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Rowe Genetics
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
E-mail: chwarden{at}ucdavis.edu
Confusion about the health effects of fats is hard to avoid. Philip Wood has written How Fat Works in part to explain why not all fats are bad and in part to provide a scientific basis for dietary fat recommendations.
Until recently, the US Department of Agriculture recommendations simply stated that fats, sweets, and oils should be consumed only in moderate amounts. This simple advice promoted the development of low-fat foods by sending the message that "all fats are bad." Understanding the molecular structures of fatty acids and how they influence diabetes, heart disease, and obesity has practical benefit because individual fatty acids may be beneficial or harmful to health. For instance, saturated and trans fats increase the risk of heart disease, whereas monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as fish oils may reduce inflammation and the risk of heart disease.
The author of this book is a professor of genetics and nutrition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Wood has spent his career studying the molecular aspects of fat, primarily in mouse models. How Fat Works includes 19 chapters divided into 4 sections: problems of excess fat and cholesterol, dynamics of fat metabolism, turning knowledge of fats into practice, and the environment.
The 6 chapters of the first section discuss general aspects of obesity, diabetes, and disorders of cholesterol. Each chapter includes excellent illustrations of specific concepts. The chapters provide readers with introductory information about the underlying molecular and physiologic causes of obesity and diabetes.
The book includes only a few debatable points of view. Chapter 7, the first in the section on fat metabolism, discusses "the energy equation." This equation, which is intuitively obvious, is nonetheless more complex than the author suggests because it has no constants and because every person responds differently to changes in energy intake or deficit (1). Thus, the calculation of energy balance rarely has predictive value for persons following diet or exercise programs.
The last 2 sections of the book are focused on providing an evidence-based approach to diet and health. In the third section, Chapter 13, "Breaking the insulin cycle," provides a particularly clear critique of high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets and also provides a counterargument for moderate-carbohydrate diets. Although not an outright endorsement of an Atkins diet approach, this chapter provides an excellent and fair evaluation of the science underlying high- versus low-carbohydrate diets.
Overall, How Fat Works successfully mixes explanations of the molecular mechanisms of disease with practical advice. Most of the advice is sound and will benefit readers. The author's habit of referring readers to topics that appear in subsequent chapters can create some difficulty with understanding. Finally, although a book titled How Fat Works may sound rather technically specialized, the subject matter is appropriate core knowledge for most health professionals. Furthermore, this book can be useful for health-conscious consumers motivated to understand the scientific basis for dietary recommendations about various fats or those consumers interested in practical, evidence-based advice about fats and health.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author had no personal or financial conflict of interest with respect to the author or the subject of How Fat Works.
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