Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health and How We Can Get It Back

For readers steeped in the wellness culture, seed oils have become the new trans fat, the worst kind of fat to eat. Physician-biochemist Shanahan’s (The Fatburn Fix) latest book positions itself as an exposé on vegetable oils, which she asserts causes elevated blood sugar levels, inflammation, chronic diseases, and more. She discusses most of the common seed oils. For example, she asserts that canola oil is part of the “hateful eight” of fat sources. Some of her descriptions of seed oil manufacturing processes may come across as heavily biased to some readers and fear inducing to others. There are proven benefits to eating less processed whole foods and many kernels of truth in her assertions. But not all. For example, the longitudinal research presented in this book does not convincingly connect seed oils to the oxidative stress she suggests lays at the root of all chronic diseases. This book also steers readers toward a two-week challenge that will help them “ditch seed oils for good.”