20 Diet Myths - Busted. A Manifesto to change how you think about dieting.

by Zoe Harcombe

Conventional Wisdom tells us that all we need to do to lose weight is to eat less and/or do more. Zoe Harcombe busts this, and other diet myths in this thought provoking article. One pound does not equal 3,500 calories. You will not lose one pound if you create a deficit of 3,500 calories. Eating less/doing more will not work. Five-a-day is not only a myth, but a contributor to the obesity epidemic.  Saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Your body makes cholesterol, your body is not trying to kill you and more.As well as busting 20 of the most strongly held diet myths of all times, this article includes the full introduction to Zoë Harcombe’s book The Obesity What caused it? How can we stop it? There are some technical aspects to this manifesto, but the human body is far more complex than a simple 'eat less, do more' mantra can ever explain. This article is approximately 20 pages in length, 10167 words.

Genres: Health

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2011

Reviews

[Donna Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested by the scientific explanations of the low carb lifestyle and how the body burns fat (or doesn’t).

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll just repeat what I said about The Obesity Epidemic:

The author is very confident, but she throws out some logic that is unsound. I honestly don't know whether to believe her particulars. The ultimate answers - eat whole foods as often as you can and avoid heavily processed ones - is sound. I just lack confidence in the process.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a diet book but a scientifically grounded look at how the food industry has worked so hard to keep us blindfolded. Her information is sited and without spending my whole life trying to find it right or wrong, my instinct is to say, "well duh!" We should eat as our bodies were intended to eat, not eat what a factory chemically produced and mashed into the form of a cracker. I read this and it made me think seriously about what I want to put in my mouth. Most impacting was the chapter about cholesterol. Is my doctor wrong? - probably!

[Noelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read but helpful. It reminded me of talking to a health teacher back in jr high. It was written as here's the myth or question and then another saying and here's why its wrong and what is known. Some we're more detailed then others.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well laid out, and while normally I would not trust a book to make diet claims, this (short) book goes into trustworthy detail about each myth and why they are not true. Very good ideas to keep in mind when you are changing your eating habits.

[KyBunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just another one of those out there to try and get people on diet's or those who want to diet to buy and waste there money. it is not worth buying/download (if free) or even reading.