I’ve recently finished reading Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fat, by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. It’s an interesting and helpful read.

Eat fat lose fat

Eat fat lose fat

Eat Fat, Lose Fat is similar to “Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats”. They both support the consumption of real food: tasty, nutritious, organic, good quality, traditional, seasonal and local foods as opposed to foods that are processed, fast-foods, dead foods, old, has additives or preservatives or comes prepackaged.

Like NT, the book challenges the reader to look at the dietary practices of indigenous cultures and compares them to today’s modern scientific methods. Interestingly, today’s modern, scientific, new information is starting to catch up! 😉

Chapter One dispels the myths surrounding coconut oil. Chapter Two is more of a scientific chapter as the authors explain what ‘fat’ is and its relationship to heart disease and cholesterol. I’ve learned that fats aren’t all the same. In fact, healthy fats are essential to protect the heart from disease. Not useful but essential. The next chapter goes into detail about various fats and their effects upon the body and the major organs and body systems. Following this is the section that informs why low fat diets re so unhealthy and dangerous and it examines the danger in many of the past but popular diets such as Atkins Diet, The Zone Diet, The South Beach Diet, juice fasting and ever Weight Watchers! A must read chapter!

Chapter Five looks at the principles of traditional, healthy diets. many things are discusses from MSG, fermentation, raw versus cooked foods, and superfoods. The next chapter details the four basic principles of the recommended eating lifestyle plan. There is a helpful section with loads of tips on how to take coconut oil. This section also contains shopping lists and menu plans. A large section of the book contains resources and recipes- featuring the star of the book – coconut oil!

This book is very similar to Nourishing Traditions but more laid out in what to do each day and each week. Some things I learned new and other things I knew but applying them is a different story.

  • Always, always, always eat breakfast.
  • Eat loads more coconut oil.
  • Take Cod Liver Oil.
  • Focus more on nutrition, especially good fats rather than calorie restriction. If you supply the body with necessary, good fats, the body is more likely to release the stored fat instead of going into ‘famine mode’.

I cook a lot with coconut oil. We’ve been using it for years, much to the dismay of John’s army nutritionist. However, combined with green smoothies and moderate exercise, it has helped to lower his cholesterol level and heal his fatty liver. So with that in mind I set about buying myself some Cod Liver Oil and have just started adding that to my diet. I actually find it easier to take than coconut oil, which I cook with but can’t take straight.

Do you take Coconut Oil or Cod Liver oil to help meet your nutritional needs? What brands do you use? How long have you used it? Do you find it beneficial? I’d love to hear about it, especially those who use Cod Liver Oil.