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Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health and How We Can Get It Back
The New York Times bestselling author of Deep Nutrition explains how a group of eight little-known oils cause the cellular damage that underlies virtually all chronic disease, exposes the corruption that deceives doctors and consumers into eating them, and gives us a clear roadmap to recovery and rejuvenation.
Did you know that eating a large serving of french fries—cooked in vegetable oil—delivers the toxicity of smoking 24 cigarettes?
Cornell-trained biochemist turned family physician Dr. Cate Shanahan introduces us to well-respected scientists who warn that vegetable oils are a public health disaster, wreaking havoc on our bodies’ cells by depleting antioxidants and promoting free radical toxicity.
Their many effects Americans were enticed into buying these oils based on their cholesterol-lowering property, but the idea that cholesterol-lowering is beneficial was pushed on us without solid evidence to support it. In Dark Calories , Dr. Cate reveals the financial entanglements between industry and underhanded academics who created and sustain our 1950s-era, arbitrary dietary rules.
As a solution, she proposes a clear, no-nonsense plan that aligns with our genetic needs and nature’s laws. Thankfully, recovering our health is simplified by the fact that nutrients that treat one condition also tend to treat all the rest. As an added bonus, we also revive our sense of taste so that our cravings shift to wholesome, nourishing foods instead.
Did you know that eating a large serving of french fries—cooked in vegetable oil—delivers the toxicity of smoking 24 cigarettes?
Cornell-trained biochemist turned family physician Dr. Cate Shanahan introduces us to well-respected scientists who warn that vegetable oils are a public health disaster, wreaking havoc on our bodies’ cells by depleting antioxidants and promoting free radical toxicity.
Their many effects Americans were enticed into buying these oils based on their cholesterol-lowering property, but the idea that cholesterol-lowering is beneficial was pushed on us without solid evidence to support it. In Dark Calories , Dr. Cate reveals the financial entanglements between industry and underhanded academics who created and sustain our 1950s-era, arbitrary dietary rules.
As a solution, she proposes a clear, no-nonsense plan that aligns with our genetic needs and nature’s laws. Thankfully, recovering our health is simplified by the fact that nutrients that treat one condition also tend to treat all the rest. As an added bonus, we also revive our sense of taste so that our cravings shift to wholesome, nourishing foods instead.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2024
484 people are currently reading
2145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
September 19, 2024
When it comes to butter, trust a cow, not a chemical plant.
I grew up in the 80s where fat was the devil itself and the rise of margarine, low fat and low salt foods were all the rage.
If the average consumer knows what processes “vegetable” oil must go through to become edible it will make them stop buying it immediately. Just because something is deemed edible does not mean it’s good for you in the long run.
Every time I come across an author that takes the trouble of busting myths around cholesterol it gives me a little bit of hope that more and more people will start researching and advocating for their own health rather than sit back and just take any old pill ghat gets prescribed to them.
But seed oils, just like sugar, has become so ubiquitous in food that it feels like an impossible task to avoid them. Really avoiding them to the extent the author suggests may seem over the top. That is until you get sick.
Acknowledging the fact that your favourite French fries, deep-fried-anything and even healthy salad dressing is drenched in toxic sludge is hard to swallow.
There is some solid health advice in this book and its explained in an easy to understand manner but I have to also mention that the author almost almost went a little overboard with her passion for the subject.
I also liked that there are hundreds of studies linked so if anyone wants to research or read further on any particular topic, its easy to do.
And finally if you want to really understand what is in the food you buy, you are going to have to become an avid reader of food labels.
I grew up in the 80s where fat was the devil itself and the rise of margarine, low fat and low salt foods were all the rage.
If the average consumer knows what processes “vegetable” oil must go through to become edible it will make them stop buying it immediately. Just because something is deemed edible does not mean it’s good for you in the long run.
Every time I come across an author that takes the trouble of busting myths around cholesterol it gives me a little bit of hope that more and more people will start researching and advocating for their own health rather than sit back and just take any old pill ghat gets prescribed to them.
But seed oils, just like sugar, has become so ubiquitous in food that it feels like an impossible task to avoid them. Really avoiding them to the extent the author suggests may seem over the top. That is until you get sick.
Acknowledging the fact that your favourite French fries, deep-fried-anything and even healthy salad dressing is drenched in toxic sludge is hard to swallow.
There is some solid health advice in this book and its explained in an easy to understand manner but I have to also mention that the author almost almost went a little overboard with her passion for the subject.
I also liked that there are hundreds of studies linked so if anyone wants to research or read further on any particular topic, its easy to do.
And finally if you want to really understand what is in the food you buy, you are going to have to become an avid reader of food labels.
June 16, 2024
This will likely go down as the single most impactful non-fiction book I’ve read related to health. Dr. Cate Shanahan’s book, Dark Calories, is immensely important in our current times. Health appears harder to come by as seemingly healthy individuals continue to get sick. Why? Dr. Cate gives us a behind the scenes look into seed oils - the disgusting process of how they’re made - and how they are wreaking havoc on our bodies through their excessive double bond structures and oxidative stress.
When I started reading this book I found myself highlighting nearly every sentence. I was truly blown away by the information. I read this book much slower than I would have liked, but it was because I was really digesting the information. I actually started making diet changes in my own life before realizing that Dr. Cate has some great suggestions in the later chapters of the book. This book lives up to its title - she explains exactly how seed oils impact our bodies and then gives you a guide as to how to get them out of your life (way easier than you think!).
Reading Dark Calories solidified my distrust in all the agencies and “experts” in the field of health. I was intrigued by the history lessons provided, specially regarding the work of Ancel Keys and the American Heart Association. I have the message of cholesterol as what’s clogging arteries and causing heart attacks ingrained in my “health” knowledge. I am so grateful for voices like Dr. Cate and others who lift the lid on these fallacies and spread truth about food. This is a book I plan to spread the word about because it has already made a huge impact on my life.
Eat your butter and red meats! Drink your raw milk! You will be healthier and it tastes so much better!
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, Hachette Go, and the author Dr. Catherine Shanahan for this incredibly informative and important book!
