Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill

This is unquestionably the best book I have ever read on what it means to have "good health" and how to achieve it. Written both at the scientific level and in layman's terms, the book sets forth good reasearch as to how the body functions at the molecular level and why certain fats, protiens, enzymes, minerals and vitamins (there are 50 essential nutrients) are necessary in the right combination to produce optimal health. The author asserts that disease (lack of good health) results from MALNUTRITION and/or TOXINS (including the drugs we take); that the body can heal itself if malnutrition and toxin problems are corrected; that the food/medical/drug industries have disseminated much disinformation to perpetuate their livlihood (high profits are not maximized by selling good, wholesome, nutritious food), and that good health will not be achieved until a person quits eating processed food and returns to natural foods (which is what nature intended). Though he discusses in great detail the 50 basic nutrients essential for our health, his primary focus is on the importance of the omega 3 and 6 "essential fatty acids" (EFAs) which the body cannot produce but must to taken in food. He discusses in detail why these EFAs are so essential to our health (most of Western society is deficient in them). He blasts the refined, heated, hydrogenated oils (trans-fatty acids) as the cause of much of Western civilization's high incidence of degenerative diseases (cardiovasular, cancer, diabetes, auto-immune, etc) and suggests that these staces can be reversed or eliminated altogether (provided the body's organs/systems have not been irreparably damaged) by eliminating bad oils and processed foods (sugars, flours, etc) and toxins. Many helpful suggestions to improve health are offered. It was an amazing read and I highly recommend that every person who desires to improve (or sustain) his/her good health read this book.

Essential reading for good health. I would have given it a 5 star, except for the fact the various of the author’s recommendations are based on theory or conjecture, and not backed by scientific evidence.

almost "esoteric" due to the level of hidden knowledge within. the author was suffering of poisoning and managed to reverse effects.

This book provides a good overview of the different types of fats and oils there are and how much of each of them we should be eating and which fats we need to avoid. In short, we need to eat lots of different types of natural fats and avoid heavily and carelessly processed fats and oils and unnatural trans fats.

This book is a good place to start in learning more about fats and oils.

The author explains:
- An oil is not just healthy or unhealthy, how old it is and how it has been processed and how it is packaged matters. Oils should not be exposed to lots of heat and light in processing and should be sold in dark glass bottles (brown bottles are better than green, and oils sold in clear bottles should be avoided.)
- How to choose the best oils and fats at your local supermarket. This book is not a sales pitch for the author's excellent 'Udo's oil' product and in fact the author also recommends getting lots of your daily fat intake from fresh (and/or freshly ground) seeds and nuts rather than any of the oils you buy in bottles.
- The term 'cold pressed' is meaningless. It just means that heat wasn't applied while the seeds or fruits were being pressed. Look for oils which say that they are unprocessed. Unrefined and mechanically pressed oils are best.
- When buying olive oil all you need to look for are the words 'extra virgin' and possibly organic.
- Freezing oils is okay.
- We have come to believe that oils should be tasteless, but properly pressed oils should be full of flavour.
- Never heat oils above 160 degrees C and 320 degrees F. Do not heat expeller pressed oils at all and only use them to dress cooked foods.
- We need to eat omega 3 and 6 oils in a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.
- Don't buy ground flaxseeds. Grind your own but always consume them no more than 15 minutes after grinding.

The author of FTHFTK is quite opinionated and believes that animal foods are not really all that good for you. There is an anti-animal foods and animal fats bias that unfortunately runs all through every part of this book. There is also a huge bias against saturated fat and cholesterol containing foods which is also not backed by science. This seems to stem mostly from a vegetarian bias. I feel this unscientifically supported personal bias lets the otherwise very high quality of this book down a bit. These problematic biases are NOT supported in Mary Enig's book, which is one of several reasons why it is superior. Mary Enig also presents more solid information on canola oil and soy oil and why these are not healthy choices.

