The big fat surprise
by Nina Teicholz · first published 2014
61% recommend26% neutral13% critical
Why HN recommends it
Extensively referenced history of nutrition research that shows how weak the case against saturated fat was and how the low-fat consensus took hold; suits readers questioning mainstream diet advice or exploring low-carb.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Investigative journalist Nina Teicholz reveals here that everything we thought we knew about dietary fat is wrong. She documents how the low-fat nutrition advice of the past sixty years has amounted to a vast uncontrolled experiment on the entire population, with disastrous consequences for our health. For decades, we have been told that the best possible diet involves cutting back on fat, especially saturated fat, and that if we are not getting healthier or thinner, we are not trying hard enough. But what if the low-fat diet is itself the problem? Based on a nine-year investigation, Teicholz
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…extremely weak to begin with, and we are now seeing positive evidence exonerating it. If you are interested in learning more about the history of nutrition, I highly recommend Nina Teicholz book The Big Fat Surprise. As others have mentioned, Phinney and Volek's books are a great overview off the science as of a few years ago. Phinney has been doing research on this for 40 years, quite an accomplishment, given how…
on “Study: Doubling Saturated Fat in the Diet Does Not Increase It in Blood” ↗I recently quit taking statins. My decision was motivated by reading two books: "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ and "The Big Fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy/dp/14... Finding that statins would lengthen my lifespan by at most ~30 days or less really chapped my ass (i.e.,irritated me),…
on “Statins Used to Lower Cholesterol Linked to Doubled Risk of Developing Dementia” ↗LDL is correlated but not causative and it's been discovered that HDL is a much better indicator. Take a look at this book: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy/dp/14... It goes into it quite a bit more -- cholesterol is a _terrible_ indicator of overall health. This is well known in the Keto community.
on “Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes” ↗You said "that diet and keto are associated with an increase in all-cause mortality" -- in fact, I believe the opposite to be the case. Check out The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz to learn more about nutrition science.
on “Vegetarian women more likely to fracture hips in later life” ↗If you're interested, the book Big Fat Surprise talks a great deal about how fat (other than trans fat) isn't bad for you. http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Fat-Surprise-Healthy/dp/145162...
on “The Fats You Don’t Need to Fear, and the Carbs That You Do” ↗…phenomenal tour of the literature and demonstrates that a lot of the science does in fact support a carnivore diet. You should look up some of her phenomenal lectures on YouTube, or read her book The Big Fat Surprise: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy/dp/14... If you would like to contribute to getting more research done on the carnivore diet, then you can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/carnivore-research
on “U.S. Adult Obesity Rate Tops 42 Percent; Highest Ever Recorded” ↗…have come to believe that a person’s risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, and high blood pressure will all be reduced by switching to a 100% red meat diet. If anyone actually cares, they can read The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz to learn about nutrition science.
on “Vegetarian women more likely to fracture hips in later life” ↗…some off so much faster than with weight watchers. [1] My summer reading, that has really changed my life: Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259 The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, by Nina Teicholz http://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy/dp/145... Death by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and…
on “Hard Science About Diet” ↗I just finished reading The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz, an extensively-referenced account of the history of nutrition research over the past century. It was really interesting to see the weakness of the evidence against fat, and how our general…
on “A Call for a Low-Carb Diet” ↗…into th history of nutrition the more you realise there was two parallel tracts. The one that won public opinion (low fat/high carb) has pretty much contributed to an epidemic. Recommend the book “the big fat surprise” by Nina Teicholz on the topic.
on “Fructan, not gluten, induces symptoms in patients with gluten sensitivity” ↗I particularly liked these 12 books: - Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe - The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet - Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters - This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease,…
on “Ask HN: What are some interesting books you read in 2017?” ↗For a good history to see how we got to the state we are at is to have a read of "The Big Fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz. Here is an article with a summarized version https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families... Basically was due to a force of charisma, presidents getting heart attacks…
on “The fight over the sugar industry's influence on nutrition research” ↗…to my personal health. This is a hugely contentious issue in nutrition in recent years, and I find my self firmly on the side of Gary Taubes, Nina Teicholz and friends. I particularly recommend "The Big Fat Surprise" by Teicholz on the subject of the health of various fats. Her research goes flat against a wide variety of authorities ... and I find it very convincing. It sure changed what's on my plate.
on “The Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat aren't healthier” ↗look at "Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes https://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes-ebook/d... as well as "The Big Fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz as mentioned. Each of these paints a fully researched rebuttal to the mainline nutrition science sources you cite. Roughly "All of modern nutrition science is woefully corrupted, since…
on “The Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat aren't healthier” ↗See the recent "FAT: A Documentary" (Amazon Prime has it) or the book "The Big Fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz for many more details. I found these entertaining and compelling. > The Frantz children always felt fortunate that their father brought his work home, his beliefs about the dangers…
on “Raw data from a 40-year-old study raises new questions about fats (2017)” ↗