When I started reading this book I found myself highlighting nearly every sentence. I was truly blown away by the information. I read this book much slower than I would have liked, but it was because I was really digesting the information. I actually started making diet changes in my own life before realizing that Dr. Cate has some great suggestions in the later chapters of the book. This book lives up to its title - she explains exactly how seed oils impact our bodies and then gives you a guide as to how to get them out of your life (way easier than you think!).
Reading Dark Calories solidified my distrust in all the agencies and “experts” in the field of health. I was intrigued by the history lessons provided, specially regarding the work of Ancel Keys and the American Heart Association. I have the message of cholesterol as what’s clogging arteries and causing heart attacks ingrained in my “health” knowledge. I am so grateful for voices like Dr. Cate and others who lift the lid on these fallacies and spread truth about food. This is a book I plan to spread the word about because it has already made a huge impact on my life.
Eat your butter and red meats! Drink your raw milk! You will be healthier and it tastes so much better!
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, Hachette Go, and the author Dr. Catherine Shanahan for this incredibly informative and important book!
April 28, 2024
I first read Catherine Shanahan's books when I was in nutrition school ten years ago. She is a physician has specialized in looking at how nutrition affects health. Her first book, Deep Nutrition, looked at a number of factors in traditional diets that helped those populations avoid the chronic diseases now affecting so many in the US. This book goes deeply into one of the problem foods in our modern diets: vegetable oils, which did not make up a substantial part of our diet until after WWII. These are the seed oils such as canola, corn, soy and sunflower/safflower. These are all relatively new to the diet, unlike traditional fats such as butter and olive oil. This book does an excellent job at explaining the negative health consequences of eating large amounts of vegetable oils. The book also shows where these foods are in the modern diet, how to avoid them and what to eat instead. This book has many excellent references but is also highly readable for the average lay person. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in improving their health through nutrition. I received an advanced complementary copy via NetGalley.
January 23, 2025
UPDATE 2nd READ: I liked this one more the second time around. I still wish she had done her own narration for the audio but the little interview at the end was nice.
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I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one yet. I thought I was going to love this one but I wasn't able to get there. But overall, there is food for thought here. The info she assembled was thought provoking as she discussed the negatives of seed oils in the modern diet. I liked that she stayed in her lane. There was no shaming of others and their research, well except for Keys. With precision, she stayed focused on her own topic and message.
The majority of the health related podcasts I listen to, are on this same bandwagon when it comes to seed oils. I have listened to this author on several of them and I like her dedication and tenacity.
I wish the author had done her own narration for the audio because she has a lot of enthusiasm for her work. She read the first part and then turned it over to the professionals. So, for now...this is between 3-4 stars. I'll have to give this another listen.
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I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one yet. I thought I was going to love this one but I wasn't able to get there. But overall, there is food for thought here. The info she assembled was thought provoking as she discussed the negatives of seed oils in the modern diet. I liked that she stayed in her lane. There was no shaming of others and their research, well except for Keys. With precision, she stayed focused on her own topic and message.
The majority of the health related podcasts I listen to, are on this same bandwagon when it comes to seed oils. I have listened to this author on several of them and I like her dedication and tenacity.
I wish the author had done her own narration for the audio because she has a lot of enthusiasm for her work. She read the first part and then turned it over to the professionals. So, for now...this is between 3-4 stars. I'll have to give this another listen.
November 22, 2024
WHOA. This was SO eye-opening. Terrifyingly so. It is so discouraging to live in a world where nearly everything you pick up in the store has one or more “closet poisons” in it…and that these “hateful 8” oils can cause so much more damage than we realize. I read The Glucose Revolution and I felt like that was a must read for everyone, and I add this one to that list. I liked that she added multiple chapters on insulin resistance and glucose, the history of vegetable oils and national health, and so much science/data (SO much) on the negative effects of the hateful 8 oils, and how we can make positive changes! It felt overwhelming, but in her last chapters she gives amazing plans and take-aways that gave me hope for change!
February 25, 2025
I found this book factual and practical
Notes:
Cottonseed
Corn
Canola
Soybean
Sunflower
Safflower
Grape seed
Rice bran
More than 80% of foods w an ingredients label have at least one
Colorless, died yellow
Cottonseed oil initially sold as ivory soap after being hydrogenated. When the process was changed, and the substance was softer, they thought, why not sell it as a food? It seems to act like butter. Crisco
Soy was helpful for fattening animals after World War II when more families were eating meat. Animals cannot digest the soy fat, so it was separated into soy meal and soy oil. The oil was used in salad dressings initially.
The refining process strips away the flavor and nutrition, making these oils interchangeable
PUFA polyunsaturated is most unstable to oxygen
Liquid oxidation product, LOPs
Olive and peanut oils are easy to extract without destroying the antioxidant.
Seeds are not toxic because they have no oxygen, and they have antioxidants that are activated during germination. The processing method to extract oil destroys the antioxidants
Jackson productions temperature and time at that temperature. Ride foods produce the most toxin since they are a high temperature for a long time.
A b unsat aldehydes
One specific taxin produced means eating a french fry is the same as smoking
Using NMR, veg oils have lots of toxic ox products after heating. Coconut oil and butter do not.
Expeller, pressing canola oil creates trans fats
Solvent extraction is hexane
Trans man doubled the use of vegetable oil. Trans has mild toxicity, compared to vegetable fat. It resists oxidation.
PUFA exist in our cell membranes, and are ingested when we eat animal products
Your cells begin to look like what you eat- more PUFA means your cells will take that composition
After 2 yrs eating PUFA Vit E Stores drop off even when supplementing- seems to be a point where your body can’t fight it anymore even w antioxidants
Most antioxidant supplements are useless because they are made by plants FOR plants
Acute inflammation is helpful, chronic is not
Omega 6 tends to promote inflammation and omega-3 tends to calm it down
1/3 calories from veg oil in America
When cells try to burn inflammatory body fat with pufas , they do not get enough energy. This is why you crave sugar when your cells made up of pufas
Historical global diets from 100 years ago are 1 1/2 2% pufas
None had body fat pufa over 3%
Pufa body fat is softer than body fat from animal sources
Inflammatory fat produces less satiety signals than adipose fat
Half-life of pufa body fat is one to two years
580 days on average (3-4 years to clear it out)
Study comparing veg oil and coconut, with and without fructose. Veg oil far worse than sugar and interestingly both veg+fructose was slightly protective vs veg alone. I would like to know WHY!