Erasmus actually lists soy oil as one of the healthiest oils you can possibly eat, it is listed third in a list of healing oils while eggs and and even fresh pressed oils are listed roughly 13 and 11 places down respectively. A list that places eggs at the bottom and not far above foods like margarine just has to be at least a bit 'off.' Instead of just stating the obvious fact that butter is better for you than trans fat filled margarine, the author goes through them point by point!

There is probably also a too big bias towards flax and hemp oil in this book, with the author even claiming that such oils are far better than fish oils for their EPA and DHA content which just doesn't tally with other experts on this issue. (This claim is commonly made by those with a strong vegetarian bias, but not by those that have no bias either way.)

Coconut oil, one of the healthiest oils there is, is barely mentioned in this book. It is not really recommended by this book either, but perhaps this is due to the age of the book and the fact that most coconut oil products were hydrogenated at the time the book came out? This seems at least a possibility. (Or it may be further evidence of the author's bias against saturated fats.)

Erasmus's stance is contradictory on some issues such as the link between cholesterol levels and their impact on health. In one chapter he says that in the future cholesterol level blood test may be seen as very unimportant, and that today the importance of this test is vastly overstated and is just a big health fad. But at the same time how eating each oil affects cholesterol levels is mentioned again and again in the book, which sends a message that cholesterol levels are one of or even the most important issue when looking at dietary fats. The author could be a LOT clearer than he is on why the dietary saturated fat and cholesterol = heart disease hypothesis is wrong. Cholesterol levels are talked about endlessly in this book. Saturated fats are not 'sticky' and your body needs saturated fats and cholesterol to be healthy!

The author also claims that a grain based diet and a diet made up of almost 70% carbohydrate calories is a good choice for maintaining a healthy weight and treating obesity (again see Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) for information on why this isn't true), that female gender protects against heart disease and that saturated fat intake is linked with cancer and raises cholesterol levels as well (see The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It and Fat: It's Not What You Think for the facts on this) and that 15 - 25 % of calories from fat is an adequate amount for us all - which many authors (such as Mary Enig and Sally Fallon) would strongly disagree with.

(Erasmus's website now states that fat intake of between 15 - 60% is probably ideal, which is interesting.)

If you're very interested in this subject you can get an even more well-rounded fats and oils education by reading this book along with Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) and of course Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol by Mary Enig plus perhaps also Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and The Coconut Oil Miracle (Previously published as The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil).

Udo Erasmus's book is of a high quality but if I had to choose between this book and Mary Enig's book then I have to say that Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol would win hands down. Mary Enig has a Phd in lipid (fat) chemistry and Erasmus does not.

Erasmus's book is also almost 20 years old.

Having said that, the significant amount of information that Erasmus's book also contains on the causes of disease such as poor nutrition levels and overburdened detoxification systems and how what matters is the cause of a disease rather than its labels is very well done. The section on health vs. political and financial interests is also very good. This part of the book contains such important information that many readers may learn a lot from and may not read in many other health books.

It is for this reason that I give this book four stars overall. Three for the information on fats and oils and an extra star for the bonus health information it so passionately imparts on nutrition and detoxification and their role in disease prevention and treatment.

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

Mostly excellent and still vital after years. A few chapters dip into faith to be kind, or quackery, but tremendous amounts of science on fat types and digestion. Tragically, food matters continue to get worse year by year though anyone can make a personal health change at any time.

The visuals in this book makes the information so much easier to understand, learn and remember!

Beginning was good info on the world of fats but the last half was tedious and rambling about random health issues

I really wanted to like this book, and am almost tempted to recommend reading it - if only for its exposition of the oil processing industry's harmful practices. Unfortunately, the lipid-related material proper is largely without references and reads like little more than a sales pitch for Udo's overpriced concoction. I am not a biochemist and do not have the expertise to verify the author's claims ... he simply does not strike me as a trustworthy voice on the subject. Unless you enjoy taking people with vested interests on faith, I'd recommend choosing a different book.