THE DIET MYTH
BY TIM SPECTOR
The Real Science Behind What We Eat
Contents
What’s it about?
Microbes may be the real secret to health and weight management
The only truly bad food is the processed stuff packed with added sugar
The best way to get vitamins is through food, not supplements
Fat in your food is actually good, as long as it is natural
Meat is not unhealthy—in fact it’s an excellent natural source of protein
Carbohydrates are healthy when you eat the right kinds
The best diet is one with plenty of variety
Final summary
Now read the book
Key takeaways
What’s it about?
Obesity is an epidemic that is on the rise all around the world. People try extreme diets, intense exercise regimens, and even surgery, but there doesn’t seem to be any single method that works well for everyone. Truth be told, the reason we have such a challenge fighting obesity is that we don’t fully understand its cause. But thanks to intensive and ongoing studies into the secrets of the human gut, a better answer may be just around the corner.
The quality of the food we eat has been steadily deteriorating for decades. This is because our food has become more and more processed, with addictive sugars and other undesirable ingredients being added. There are millions of microscopic organisms sharing our bodies and our food, and growing evidence supports the fact that these organisms play a big role in our health. By consuming processed food that lacks essential nutrients, we are killing off healthy microbes and cultivating bad ones, which make us fat and sick.
All the while, the health industry has been making incorrect assumptions about the foods that make us fat and has been influencing our diets accordingly in an attempt to stave off obesity. Healthy, natural food has been cast as the villain for containing fat, carbs, and animal protein, while labs churn out yet more processed food designed to be artificially tasty, and marketed as conducive to weight loss and good health.
The truth is that the less natural a food is, the worse it probably is for your health. And basing a diet on the exclusion of certain food groups that have been wrongly accused of being unhealthy can actually make things worse. The Diet Myth is a look at some of the current misconceptions about what’s good and bad for you, and how you can adjust your dietary approach to have happier microbes and a healthier body.