Diet Cults The Surprising Fallacy At The Core Of Nutrition Fads And A Guide To Healthy Eating For The Rest Of Us

From the national bestselling author of Racing Weight, Matt Fitzgerald exposes the irrationality, half-truths, and downright impossibility of a “single right way” to eat, and reveals how to develop rational, healthy eating habits. From “The Four Hour Body,” to “Atkins,” there are diet cults to match seemingly any mood and personality type. Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “One True Way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than 12,000 years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by “science,” a good look at actual nutritional science itself suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, lifestyle, and genetics/body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good.

What makes fad diets so appealing to so many people? How did there get to be so many different ones, often with eerily similar prescriptions? Why do people cycle on and off diets, perpetually searching for that one simple trick that will solve everything? And how did these fads become so central to conversations about food and nutrition? Anxious Eaters shows that fad diets are popular because they fulfill crucial social and psychological needs—which is also why they tend to fail. Janet Chrzan and Kima Cargill bring together anthropology, psychology, and nutrition to explore what these programs promise yet rarely fulfill for dieters. They demonstrate how fad diets help people cope with widespread anxieties and offer tantalizing glimpses of attainable self-transformation. Chrzan and Cargill emphasize the social contexts of diets, arguing that beliefs about nutrition are deeply rooted in pervasive cultural narratives. Although people choose to adopt new eating habits for individual reasons, broader forces shape why fad diets seem to make sense. Considering dietary beliefs and practices in terms of culture, nutrition, and individual psychological needs, Anxious Eaters refrains from moralizing or promoting a “right” way to eat. Instead, it offers new ways of understanding the popularity of a wide range of eating trends, including the Atkins Diet and other low- or no-carb diets; beliefs that ingredients like wheat products and sugars are toxic, allergenic, or addictive; food avoidance and “Clean Eating” practices; and paleo or primal diets. Anxious Eaters sheds new light on why people adopt such diets and why these diets remain so attractive even though they often fail.

Science is beginning to understand that our thinking has a deep and complicated relationship with our eating. Our thoughts before, during, and after eating profoundly impact our food choices, our digestive health, our brain health, and more. Yet most of us give very little thought to our food beyond taste and basic nutritional content. In this revolutionary book, Dr. Caroline Leaf packs an incredible amount of information that will change readers' eating and thinking habits for the better. Rather than getting caught up in whether we should go raw or vegan, gluten-free or paleo, Leaf shows readers that every individual is unique, has unique nutritional needs, and has the power to impact their own health through the right thinking. There's no one perfect solution. Rather, she shows us how to change the way we think about food and put ourselves on the path towards health. Anyone who is tired of traditional diet plans that don't work, who struggles with emotional eating, or who simply isn't satisfied with their level of health will find in this book the key to discovering how they can begin developing a healthier body, brain, and spirit.

A recent study, published in the Nutrition Journal, found that one in four college freshmen gain at least five percent of his or her body weight, an average of about 10 pounds, during the first semester. All of this can be avoided with healthy cooking and an eye for good choices. This all-inclusive book covers everything from affordable options to reading ingredient labels. You will learn some basic healthy cooking techniques, the latest nutrition research, the low-down on all the most-talked about diets, and what kinds of foods will improve your college lifestyle. If you want to avoid the freshman 15 while also fueling your body with what it needs to be your sharpest, most energized self, then this book is for you.

The quantity and quality of the hair are closely related to the nutritional state of an individual. And yet, there is hardly another field with so much prejudice, misconception, and debate as diet and health, let alone hair health. Pharmacy aisles and Internet drugstores are full of nutritional supplements promising full, thick, luscious hair for prices that range from suspiciously cheap to dishearteningly exorbitant. Since there lies an important commercial interest in the nutritional value of various nutritional supplements, a central question that arises is whether increasing the content of an already adequate diet with nutrients may further promote hair growth and quality. This book aims at distinguishing facts from fiction, and at providing a sound scientific basis for nutrition-based strategies for healthy hair, at the same time acknowledging the problems and limitations of our current understanding and practice.

Low-carb, paleo, gluten-free, and fad diets come and go. Which ones are harmless, and which should be avoided by adults and children? Editor Amy Francis pries the lid off the confusing issue of what we should and should not be eating for good health, by assembling ten interesting essays that support both sides to the debate.

This compelling book strips away the messages promoted in glossy advertisements and reveals the real dangers of diet drugs. It separates fact from fiction and addresses topics such as the mythology of “all natural” labels, the notion that over-the-counter is always safe, the world of eating disorders, and how to live a truly healthy lifestyle. Just because diet drugs may be marketed on a national stage doesn’t mean they’re safe. This book impresses upon readers the importance of recognizing the dangers and choosing healthy alternatives.

Prevent or reverse taco deficiency. Get that fresh taco-y feeling with over 75 seriously tasty vegan recipes. Tired of the same old cleanse? Instead of feeling rejuvenated are you feeling depleted, anxious, and cranky? (Not to mention . . . hungry?) A group of vegan taco scientists in Austin, Texas, know just how you feel, and now reveal their one-of-a-kind cleansing journey that anybody can follow and stick to—the Taco Cleanse. While the typical cleanse works by depriving you of your favorite foods, the plant-based Taco Cleanse rewards your body with what it naturally craves: tortillas, refried beans, guacamole! Begin with a breakfast taco, the most important taco of the day. Even if you do nothing else, your mood will brighten in just 24 hours. Keep eating tacos and within a week your outlook will be noticeably improved. After 30 days, cleansers report lasting benefits—and you will, too! The Taco Cleanse shows you: How to make everything from the tortilla—flour, corn, and waffle (!)—to the thirst-quenching “Supplements” (margaritas and other beverages) that best complement your tacos What to put in the tortilla— beer-battered portobellos, mac and cheese, even tater tots How to remake popular staples like picadillo, tacos al pastor, carne guisada, and fish tacos using plants instead of, well, animals. The Taco Cleanse is cheap, easy, and delicious. Its recipes are authentically Austin, and are sometimes even inspired by Mexico, where the taco was first created. Everything tastes better folded (exactly once) into a tortilla. Just eat one or more tacos at every meal, adding margaritas as necessary. It’s that simple.