Book SummaryDark Calories, by Catherine Shanahan

In Western culture, you may find yourself overwhelmed by food industry ads, diet fads, and popular science articles about the latest superfoods. It can be difficult to keep up with what foods are “good” and “bad”—especially when these labels seem to change every week. Despite these mixed messages about nutrition, many experts agree that if you want to improve your physical health, eating well can be boiled down to two simple guidelines:

• Adopt a largely whole-food, plant-based diet.
• Avoid highly processed and high-sugar foods.

In this master guide, we’ll cover a range of expert advice on why eating plant-based whole foods can help prevent chronic illnesses, why processed and sugar-added foods contribute to modern health conditions like Type 2 diabetes, and why supplements don’t work the same way as the same nutrients delivered via whole foods. We’ll also touch on why you might need to account for nuanced factors, such as the source of your food and your unique body composition.

American society is inundated with food. There are thousands of options of what to eat and a myriad of ways to eat it. So why does food need defending? In In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan distinguishes between real food and processed food and how the reliance on the latter leads to a society plagued by Western diseases.

From our reliance on industry and science to dictate what we should and shouldn’t eat to the loss of traditional food cultures, the Western diet has wreaked havoc on Americans and created one of the unhealthiest societies in the world. But we can reverse the damage if we repair our relationship with food and support the health of the food chain.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’re probably aware of all the conflicting advice about what you should eat. Should you go on a low-carb diet, a low-fat one, or a liquid one? Eat one large portion in the morning, smaller portions throughout the day, or practice fasting?

In How Not to Diet, Michael Greger, physician and best-selling author of How Not to Die, adds a much-needed voice of clarity to the world of weight loss. He draws on extensive scientific research to explore the healthiest and most efficient way to lose weight and keep it off.

This guide explores Greger’s advice, covering:

• How eating processed foods and animal products leads to weight gain
• Why eating plant-based foods and legumes reduces the calories your body stores as fat
• What dietary changes will help you shed excess pounds and keep them off

Additionally, we’ll expand on each of Greger’s ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from other health practitioners and weight-loss specialists.