Americans have eaten 20% less sugar and still getting fatter. If sugar was the issue we would be getting skinnier.
Every time you eat, you take your body out of fat burning mode to fat build.
True hypoglycemia is less than 50 mg/dL of sugar in the blood, 100 is prediabetes, 125 is diabetes
Lipton is released by fat cells and powerfully suppresses hunger, GLP1 is released by the intestine after we eat, also suppressing hunger
45% of American 20 to 40 rely on fast food
Cholesterol is a nutrient Not a toxin
Dietary cholesterol is not correlated with blood cholesterol content
Both LDL and HDL cholesterol are bad when oxidized.
Cholesterol is a potent antioxidant, we need it in our arteries to prevent oxidative damage
Normal and low cholesterol is a better predictor of heart attack than high cholesterol A as
Overtime, average cholesterol has gone down, but average obesity and diabetes has gone up.
Swapping sat for unsat fat decreases cholesterol but increases mortality- those in the study with the biggest drop in cholesterol had the worst health decline- in the best study specifically designed to “prove” the cholesterol theory of disease
People on statins (reducing cholesterol) have 20% more cancer
High cholesterol protects against dementia
England created a report warning doctors about the link between smoking heart disease, and lung cancer in 1957. The American heart association didn’t do anything about smoking heart disease 1985.
Inject with non-oxidized cholesterol it does not create oxidized. PUFAS create oxidation products and disappear, leaving behind cholesterol, making it look guilty.
Statins are known to cause heart weakness, diabetes, brain damage, and anger. Yet cardiologists are assured they are safe and they stick to that despite the facts
American spend a bit more on healthcare than they do on food
Fat is flavor, but except with veg oil
Avoid farm raised fatty fish, chicken, pork (try forest raised or Iberico pork for fatty cuts like bacon)
Cows produce a low PUFA body fat even while eating a high PUFA diet
People who eat at least 6 eggs a week live longer and have fewer heart attacks than egg avoiders
Salt is an antioxidant
Nitrites are worse than nitrates
Tuna w carrots celery garlic and onion powders and a bit of mayo
Notes:
Cottonseed
Corn
Canola
Soybean
Sunflower
Safflower
Grape seed
Rice bran
More than 80% of foods w an ingredients label have at least one
Colorless, died yellow
Cottonseed oil initially sold as ivory soap after being hydrogenated. When the process was changed, and the substance was softer, they thought, why not sell it as a food? It seems to act like butter. Crisco
Soy was helpful for fattening animals after World War II when more families were eating meat. Animals cannot digest the soy fat, so it was separated into soy meal and soy oil. The oil was used in salad dressings initially.
The refining process strips away the flavor and nutrition, making these oils interchangeable
PUFA polyunsaturated is most unstable to oxygen
Liquid oxidation product, LOPs
Olive and peanut oils are easy to extract without destroying the antioxidant.
Seeds are not toxic because they have no oxygen, and they have antioxidants that are activated during germination. The processing method to extract oil destroys the antioxidants
Jackson productions temperature and time at that temperature. Ride foods produce the most toxin since they are a high temperature for a long time.
A b unsat aldehydes
One specific taxin produced means eating a french fry is the same as smoking
Using NMR, veg oils have lots of toxic ox products after heating. Coconut oil and butter do not.
Expeller, pressing canola oil creates trans fats
Solvent extraction is hexane
Trans man doubled the use of vegetable oil. Trans has mild toxicity, compared to vegetable fat. It resists oxidation.
PUFA exist in our cell membranes, and are ingested when we eat animal products
Your cells begin to look like what you eat- more PUFA means your cells will take that composition
After 2 yrs eating PUFA Vit E Stores drop off even when supplementing- seems to be a point where your body can’t fight it anymore even w antioxidants
Most antioxidant supplements are useless because they are made by plants FOR plants
Acute inflammation is helpful, chronic is not
Omega 6 tends to promote inflammation and omega-3 tends to calm it down
1/3 calories from veg oil in America
When cells try to burn inflammatory body fat with pufas , they do not get enough energy. This is why you crave sugar when your cells made up of pufas
Historical global diets from 100 years ago are 1 1/2 2% pufas
None had body fat pufa over 3%
Pufa body fat is softer than body fat from animal sources
Inflammatory fat produces less satiety signals than adipose fat
Half-life of pufa body fat is one to two years
580 days on average (3-4 years to clear it out)
Study comparing veg oil and coconut, with and without fructose. Veg oil far worse than sugar and interestingly both veg+fructose was slightly protective vs veg alone. I would like to know WHY!
Americans have eaten 20% less sugar and still getting fatter. If sugar was the issue we would be getting skinnier.
Every time you eat, you take your body out of fat burning mode to fat build.
True hypoglycemia is less than 50 mg/dL of sugar in the blood, 100 is prediabetes, 125 is diabetes
Lipton is released by fat cells and powerfully suppresses hunger, GLP1 is released by the intestine after we eat, also suppressing hunger
45% of American 20 to 40 rely on fast food
Cholesterol is a nutrient Not a toxin
Dietary cholesterol is not correlated with blood cholesterol content
Both LDL and HDL cholesterol are bad when oxidized.
Cholesterol is a potent antioxidant, we need it in our arteries to prevent oxidative damage
Normal and low cholesterol is a better predictor of heart attack than high cholesterol A as
Overtime, average cholesterol has gone down, but average obesity and diabetes has gone up.
Swapping sat for unsat fat decreases cholesterol but increases mortality- those in the study with the biggest drop in cholesterol had the worst health decline- in the best study specifically designed to “prove” the cholesterol theory of disease
People on statins (reducing cholesterol) have 20% more cancer
High cholesterol protects against dementia
England created a report warning doctors about the link between smoking heart disease, and lung cancer in 1957. The American heart association didn’t do anything about smoking heart disease 1985.
Inject with non-oxidized cholesterol it does not create oxidized. PUFAS create oxidation products and disappear, leaving behind cholesterol, making it look guilty.
