Nina Teicholz

Extraordinarily clearly written, I did enjoy reading this book, not purely for the information. Although the research that went into this book is first rate. I have a great deal of respect for this author's ability to digest the methodology of a study and understand the implications of the methods used on the reliability of the results.
While I admit that I am still skeptical that a purely protein and fat diet is the "best", I am extremely grateful for the evidence presented here against the low fat hypothesis.
Am considering buying this one as well.… (meer)

The Big Fat Surprise is revelatory. I consider this essential reading for anyone interested in health and modern diet. It offers a powerful challenge to the governing paradigm that a low fat-high carb diet with lots of fruits and vegetables is the healthiest way to eat.

The goal of this book is to look closely at the history of the science behind that low fat-high carb diet and determine if the data actually supports it. Especially impressive is the fact that Ms. Teicholz doesn't simply rely on summaries and abstracts of the numerous studies conducted on this subject over the years—she read all of the original research, the complete published papers, and dug through the full data sets. I know some readers of this book will disagree with me, but I found her analysis of this science to be fair and even-handed. She didn't embark on this project with any agenda other than to discover the truth.

The big fat surprise is simply this—there has never been any compelling scientific evidence to suggest that animal fat leads to heart disease. Beyond that, Ms. Teicholz explores in more detail how certain individuals, private interests, and governmental inertia coincided to sell the American people—and the Western world—on a dietary strategy that clearly isn't working.

This isn't a story with any bad guys. I appreciate that Ms. Teicholz goes to some pains to emphasize that each step in this history was taken with the best of intentions in the quest to fight heart disease and to help people be healthier.

Rather, this is a story about the failure of science. The self-criticism and self-correction that the scientific method depends on broke down in the face of strong personalities and a sense of overwhelming urgency.

It's to be expected that this book has already generated controversy. After all, the low fat-high carb diet has been prescribed as the key to fighting heart disease for nigh on half a century now.

One of the major criticisms of The Big Fat Surprise that I've encountered is that it's just another version of the Atkins Diet. It should be made clear—this is not a diet book. It offers no specific prescriptions about how people should eat, and it contains no hard-and-fast rules or recipes. Ms. Teicholz does offer some very compelling evidence that an Atkins-type diet works, and that carbs appear more closely connected to health issues than fat, but that's as much as can be fairly laid at her feet. People who dismiss this book as "just another Atkins book" clearly miss the point.

One criticism of Ms. Teicholz's work that seems to bear weight is that it largely restates analysis and arguments made by Gary Taubes in the 1990s and early 2000s. This is unfair, though—Ms. Teicholz may have been inspired by Mr. Taubes but she spent several years digging through all of the data herself and personally interviewing numerous individuals. Her research for this book is entirely her own. That she identifies the same flaws in the diet-heart hypothesis as Mr. Taubes, and comes to many of the same conclusions—that two independent researchers uncovered the same issues—merely reinforces the strong possibility that the science behind the low fat-high carb diet is flawed.

Besides, Ms. Teicholz openly acknowledges the work of Mr. Taubes in her book and points out these parallels herself, so we can't take this criticism too far.

Other than that, most criticisms of The Big Fat Surprise that I've read are to be expected: many people disagree with her conclusions and continue to support the low fat-high carb diet that's still recommended by most of the major scientific and governing bodies in America.

This is an important debate for us to have—one of our most important debates—and whether you agree with her or not, Ms. Teicholz offers an essential challenge to conventional wisdom.

Right or wrong, The Big Fat Surprise is an important work.

The one thing about The Big Fat Surprise that disappoints me is that Ms. Teicholz has a tendency to resort to overstated, overly dramatic language. I understand that she's rightfully passionate about this subject and this book is written with the intent to sway readers to her argument.

But this book is also intended to be a clear-headed reassessment of the actual science that underpins Ancel Keys' dominant diet-heart hypothesis, and there are moments when her overly dramatic language belies that clear-headedness.

The history of the diet-heart hypothesis is one of people overstating their cases, taking inconclusive findings and over-selling what the data seemed to say. In light of this, Ms. Teicholz's overly dramatic language can be somewhat galling. Then again, her conclusions do seem better supported by the data.

I understand that Ms. Teicholz isn't a scientist and that The Big Fat Surprise is meant for popular consumption—but I would've preferred a more scientific tone to her work. I think it would sell her argument better.… (meer)