Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol

by Mary G. Enig

Pristine Pages. I purchased it and then never ended up using it.

Genres: Health, Nutrition, Food, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Food and Drink

358 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2000

Reviews

[Barb Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone, but an especially viable reference for anyone in the health industry. Scientifically explains why coconut oil, palm oil, butter, lard, and whole milk are quality fat. Scientifically explains why we should not believe the propaganda about vegetable oil and margarine--these are man-made substances that offer no benefits and should be excluded from one's diet. Fascinating book but difficult to read at times because it's so medically oriented.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enig, often regarded as the "brains" behind the Weston Price Foundation, struts her stuff in this book in such a way that may be a bit much for the layman (beware, there are graphs of fat molecules).

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more of a textbook and resource rather than easy reading, but if you are a lay person interested in fats, this will be fairly easy to read (One of the nice things about it). What I liked about this book is that it not only provides a very clear explanation for the metabolism of fats but it also provided references to the makeup of specific fatty acids of many different types of fats (so you can see the proportion of medium chain to long chain to short chain, etc). There is also an incredibly interesting read about how the propaganda again coconut oil started, written by the person who was personally involved with it. Some fascinating reads in here about the corruption and expose of what food industry will do the little guy (regarding the propaganda waged against tropical oils). If you are curious about what to bake with and cook with for various situations, this book will help solve that dilemma. Fats are not always created equal and for the hard core nutritionist and health nut...you will like this. It is certainly different.

[Augusts Bautra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enig's book is very accessible and accomplishes the goal of broad, yet in-depth instruction in the biochemistry of fat as a dietary component perfectly.

Enig, being a scientist, does not shy away from fat-chem 101 and provides a perfectly lucid explanation of what fats are and how they are differentiated into saturated, monounsaturated and plyunsaturated groups. She also drums in a very important message - you are far better off without trans fats, while much better of with a plentiful serving of saturated animal fats.

This book should be read by everyone who cares about how their dietary choices affect their health and wellbeing, furthermore, beyond appealing to pro-fat people with the in-depth data on fatty acid composition of most comercially available oils and fats, Know Your Fats should be an eye-opening must-read for every vegan and healthy eating enthusiast on the planet.

[Michelle Borders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read on the science of dietary fats. Very well researched.

[Ixiana H.]

Mary G Enig is a trailblazer and expert in the field of fats and nutrition. This book is a must-have in your reference collection.

[Cavin Balaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Mary Enig provides a wealth of scientifically sound information about the importance of certain fats in ones diet. I suffered a serious brain injury in 2011 that almost always results in a coma that only 10% ever wake from. While the book is quite complex, it is indeed thorough and serves to demystify the role of the several types of saturated and unsaturated fats in our diet, and what fats are most important for brain and body health. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is able to comprehend complex concepts and diagrams, and have personally used much of the information to steer my own successful recovery.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review from a nutrition student: Very well organized book but if you already know about fats, it will only teach you a little bit more than you already know. I might recommend it for learning about fats, although I personally think a textbook is much more straight forward, but then again a textbook might not have a holistic view about fat. I wish this book had gone into more detail about mechanisms rather than just outcomes. I also found the Q/A section at the end to be less than helpful. If you're looking to discover the history of fats in terms of labeling and so on, this book has a lot of detail about that.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had the privilege to visit Sanoviv Medical Institute in April 2008 for the One-Week-Comprehensive-Medical program. (www.sanoviv.com) In one short week I had the most thorough medical evaluation with returned home with a large binder detailing health & wellness protocols to implement. A list of recommended reading included this book by Mary Enig. Provides an excellent basic primer on all fats. And what you may have learned is 'healthy fat', may in fact not be so healthy after all.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dry, fact based book. It was hard for me to understand some parts but this is a good reference to have on the shelf for any nutritionist. See a great review of the book here:

http://www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-up...

[Erin Stuhlsatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book nearly as much as I wanted to. It was a little bit confusing and not very well organized. Dr. Enig gave lots of technical details but rarely the big picture that would make sense out of them.

[Katharine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first 1/2 of this book for my nutritional therapy class. Clearly an excellent reference book, but very technical and difficult for me to read. Reliable information, however, if you're interested.

[Melissa Rozeski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have never read this book, if not for my studies, but I ended up really learning a ton from this book!!! Well written, well researched. If you care about healthy fats and want to know more about the good side of cholesterol and saturated fat, this is a must read!!!

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was too technical for me with chemistry and detailed information. This would be good for a researcher.
It's amazing this information was known 10 years ago and so many think low fat is healthy.

[Carol Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended by a friend and I use it frequently as a reference book. Very good.

[Dave Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proscriptions aside this is a useful background resource on all the fats you can eat.Fats are coming back. They're 'in'. So if you want to eat nouvelle cuisine, you gotta know your fats.

[Jeannie Romanello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitchen shelf keeper for a reference.

[Bjorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://lynnfikstad.wordpress.com/2012...

[Patty]

recommended by Masha

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry and dense.

[Xavier · Rating 3 out of 5]

To read, or not to read about fat, that is the question.
—with apologies to the introduction.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best resource on dietary fats.