Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259
Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
I look at it like this: if a food doesn't spoil[2], it is most likely because bacteria and fungus can get no nutritional value from it. Do I want to eat that?
1. http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
2. There are some exceptions, of course, but surprisingly few.
Yes, some folks are riding the "fad train" and profiting handsomely from the current popularity. That is true no matter whether it is a diet, a sports team, or a TV show that is currently en vogue. However, there are quite a few people who are actually focused on the science and evidence behind human nutrition and health.
The best book I've come across that dives into the research and nearly every important epidemiological study in the last 200-300 years is Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (http://amzn.to/149HYzi). It's not exactly an airplane read and certainly not a "diet" book; however, it completely changed the way I think about nutrition, exercise, disease, and overall health.
I would also recommend anything by Loren Cordain or Robb Wolf.
Before you make any judgments, do the research.
Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health - Gary Taubes http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet - Robb Wolf http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Solution-Original-Human-Diet/dp/...
Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health - William Davis http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609...
The Great Cholesterol Con - Anthony Colpo http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Anthony-Colpo/dp/143...
Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You - Uffe Ravnskov http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Cholesterol-are-Good-You/dp/919755...
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
Weight loss is not this simple - this kind of article enrages me. Everyone wants it to be an easy equation. Low carbohydrate/high fat diets are wildly successful despite not having to monitor calories. All calories are not created equal and simply eating less does not lead to long term weight loss, it leads to hunger.
I know many have talked about this idea on HN before, but in case you missed it, an excellent, eye-opening read is Gary Taubes' book, Good Calories Bad Calories - http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
The book is a meta study of the research done on the so-called metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes, heart disease). The research doesn't talk about evolution and cavemen, but rather health markers, hormones, and metabolic processes.
I've been eating a less -ahem- tribal version of this for 4 months, and the results have been pretty remarkable (if entirely anecdotal).
I have lost a large amount of weight, my skin and hair are much improved, my digestive functions have normalized after a lifetime of trouble, and I'm no longer tired all the time.
I haven't been sick since I started, but 4 months isn't exactly long enough to suggest anything in that respect.
What I do differently from the tribal version in the article is 1) I don't exercise (yeah, I know, evil, but I just don't feel like it yet) 2) I eat tomatoes and cheese and cream 3) I don't fast; I eat whenever I'm hungry. Interestingly, I'm only hungry about twice a day now, rather than 5 or 6 times a day which was the norm for me before I started this experiment 4) I'm super relaxed (pragmatic?) about the whole thing. I haven't seen the light or anything like that, I've simply had some really good results with very little effort.
There is a blog at http://www.marksdailyapple.com which has plenty of interesting articles, as well, but the Gary Taubes book is the closest thing I've found to proven health benefits.
True but completely disingenuous. If you normally eat 3,000 calories/day, and cut it to 2,000 calories/day, you won't necessarily lose weight -- many people's metabolisms will simply slow down equivalently.
Happy for this guy that it worked, but not all of us are so lucky. Turns out there are a lot of different factors that affect our metabolism, which can be just as important (if not more).
Edit: see Gary Taubes' work on this, extremely detailed stuff on what regulates metabolism and fat storage, there's nothing simple about it -- e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scien...