Statins are known to cause heart weakness, diabetes, brain damage, and anger. Yet cardiologists are assured they are safe and they stick to that despite the facts
American spend a bit more on healthcare than they do on food
Fat is flavor, but except with veg oil
Avoid farm raised fatty fish, chicken, pork (try forest raised or Iberico pork for fatty cuts like bacon)
Cows produce a low PUFA body fat even while eating a high PUFA diet
People who eat at least 6 eggs a week live longer and have fewer heart attacks than egg avoiders
Salt is an antioxidant
Nitrites are worse than nitrates
Tuna w carrots celery garlic and onion powders and a bit of mayo
August 8, 2025
consider me convinced! it seems like every single person in my generation is chronically ill, and seed oils are quite a compelling culprit.
starting the 2 week challenge now!
starting the 2 week challenge now!
June 24, 2024
This is hands-down the most influential book I’ve read in my adult life. Dr. Catherine Shanahan goes into vast detail to explain the workings behind metabolism, oxidative stress, diet, mental health, industry, and more. At least once per chapter I had an audible “aha” moment. I have experienced the effect of cutting out vegetable oils and processed foods that this tells about already, so it was extremely vindicating to understand the “why” behind how I feel the way I do now and the prospects for others. I can’t stress enough how much I’ve learned from this book, and will be recommending it and its lessons to anyone who will listen.
March 13, 2025
I've been reading nutrition books off and on for the past several years. This one really overturns everything we've been taught for the past 50 years or more and may go some way to explain why so many Americans are still so unhealthy after taking statin drugs for years and avoiding saturated fat like butter, whole milk red meats. Dr Catherine Shanahan believes vegetable oils are to blame and, let me tell you, they are in almost every processed food: chips, bread, dried fruit, mayo--you name it, and it is probably in there. Her list of the Hateful Eight Oils to avoid are: corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, soy oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil and rice bran oil. You may have been hearing lately that some fast-food restaurants like Steak and Shake are even going back to using beef tallow instead of vegetable oil to deep fat fry. That's why. We get so much conflicting information--I guess we each have to look at the evidence presented and decide who we think is right in this fight to protect our own and our family's health.
October 12, 2024
I am further entrenched as a seed oil disrespecter as a result of this book.
I also had no clue that seed oils are naturally colorless and they add the yellow color.
Lots of background on the nonsense/malpractice of big medical orgs that are beholden to the almighty dollar but plenty of practical info, recipes, etc.
Bonus points to Dr. Cate for caring more about people than “climate change.”
I also had no clue that seed oils are naturally colorless and they add the yellow color.
Lots of background on the nonsense/malpractice of big medical orgs that are beholden to the almighty dollar but plenty of practical info, recipes, etc.
Bonus points to Dr. Cate for caring more about people than “climate change.”
January 8, 2026
Reading this book was certainly shocking, and for the wrong reasons. Listened to Alex Clark’s podcast “Culture Apothecary” and was confused. As someone coming from a scientific background and having read multiple scientific papers myself that agree with the traditional idea that vegetable oils are healthy and animal fats less so, I decided to find out the truth for myself. I read with an open mind but, unfortunately, I was surprised to find I was right and Alex /Shanahan wrong.
First, we do have a known biochemical pathway showing how unsaturated fats are metabolized, and there is little difference, except it takes more steps to metabolize unsaturated fats.
Second, lots of the research papers the author listed I read. I was astounded because sometimes the author quoted herself as the source in the references. Other times, the papers provided were simply theory papers without evidence from controlled double-blind studies to back them up. The bias in these papers was astounding. The one about people being over fat simply discussed the theory of it and provided no measurements showing exactly how many people are over fat per the authors' definition and instead discussed how many are obese. If overfat is the definition of “fat to the point of having at least one metabolic abnormality impacting life” and then told me 50% are obese, they’re just traditionally fat. Yes, the world is getting fatter but the whole reason the author cited this paper is because “skinny-fat” people exist due to vegetable oil consumption and the paper provided no evidence. The people cited as overfat by the paper have a larger waistline or a higher BMI (literally the definition of traditional obesity??) but, no one provided any studies showing the metabolic abnormalities detailed in the definition.
Her definition of insulin resistance is also skewed. Rather, she says, because the body’s cells can’t burn fat, they turn to burning glucose. Thus, more glucose is used by the body, and blood sugar dips. The brain senses this and tells the liver to dump more sugar. The pancreas says there’s enough sugar and to stop. It sends more insulin. In her view, the more insulin needed to get cells to intake sugar, the higher the insulin resistance. This doesn’t even make sense because if the cells are burning all of the sugar they take in, that’s not insulin resistance. They’re taking in increased sugar - the opposite of insulin resistance. Thus the extra insulin floating around in her model…. does nothing because all of the cells are already taking in extra sugar. Insulin resistance is traditionally defined as the inability of cells to respond and take in sugar - that’s why blood glucose is high. She claims blood glucose rises because the body feels hypoglycemic even when it’s not since it’s only burning sugar, not fat. The stress cortisol response causes hyperglycemia.
BUT THE CELLS ARE STILL INTAKING INCREASED SUGAR, so how is this resistance??? Additionally, if this is true, then hyperglycemic diabetics in DKA would become, if not already altered, massively altered due to sudden perceived hypoglycemia after being placed on Endotool with rapid lowering of blood glucose which as far as I know is NOT a known side-effect. Rather the altered mental status that occurs during DKA occurs as a result of the acid-base disturbance not hypoglycemia.
The author cited a study where only EIGHT participants who already reported generalized weakness, palpitations, and fatigue were monitored continuously with CGMs and noted when they felt the symptoms they were moderately hypoglycemic compared to their resting baseline. However, they were all young nondiabetic women who admittedly are more prone to reporting such symptoms (likely from dehydration), and also no one has used any CGMs to know if everyone, even asymptomatic people are maybe mildly hypoglycemic before epinephrine and the liver kick in. The study only told us this was happening but we have no evidence to know this is not the norm except other limited lab sticks which the writers admit are the standard at that time and flawed because they can’t detect the subclinical hypoglycemia the study is interested in. So it really isn’t telling us anything significant. If I didn’t have a speedometer to measure cars I thought were speeding, but got one and realized “hey cars are speeding” this just confirms what I suspected. But what if the cars were really not speeding before and what I caught speeding was a one-time incident? How would I know since I had no tool to measure in the past?
