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The Fallacy of the Calorie: Why the Modern Western Diet Is Killing Us and How to Stop It
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in "The Physiology of Taste" two months before his death; “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” In the almost 200 years since its publication in 1825 we have borne witness to the ultimate veracity of such a simple observation. We have seen that truism reflected in our own modern Western diet. It is a diet that delivers us unto the disabilities and diseases of modern civilization; obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, neurologic disease, and autoimmune disease. Disabilities and diseases that have at their root a chronic, continuous low-level inflammation. While we have suffered the inevitable outcome of such dietary indiscretion, the cause has evaded us. And without understanding the how and the why, redemption will continue to elude us. We will continue to focus on ineffective and misguided approaches. Super foods, dieting and weight loss fads, and the seeking of salvation through deprivation have yielded us nothing but continued misery and malady. Now for the first time; Dr. Mike, cardiologist and chef, reveals the how and the why of the modern Western diet. He explains how we are hardwired to seek out sugar, salt and fat. He details how that greed to for these consumables allowed us to become the most dominant species on the planet and construct the most technologically advanced and complex social structure the world has ever known. But that progress has not come without a price. Dr. Mike identifies the changes to our food and food pathways that occurred at the onset of the Industrial Revolution and have become particularly pronounced over the last fifty to seventy-five years. Changes that have disrupted our physiology and our relationship with our symbiotic gut microbiome. Changes that have produced the modern Western diet with its dysbiosis, disabilities, and diseases of modern civilization. With the eye of a chef and a deep understanding and appreciation for the experiential nature and integral role that food and cuisine has in our society, and our own personal health and wellness, Dr. Mike crafts a prescription to break the vicious cycle of addiction at the heart of the modern Western diet. This journey to metabolic health is a "Code Delicious!" (Michael S. Fenster, MD)
276 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2014
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 7, 2014
This book has forever changed how I diet and look at food! I learned so much reading this book and I also learned many things I had been taught or thought I knew were just completely wrong (especially about grains!).
Dr. Fenster really does an awesome job of teaching and explaining on such a level that I found it both easy to follow and easy to understand. I now know more about what exactly calories are and how my body uses them as well as sugars and this has completely changed how I approach eating, wellness, and fitness.
I cannot reccomend this book highly enough to anyone interested in health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. You will not regret reading this book!
Dr. Fenster really does an awesome job of teaching and explaining on such a level that I found it both easy to follow and easy to understand. I now know more about what exactly calories are and how my body uses them as well as sugars and this has completely changed how I approach eating, wellness, and fitness.
I cannot reccomend this book highly enough to anyone interested in health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. You will not regret reading this book!
December 11, 2014
This is a very interesting book. At present there are many peoples who are following the modern western diet to get healthy and fit life, but we don’t know that the modern western diet is killing us. Because we don’t use right diet. We must eat much food and we also need to do daily exercise. It is very important for healthy life. This book tells us Why the modern western diet is killing us and how to stop it. I think that every person should read this book if they need a good and healthy life. Really, a great book.
February 25, 2015
Most Americans still tune out that what they are eating is bad for them. Despite facts to the contrary, we as whole, still eat processed foods. In turn we refuse to back. But in looking back to the past, we can understand ourselves. The author calls the modern standard American diet by its acronym- SAD. It truly is sad. The average American consists of processed foods that in my opinion shouldn’t really be classified as “food.”
Our ancestors didn’t have diseases that are all too common today such as; Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, acne, depression, and certain cancers. Wow! We are definitely lacking nutrients in our food. How did this happen? When did the most powerful country in the history of humankind allow this?
This is a book that every American should have in their kitchen, preferably right next to the stove or refrigerator. I learned about the importance of proper ratio of sodium to potassium. The importance of salt in our diet is crucial to our livelihood. Oh yes, and fat is actually good for us. It is interesting to note that despite all of our technological advances, our bodies haven’t changed in thousands of years. In the book, we are presented with a program that allows us to eat, plain and simple. Food was and still is meant to give us energy and pleasure. Isn’t time you slowly enjoy every bit of morsel? Then open this book and wake up now!
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Our ancestors didn’t have diseases that are all too common today such as; Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, acne, depression, and certain cancers. Wow! We are definitely lacking nutrients in our food. How did this happen? When did the most powerful country in the history of humankind allow this?
