 2010, a project begun in the mid-1990s, was simply to return the public back to levels of obesity seen in 1960, and even that goal was unreachable.” (pg.5)

This book details the scientific history for the case that diets high in fat, especially saturated fats from whole food sources, are a major part of a healthful diet leading to long life and high quality of life. These foods include meat butter and eggs. Vegetable oils can be used within this diet, but should not be seen as superior in offering better health, and as a warning, can be far more dangerous if heated or processed. This information is consistent with the information coming out of modern-day disseminators of food science, such as the Weston A Price Foundation, and my nutrition training through Nutritional Therapy Association.

For those who spent time following a low-fat or low-saturated-fat diet, this book speaks to what went wrong, how it went wrong, and where we go from here.

Citation:

Teicholz (2014), The Big Fat Surprise, Simon and Schuster

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The Wellness Workout that Works For Me

Did you know that on average, Americans gain 8 lbs over the holidays? (Yes, I read it in two different national magazines.)

Not me. I lost 5 lbs, and 17.5 inches. Yeah, and I’m just as shocked as you. So read on.

In my last post, I mentioned that I’d be sharing with you the exercise routine that has actually worked for me. Well, here it is: T-Tapp (t-tapp.com).

I truly feel like I can recommend this program, since I am totally non-athletic, uncoordinated, and though I was within my weight range when I began T-Tapp a year ago, I was not toned or fit. Yet, it has helped me to become more toned, increased my stamina during pregnancy, and increased my coordination, in addition to other health benefits (more energy, immune enhancement, improved mood and sleep). And that 17.5 inches lost is hard to ignore.

T-Tapp (created by Teresa Tapp) is a series of movements that strengthen your core, while standing in spinal alignment. They pump the lymph fluid, which I think is the main reason that I feel so much better on the days I exercise. It’s isometric, cardio, stretching, rehabilitative to bad joints, low impact. And because the Basic Workout is only 15 minutes, I’ve been able to DO it, on average 3-4 times per week.

Before this workout, I had tried Curves, and gave it up after a year and a half when I couldn’t be consistent enough with going (6AM was my only time to go, and that’s hard to do when you have an infant). Although it was fun to go and I was certainly sweating through those workouts, it seemed to me that all the women going there never made any significant change to their fitness level (including me).

I’ve also tried a few workout videos over the years, none with much result, even with lengthy workouts. And I also felt like they were taught by fitness models, rather than health trainers. It sort of zaps your motivation when you consider that the instructor has a really different body type than yours, and probably has never been acquainted with a baby belly (or 4th baby belly!), much less with how to lose one. I don’t know that Teresa Tapp has ever had a baby, but there are tons of testimonials on her site from mothers with 6, 7, 8, 9 and more children, who have shed pounds and lost hundreds of inches of baby-weight doing T-Tapp.

Teresa also explains body types and how they affect problem spots, and determine what is realistic for you to achieve with your body. I happen to have the same body type which she has, long torso, short legs. I tell myself: if she can do this, I can too.

The Basic Workout Plus (15 min.) is tough (muscle and coordination wise), but it was designed for people with Chronic Fatigue, so it’s not going to exhaust you. This is what I started with, and I think it would be a good place for others to start. I did this during pregnancy, from the 3rd month to the 8th month. I started in again with this workout at 4 weeks postpartum, although I took it slow.

At 3 months postpartum, I began to add a few moves from the Total Workout, which I did for about 7 weeks over the holidays. This is where I really began to see inch loss. (Basic Workout is the first 15 minutes of Total Workout.) In the coming year, I hope to use a combination of Basic and Total Workouts on an every-other-day basis to become fit, and then drop back to just the Basic a few times a week for maintenance.

If this sounds like something which might work for you, check out the website. Make sure to enter your email in the 10 Day Drawing (winners drawn every 10 days). I entered several times from January-May of last year, then I did win in May. I just entered last week, and won again . . . so there’s proof that if you keep entering you will get picked sometime. The prize is a free workout video (which tend to be shorter, focused exercises) and free shipping. There is no purchase required, but they do also give you a coupon for 50% off a video of your choice (plus the free shipping), which is a great deal if you are wanting to buy a certain workout which isn’t offered in the prizes.

I am not an affiliate of this company, and do not receive any compensation for recommending their products; I’ve simply been impressed with their company and the results I’ve achieved while following this program. One workout is not going to be right for everyone; if you’ve found one that is working for you, stick with it! Consistency is what will really give results in the long term.

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