Also the author forgets the biological mechanism first includes the liver recognizing hypoglycemia and acting accordingly to release glucose from glucagon. The body does not communicate spontaneously at the speed of light; it first has to sense and react. No one expects their car’s braking AI to sense the car stopping in front of them before it actually does either ... so neither should the body be expected to respond faster than it’s built to. But since no one actually studied yet what the body does when "normal" the author just uses this as evidence that it's abnormal because it lines up with what she wants.
The author then moves onto the history of blaming cholesterol and the Keys study but FAILS to mention hypertension (HTN) contributing to coronary disease?? Keys made the study because people were having increased incident of MI (myocardial infarction) in the 40s and 50s but …they did not eat increased vegetable oils until after more began hvaing MIs. In fact, if I recall correctly, it is HTN that drives damage to coronary walls and in the wake of this, cholesterol oxidizes alongside the walls.
The author herself forgets about HTN. Per her, “Smoking doesn’t elevate blood cholesterol, nor does it make people gain weight. It doesn’t cause diabetes either. If smoking causes heart disease, it must work by a completely novel mechanism that has nothing to do with everything Ancel Keys cared about.”
The author next tries to convince me that the THIRTY studies showing those who eat unsaturated fat are healthier are WRONG. Because: get this. She says people who have more PUFA in their tissues are healthier, but it’s because they don’t eat bad PUFA - they eat seeds and fish with good PUFA. Those who eat deep-fried food with PUFA oxidize all of their PUFA away so it can’t be measured. This also contradicts her writing earlier, where she claims those eating more PUFA have more PUFA in their body fat that builds up over 5 years. So are we retaining PUFA in our body fat or not?? Have we considered that maybe it doesn’t matter what type of oil we use: just stop eating deep-fried food?!
Also another reviewer (Adam Safdi) mentioned that she said salt is an antioxidant and so they rated it two stars. She says we should be eating more salt and it cleans out our arteries. She also claims there is no evidence salt contributes to blood pressure and says studies with people following low-salt diets are flawed because those eating the low-salt diets also change their diet and eat less junk as well. Umm, the goal of controlled studies is to ensure that ONLY the salt intake is changed and nothing else. I find it hard to believe that no one actually did a controlled study like this.
I recommend also checking out Mike Leipe's review, Adam Safdi's, and Sharon's 3-star review. As Sharon pointed out, Shanahan does not mention at all how the PUFAS in fish oil affect us and whether they're good or bad. I don't believe it's the PUFAs. Why would some PUFAs be okay and some not? Maybe vegetable oils have dark roots, but chemically they could be literally the same as fish-oil PUFAs, so the body should digest it the same, no?
In conclusion, after my own deep dive, honestly, I think now I’m just listening to Alex Clark as ragebait. Also, when she had Dr. Sherry Tenpenny on, if you look her up, her board certifications were revoked after she spread so much health misinformation. So I recommend staying away from Alex Clark, and checking out the references Dr. Shanahan cites in her book yourself if you do end up reading it.
First, we do have a known biochemical pathway showing how unsaturated fats are metabolized, and there is little difference, except it takes more steps to metabolize unsaturated fats.
Second, lots of the research papers the author listed I read. I was astounded because sometimes the author quoted herself as the source in the references. Other times, the papers provided were simply theory papers without evidence from controlled double-blind studies to back them up. The bias in these papers was astounding. The one about people being over fat simply discussed the theory of it and provided no measurements showing exactly how many people are over fat per the authors' definition and instead discussed how many are obese. If overfat is the definition of “fat to the point of having at least one metabolic abnormality impacting life” and then told me 50% are obese, they’re just traditionally fat. Yes, the world is getting fatter but the whole reason the author cited this paper is because “skinny-fat” people exist due to vegetable oil consumption and the paper provided no evidence. The people cited as overfat by the paper have a larger waistline or a higher BMI (literally the definition of traditional obesity??) but, no one provided any studies showing the metabolic abnormalities detailed in the definition.
Her definition of insulin resistance is also skewed. Rather, she says, because the body’s cells can’t burn fat, they turn to burning glucose. Thus, more glucose is used by the body, and blood sugar dips. The brain senses this and tells the liver to dump more sugar. The pancreas says there’s enough sugar and to stop. It sends more insulin. In her view, the more insulin needed to get cells to intake sugar, the higher the insulin resistance. This doesn’t even make sense because if the cells are burning all of the sugar they take in, that’s not insulin resistance. They’re taking in increased sugar - the opposite of insulin resistance. Thus the extra insulin floating around in her model…. does nothing because all of the cells are already taking in extra sugar. Insulin resistance is traditionally defined as the inability of cells to respond and take in sugar - that’s why blood glucose is high. She claims blood glucose rises because the body feels hypoglycemic even when it’s not since it’s only burning sugar, not fat. The stress cortisol response causes hyperglycemia.
BUT THE CELLS ARE STILL INTAKING INCREASED SUGAR, so how is this resistance??? Additionally, if this is true, then hyperglycemic diabetics in DKA would become, if not already altered, massively altered due to sudden perceived hypoglycemia after being placed on Endotool with rapid lowering of blood glucose which as far as I know is NOT a known side-effect. Rather the altered mental status that occurs during DKA occurs as a result of the acid-base disturbance not hypoglycemia.
The author cited a study where only EIGHT participants who already reported generalized weakness, palpitations, and fatigue were monitored continuously with CGMs and noted when they felt the symptoms they were moderately hypoglycemic compared to their resting baseline. However, they were all young nondiabetic women who admittedly are more prone to reporting such symptoms (likely from dehydration), and also no one has used any CGMs to know if everyone, even asymptomatic people are maybe mildly hypoglycemic before epinephrine and the liver kick in. The study only told us this was happening but we have no evidence to know this is not the norm except other limited lab sticks which the writers admit are the standard at that time and flawed because they can’t detect the subclinical hypoglycemia the study is interested in. So it really isn’t telling us anything significant. If I didn’t have a speedometer to measure cars I thought were speeding, but got one and realized “hey cars are speeding” this just confirms what I suspected. But what if the cars were really not speeding before and what I caught speeding was a one-time incident? How would I know since I had no tool to measure in the past?