This is a book that every American should have in their kitchen, preferably right next to the stove or refrigerator. I learned about the importance of proper ratio of sodium to potassium. The importance of salt in our diet is crucial to our livelihood. Oh yes, and fat is actually good for us. It is interesting to note that despite all of our technological advances, our bodies haven’t changed in thousands of years. In the book, we are presented with a program that allows us to eat, plain and simple. Food was and still is meant to give us energy and pleasure. Isn’t time you slowly enjoy every bit of morsel? Then open this book and wake up now!
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2015
This was a fascinating book about how the government recommendations are consistently wrong because it doesn't address the problem is that the entire highly processed Western Diet is the problem.
Salt isn't the problem. It is the French fries that are the issue. Fat isn't the problem; it is the battered deep fried onion blossom and tempura vegetables. Meat and dairy isn't the problem; it is corn and antibiotic fed animals. Grains aren't the problem; it is the processing that strips any nutrition from the grain.
When the government recommends reducing sugars; we immediately replace it with artificial sweeteners. We don't need to eat diet pop and jello, when there are natural alternatives like tea sweetened with honey or just eat a piece of fruit.
He compares societies that still eat the traditional foods, and shows the health problems when these people abandon their food for the Western Diet.
Over the last 200 years, we have strayed so far from the healthy diet that nourished our ancestors. If people got past childhood diseases, accidents, and childbirth; they lived long lives and died of old age, rather than cancer, strokes, and heart attacks.
Dr. Fenster presents this valuable information in a humorous and easy to read book. Everything medical is explained in a manner, that those of us without medical degrees, can understand.
Salt isn't the problem. It is the French fries that are the issue. Fat isn't the problem; it is the battered deep fried onion blossom and tempura vegetables. Meat and dairy isn't the problem; it is corn and antibiotic fed animals. Grains aren't the problem; it is the processing that strips any nutrition from the grain.
When the government recommends reducing sugars; we immediately replace it with artificial sweeteners. We don't need to eat diet pop and jello, when there are natural alternatives like tea sweetened with honey or just eat a piece of fruit.
He compares societies that still eat the traditional foods, and shows the health problems when these people abandon their food for the Western Diet.
Over the last 200 years, we have strayed so far from the healthy diet that nourished our ancestors. If people got past childhood diseases, accidents, and childbirth; they lived long lives and died of old age, rather than cancer, strokes, and heart attacks.
Dr. Fenster presents this valuable information in a humorous and easy to read book. Everything medical is explained in a manner, that those of us without medical degrees, can understand.
January 14, 2015
The author, Chef and Cardiologist Dr. Michael S Fenster, MD, has written an incredible book that has helped shed light on why the simple adage of counting calories does not guarantee good health or weight loss. This book explains why the diseases that are now so prevalent across the United States are tied to our Western diet, our genetics, and our gut microbiodomes. He also explains the physiology of why we crave three things and how these things can be so detrimental to our health. He then shares a program that will help the reader detoxify their body and eliminate the inflammation so that they can lead a healthier life.
This book is full of new information that can be very beneficial and helps address the issue of the debilitating illnesses that are plaguing western society. This book takes the approach of solving the issues of poor health, rather than throwing drugs at the symptoms. I would highly recommend this book to everyone who would like to live a more satisfying and healthy life.
This book is full of new information that can be very beneficial and helps address the issue of the debilitating illnesses that are plaguing western society. This book takes the approach of solving the issues of poor health, rather than throwing drugs at the symptoms. I would highly recommend this book to everyone who would like to live a more satisfying and healthy life.
January 23, 2015
The Fallacy of the Calorie works to show how often we really are misguided in our knowledge of food and health, and what to do have a healthy diet and outlook. I like that the author explores the basis for how we approach food, he brings up a lot of reasons for why we end up with so much knowledge about food that is actually incorrect. I thought his writing style made the information much more understandable and interesting, and he really does a great job of helping me realize that the way I think about food is not always correct or healthy. In order to really eat healthy, we need to work past a lot of bad habits, and I think that the author does a great job of explaining this and showing a better way.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2020
The Western diet sucks, and is actually killing people.
We crave sugar, salt, and fat, in large quantities. So when we diet, we replace them with poisonous substitutes and in just as large amounts.
Calories are not all equal! Eating actual whole foods is the key, and this book helps explain why.
A great review of the science of food and our history with food.
I received this free from NetGalley.
We crave sugar, salt, and fat, in large quantities. So when we diet, we replace them with poisonous substitutes and in just as large amounts.
Calories are not all equal! Eating actual whole foods is the key, and this book helps explain why.
A great review of the science of food and our history with food.
I received this free from NetGalley.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews