Page 54 - Winter2008

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Fat is not only about saturated fat and cho- that people whose weight hovers between corpu-
lesterol. Topics range from fat digestion and fat’s lent and statistically obese live longer, and are
many vital functions in the body, to the anatomy less likely to die from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,
of body fat cells and their role in numerous health infections and lung disease than their thin coun-
conditions, to the dangers of lowfat diets and terparts. To the further chagrin of dieters, the
how man-made trans fats have infiltrated the lowered risk of these diseases does not come at
processed food chain and become health-destroy- the expense of an increased risk of cancer, heart
ers. disease or diabetes. And fatter people may be
Leas helpfully provides straightforward happier than thinner people, too.
explanations of often-confusing biochemical ter- Fat: It’s Not What You Think makes a valu-
minology, such as triglycerides, omega-3, 6 and 9 able contribution to the growing literature that
fats, trans and cis fats, and polyunsaturated oils. exposes the ways in which the modern, indus-
We frequently see and hear these terms bandied trialized diet has led to widespread disease.
about in the media, but even though they seem Just as important, Leas helps to resurrect fat’s
familiar from so much repetition, very few of wrongfully besmirched reputation. In just over
us understand them very well. And sometimes 160 pages of text with more than 50 pages of
innocent nomenclature confuses matters even references this clear, concise synopsis of in-
more. In the case of saturated fat, for example, formation and research is a resource one will
Leas pauses to point out to the reader that these reach for again and again. It would make a fine
fat molecules are saturated with hydrogen at- introduction to the subject for the high school
oms, “not glop as we might imagine.” We are student interested in biology and health. If you
conditioned to think “glop,” of course, because have friends or family who are still terrified of fat
we have always heard the fear-inspiring “artery- and don’t know that butter is better than canola
clogging” or “heart-stopping” precede “saturated oil, this could be the book to convince them. If
fat” so many hundreds of times from purported your doctor is threatening you with statin drugs
media “authorities.” to “cure” your “dangerous” cholesterol levels,
Leas discusses recent research that reveals Fat just might make him think twice. After all,
body fat to be now considered the largest en- more than half the dry weight of our cerebral
docrine organ of the body, and elucidates the cortex is cholesterol, and you can be proof of
Fat would multifarious effects of some of the many hor- the fact that high serum cholesterol is associated
make a fine mones that body fat produces, such as leptin and with faster mental processing.

introduction adiponectin. These hormones regulate appetite Thanks to Connie Leas for tackling a con-
and fatty acid metabolism in the body, and play troversial subject with common sense and good
to the subject important roles in relation to homeostasis, as well humor, and creating a useful handbook on the
for the high as in obesity, diabetes and other disorders. topic for a wide audience.
The sections devoted to obesity and body fat
Reviewed by Katherine Czapp
school contain many of the theories currently popular
student on the roots of the obesity epidemic (processed
interested in industrial foods, ubiquity of corn syrup, demise
biology and of traditional family mealtimes, and so on). But
is it really so disastrous to be overweight or even
health. obese? Paradoxically, there is mounting evidence

54 Wise Traditions WINTER 2008