Also the author forgets the biological mechanism first includes the liver recognizing hypoglycemia and acting accordingly to release glucose from glucagon. The body does not communicate spontaneously at the speed of light; it first has to sense and react. No one expects their car’s braking AI to sense the car stopping in front of them before it actually does either ... so neither should the body be expected to respond faster than it’s built to. But since no one actually studied yet what the body does when "normal" the author just uses this as evidence that it's abnormal because it lines up with what she wants.
The author then moves onto the history of blaming cholesterol and the Keys study but FAILS to mention hypertension (HTN) contributing to coronary disease?? Keys made the study because people were having increased incident of MI (myocardial infarction) in the 40s and 50s but …they did not eat increased vegetable oils until after more began hvaing MIs. In fact, if I recall correctly, it is HTN that drives damage to coronary walls and in the wake of this, cholesterol oxidizes alongside the walls.
The author herself forgets about HTN. Per her, “Smoking doesn’t elevate blood cholesterol, nor does it make people gain weight. It doesn’t cause diabetes either. If smoking causes heart disease, it must work by a completely novel mechanism that has nothing to do with everything Ancel Keys cared about.”
The author next tries to convince me that the THIRTY studies showing those who eat unsaturated fat are healthier are WRONG. Because: get this. She says people who have more PUFA in their tissues are healthier, but it’s because they don’t eat bad PUFA - they eat seeds and fish with good PUFA. Those who eat deep-fried food with PUFA oxidize all of their PUFA away so it can’t be measured. This also contradicts her writing earlier, where she claims those eating more PUFA have more PUFA in their body fat that builds up over 5 years. So are we retaining PUFA in our body fat or not?? Have we considered that maybe it doesn’t matter what type of oil we use: just stop eating deep-fried food?!
Also another reviewer (Adam Safdi) mentioned that she said salt is an antioxidant and so they rated it two stars. She says we should be eating more salt and it cleans out our arteries. She also claims there is no evidence salt contributes to blood pressure and says studies with people following low-salt diets are flawed because those eating the low-salt diets also change their diet and eat less junk as well. Umm, the goal of controlled studies is to ensure that ONLY the salt intake is changed and nothing else. I find it hard to believe that no one actually did a controlled study like this.
I recommend also checking out Mike Leipe's review, Adam Safdi's, and Sharon's 3-star review. As Sharon pointed out, Shanahan does not mention at all how the PUFAS in fish oil affect us and whether they're good or bad. I don't believe it's the PUFAs. Why would some PUFAs be okay and some not? Maybe vegetable oils have dark roots, but chemically they could be literally the same as fish-oil PUFAs, so the body should digest it the same, no?
In conclusion, after my own deep dive, honestly, I think now I’m just listening to Alex Clark as ragebait. Also, when she had Dr. Sherry Tenpenny on, if you look her up, her board certifications were revoked after she spread so much health misinformation. So I recommend staying away from Alex Clark, and checking out the references Dr. Shanahan cites in her book yourself if you do end up reading it.
June 25, 2025
Before reading this book, I instinctively knew something was off. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew I’d yet to fully optimize my ketogenic lifestyle. This book helped me find the missing piece. It was fat! Only not quantity of fat, but quality.
I’m very excited to see how a few years of avoiding PUFAs will change my life for the better. I think I’ll be able point to this time in my life and the reading of this book as a major turning point in my journey.
I have to give it a lot of credit. It completely changed my paradigm around fats.
I don’t think I’ll be able to look at things the same again thanks to this book.
Catherine Shanahan also did lots of whistleblowing in this book, which I deeply appreciate.
Many of my suspicions of falsified science in modern nutrition guidelines were confirmed. Shanahan confirmed that those guidelines have everything to do with money and nothing to do with health.
It was nice to finally hear someone of considerable repute come out and say it plainly for all who care to hear.
Great job!
I’m very excited to see how a few years of avoiding PUFAs will change my life for the better. I think I’ll be able point to this time in my life and the reading of this book as a major turning point in my journey.
I have to give it a lot of credit. It completely changed my paradigm around fats.
I don’t think I’ll be able to look at things the same again thanks to this book.
Catherine Shanahan also did lots of whistleblowing in this book, which I deeply appreciate.
Many of my suspicions of falsified science in modern nutrition guidelines were confirmed. Shanahan confirmed that those guidelines have everything to do with money and nothing to do with health.
It was nice to finally hear someone of considerable repute come out and say it plainly for all who care to hear.
Great job!
August 17, 2024
Dr. Cate has been slamming vegetable oils for years and written about them in her books as enemy #1 to human health. With this book she has created a definitive case against vegetable oils. Deep Nutrition is still her magnum opus (the best book on nutrition in my opinion), but Dark Calories is a close second. Her points on oxidative stress and the mitochondria are the big takeaways. She goes in depth on the chemistry of fats and the history of how vegetable oils gained credibility. She also breaks down the truth about cholesterol, since that is related to the popularity of vegetable oils, and even ties all of this into cancer (prevention and remedy!). I have read all her books and listened to many of her interviews, but still found so many fresh ideas and insights in this book.
I have been anti-seed oil since I first heard about Dr. Cate (around 2017-2018) and have never regretted it.
I have been anti-seed oil since I first heard about Dr. Cate (around 2017-2018) and have never regretted it.
August 19, 2024
This book was not only a huge eye opener, but also life changing. The amount of foods I eat with vegetable oils is quite disturbing. Some of my key takeaways: Restaurants don't change their oil often enough (supposed to be once a week in America, but we all know that's not happening), fried foods are the worst of the worst (okay, I knew this but it's worth mentioning and reminding myself to never eat french frieds or anything else deep fried again), my coffee creamer is horrible (I might have to quit), Premade baked goods are BAD (seriously a part of my daily diet) Best restaurant? Arby's! Crazy... Statins!?!?!? Don't get me started on the cholesterol pill I'm taking every day that could be slowly killing me. I learned so much, and I plan to take control asap. I might need to buy this book as borrowing it from my public library was just not enough.
February 17, 2025
Read this because my dad suggested. At best, it has some interesting history about the food industry and the evolution of the modern American diet. At worst, it’s alarmist, somewhat classist( like most diet advice it ignores food deserts and accessibility of healthy foods for many communities) and a bit shortsighted about the many factors in our modern lives that impact our health beyond seed oils (microplastics, environmental contaminants, etc). The idea of eating less processed food and avoiding seed oils isn’t groundbreaking but is generally good advice. I appreciate that she offers alternatives to an all to nothing approach. Mostly I feel this book could have been an essay instead.
August 2, 2025
It’s good, although the author didn’t really teach me anything new. I started reading up on health and nutrition last year and I so wish I would have started earlier! It’s changed my life, even if this author doesn’t have much to add on the half dozen others I have read on the subject.
They all say the same thing, every one:
- Avoid plant seed oils
- Go easy on the carbs
- Added and refined sugars should be limited, used as spice
- Ditch all sweetened beverages, artificial sweeteners are as bad (possibly worse) than sugar
- Eat three times a day (or two) and do not snack
- Vegetables = good, fruit so-so (been bred too sweet)
- Eat your proteins and FFS no ultra processed powders! Approximately 2 grams per kilo of body weight
- Forget all the fat fear mongering you have ever heard. Fat will not make you fat, it will keep you satiated. It needs to be high quality though. I eat real butter, drink full fat milk. I use butter to fry in and high quality extra virgin olive oil on salads.
- Cook your own food from scratch. Few of my weekday dishes require more than 15 minutes, it’s usually salad or veggies with a butter fried slice of meat (my red meat is from ecological grass fed cattle the next village over, bought straight from the farmer’s freezer).
- If you must have dessert, eat it within an hour of a good meal
- Reduce or cut out alcohol. It’s poison and no amount is good for you.
When I cut the sugar, ultra processed foods, plant seed oils (which are also basically poison) out of my life the change in my energy levels and waistline was immediate. I shed the extra kilos within weeks and the pathological hunger disappeared.
In addition of course, you need to get some exercise to keep your metabolism and mitochondria happy. The biggest killers — diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke — are all rooted in metabolical disease. This appears long before any symptoms and even thin people can be metabolically unhealthy.
It’s not rocket science. It’s evolution.
They all say the same thing, every one:
- Avoid plant seed oils
- Go easy on the carbs
- Added and refined sugars should be limited, used as spice
- Ditch all sweetened beverages, artificial sweeteners are as bad (possibly worse) than sugar
- Eat three times a day (or two) and do not snack
- Vegetables = good, fruit so-so (been bred too sweet)
- Eat your proteins and FFS no ultra processed powders! Approximately 2 grams per kilo of body weight
- Forget all the fat fear mongering you have ever heard. Fat will not make you fat, it will keep you satiated. It needs to be high quality though. I eat real butter, drink full fat milk. I use butter to fry in and high quality extra virgin olive oil on salads.
- Cook your own food from scratch. Few of my weekday dishes require more than 15 minutes, it’s usually salad or veggies with a butter fried slice of meat (my red meat is from ecological grass fed cattle the next village over, bought straight from the farmer’s freezer).
- If you must have dessert, eat it within an hour of a good meal
- Reduce or cut out alcohol. It’s poison and no amount is good for you.
When I cut the sugar, ultra processed foods, plant seed oils (which are also basically poison) out of my life the change in my energy levels and waistline was immediate. I shed the extra kilos within weeks and the pathological hunger disappeared.
In addition of course, you need to get some exercise to keep your metabolism and mitochondria happy. The biggest killers — diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke — are all rooted in metabolical disease. This appears long before any symptoms and even thin people can be metabolically unhealthy.
It’s not rocket science. It’s evolution.
March 15, 2025
|| 4.5 ⭐️ ||
I wouldn’t be where I am in my health journey today without Shanahan’s work (specifically, her book Deep Nutrition on ancestral nourishment, which I read a couple years ago). She takes Weston A. Price’s research on ancestral diets from the 1930’s and puts a modern spin on his findings, taking into consideration the research that has since been able to explain the intricacies of why chronic disease has so suddenly skyrocketed in the past century. This book, Dark Calories, is similar to Deep Nutrition, but zooms in on the primary factor that is contributing to most modern disease: seed/vegetable oils.
This would be a great book to start with if someone has taken one glance at the world of nutrition and has been completely overwhelmed by all the different opinions out there, and potential changes to make, as I was at the beginning. Getting seed oils out and replacing them with animal fats is a fantastic first step, and sometimes it even ends up being the only thing one might need to improve their health. It’s also hard for any other health efforts to make a dent in chronic disease if seed oils are still present in massive amounts. So it’s a wonderful place to start, and Shanahan makes the elimination of seed oils very approachable and doable.
This is minor, but I will never not be confused by proponents of ancestral nutrition who advocate for nuts and seeds. I found it particularly strange that Shanahan didn’t really discourage them, considering this whole book is about how PUFAs are harming our health… and most nuts and seeds are quite high in oxidized PUFAs (unless eaten straight out of the shell and in moderation). Nuts are not an ancestral food. Especially not in the quantities people eat them today. But since there’s so much nuance in nutrition, to each his own.
I wouldn’t be where I am in my health journey today without Shanahan’s work (specifically, her book Deep Nutrition on ancestral nourishment, which I read a couple years ago). She takes Weston A. Price’s research on ancestral diets from the 1930’s and puts a modern spin on his findings, taking into consideration the research that has since been able to explain the intricacies of why chronic disease has so suddenly skyrocketed in the past century. This book, Dark Calories, is similar to Deep Nutrition, but zooms in on the primary factor that is contributing to most modern disease: seed/vegetable oils.
This would be a great book to start with if someone has taken one glance at the world of nutrition and has been completely overwhelmed by all the different opinions out there, and potential changes to make, as I was at the beginning. Getting seed oils out and replacing them with animal fats is a fantastic first step, and sometimes it even ends up being the only thing one might need to improve their health. It’s also hard for any other health efforts to make a dent in chronic disease if seed oils are still present in massive amounts. So it’s a wonderful place to start, and Shanahan makes the elimination of seed oils very approachable and doable.
This is minor, but I will never not be confused by proponents of ancestral nutrition who advocate for nuts and seeds. I found it particularly strange that Shanahan didn’t really discourage them, considering this whole book is about how PUFAs are harming our health… and most nuts and seeds are quite high in oxidized PUFAs (unless eaten straight out of the shell and in moderation). Nuts are not an ancestral food. Especially not in the quantities people eat them today. But since there’s so much nuance in nutrition, to each his own.
December 28, 2025
I've known how destructive seed oils have been to our health for a long time now. But this is the first lengthy book I have read on the subject and Dr Cate goes into the details of why they are bad and how they impact the body. Super informative. I don't agree with some minor things in here but most of that has to do with that she is trying to cater to people who have no experience in the kitchen and have possibly never heard of seed oils at all and have never tried a diet such as this. But everything she says is foundational and correct and she backs it up. Seed oils cause so many ailments and cause so many of us to have low energy and crave sugary, unsatiating nutrient-lacking foods. When we should be eating unprocessed whole foods without these damaging oils. Everyone needs to know this if they want to improve their quality of life. Great book Dr Cate. Taught me a lot that I did not know.
April 17, 2025
I knew seed oils were horrible, but didn’t know they were THAT horrible.
It’ll be difficult to go without seed oils because of how ubiquitous they are, but it’d be and already has been 100% with it!
“The gist of it is this: The toxins in seed oils promote a state of cell imbalance called oxidative stress. Over time, oxidative stresses deplete our bodies of antioxidants. Once that happens, our own cells can become a source of additional toxin formation. At that point, we start to develop inflammatory and degenerative diseases.“
It’ll be difficult to go without seed oils because of how ubiquitous they are, but it’d be and already has been 100% with it!
“The gist of it is this: The toxins in seed oils promote a state of cell imbalance called oxidative stress. Over time, oxidative stresses deplete our bodies of antioxidants. Once that happens, our own cells can become a source of additional toxin formation. At that point, we start to develop inflammatory and degenerative diseases.“
November 28, 2024
I listened to this book and have now requested a paper copy from the library, because I want to understand the metabolic science. What she is saying seems to make sense, and what she says about fats and cholesterol aligns with other things that I have read over the years.
I am not a big consumer of seed oils, however they are in my favorite mayo and my beloved Triscuits. I am going to try her two-week challenge, seed oil free, and see if I can tell a difference.
I am not a big consumer of seed oils, however they are in my favorite mayo and my beloved Triscuits. I am going to try her two-week challenge, seed oil free, and see if I can tell a difference.
January 4, 2026
good book. she is incorrect on her assessment of keto diet and sugar. The truth is keto diet is harmful because in order to up-regulate use of ketones your body has to use stress hormones. The best diet is to eat what God put on the earth, animals, fruit, and tubers. Things that are easy to digest.
However, very good information about the lies from the vegetable oil lobby and how adulterated the 'science' is about cholesterol.
However, very good information about the lies from the vegetable oil lobby and how adulterated the 'science' is about cholesterol.
November 30, 2024
This was a good book. I’ve never really seen the seed oil side of the debate. As someone who has done a couple Whole30’s, I wouldn’t call the end results much different. At least this lady doesn’t hate all bread. I think it would be overwhelming for the general population. This is what I got practically. 1. Be mindful of seed oils. 2. Eat protein but not protein powder. 3. Ultra processed foods bad.
January 26, 2025
A lot of this I have heard before so it was a lot review. What was new and helpful to read and see was the chemistry makeup and break down of bad oils, and how it messes up our mitochondria. Very thankful for all of those that have been going against the stream to tell us the dangers of the SAD and how it is ruining our health.
October 16, 2025
It was slow going at first, the beginning was very science/biology heavy which, while interesting, was a bit dry. I do think it was necessary to include. Seemed a bit repetitive at times, but it didn’t turn me off from reading it. I hope everyone I eat food from reads this, lots of good take aways!
January 26, 2025
Everyone needs to read this book. This will be required reading for my high schoolers. Sugar and fat are not our enemies; seed oils are.
April 24, 2025
Very interesting. I have both questions and reservations
June 9, 2025
This amazing doctor changed my diet. She brings the facts that made me very strong in my conviction to avoid harmful seed oils and other oils that are killing us! Must read!!
January 3, 2025
I think Dr. Shanahan has some really compelling points here. I also like the fact that she acknowledges the real-world challenges of trying to eat healthier and encourages people to do their best wherever they are. She offers simple, no-nonsense meal ideas that aren’t ridiculously complicated gourmet recipes. I’ve read two of her other books, and I think this one is probably the best and least intimidating of them. Deep Nutrition is pretty fascinating, though, so if you end up liking this one, you might want to read it, too.
August 22, 2024
well written and factual
Easy to read and understand book about the issues with seed oils. Not my first on this topic but I liked the wholistic approach and the implementation guide at the end. I am about a year seed oil free and the benefits are real . I don’t recall feeling the difference in 2 weeks but after a few months had lost a lot of stubborn fat around my waist that years of paleo/ketogenic diets had chipped away at but couldn’t eradicate completely.
Easy to read and understand book about the issues with seed oils. Not my first on this topic but I liked the wholistic approach and the implementation guide at the end. I am about a year seed oil free and the benefits are real . I don’t recall feeling the difference in 2 weeks but after a few months had lost a lot of stubborn fat around my waist that years of paleo/ketogenic diets had chipped away at but couldn’t eradicate completely.
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December 22, 2024Seed oils have become, for folks steeped in wellness culture, the new transfat—a slippery substance blamed for all things inflammatory. This new book immediately positions itself as an expose on this source of what the author refers to as “dark calories” is, at its heart, a thinly veiled diet manual designed to scare eaters away from the “all-you-can-eat buffet” of convenience foods and steer them toward a “two-week challenge” that will help them “ditch seed oils for good.” There are kernels of truth in many of Shannahan’s claims; she’s amped them up, however, in ways that feel fearmongering and finger pointing, and she references “medical influencers,” a phrase that immediately aligns her work less with evidence-based research and more with social media-style media bites that lack nuance. Her word choices (e.g., canola oil is part of the “hateful eight” of fat sources) are, like much wellness industry language, as much about purity or morality as they are about nutrition, and her description of the processes by which seed oils are made have a heavily biased tone designed to escalate readers’ fears about the way they are processed. While there are proven benefits to eating less processed whole foods, there is little longitudinal research surrounding the black-and-white thinking used to connect seed oils to the “oxidative stress” she suggests lays at the root of all chronic diseases.
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