Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In Dark Calories, Dr. Catherine Shanahan, a Cornell-trained biochemist turned family physician, unveils the hidden dangers of common seed oils. These seemingly innocuous oils wreak havoc on our cellular health, depleting antioxidants and promoting free radical toxicity. Here’s what you need to know:

Toxicity Parallels: Did you know that consuming a large serving of french fries—cooked in vegetable oil—delivers the toxicity equivalent of smoking 24 cigarettes? The damage extends far beyond our taste buds.

Inflammatory Effects: Vegetable oils contribute to inflammatory fat buildup under our skin, within organs, and arteries. They disrupt blood sugar, brain energy, and even mental health.

Deceptive Cholesterol Claims: We were sold on vegetable oils based on their cholesterol-lowering property. However, Dr. Cate reveals the financial entanglements behind this myth.

Roadmap to Recovery: Fear not! Dr. Shanahan provides a clear, no-nonsense plan aligned with our genetic needs. Nutrients that treat one condition tend to benefit all aspects of health.

In this eye-opening book, we learn to reclaim our well-being, one wholesome choice at a time. Say goodbye to dark calories and embrace rejuvenation. 🌿🔍

“Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health and How We Can Get It Back” sheds light on the dangers of common seed oils. Dr. Catherine Shanahan exposes their impact on cellular health and offers a roadmap to recovery.

This will likely go down as the single most impactful non-fiction book I’ve read related to health. Dr. Cate Shanahan’s book, Dark Calories, is immensely important in our current times. Health appears harder to come by as seemingly healthy individuals continue to get sick. Why? Dr. Cate gives us a behind the scenes look into seed oils - the disgusting process of how they’re made - and how they are wreaking havoc on our bodies through their excessive double bond structures and oxidative stress.

When I started reading this book I found myself highlighting nearly every sentence. I was truly blown away by the information. I read this book much slower than I would have liked, but it was because I was really digesting the information. I actually started making diet changes in my own life before realizing that Dr. Cate has some great suggestions in the later chapters of the book. This book lives up to its title - she explains exactly how seed oils impact our bodies and then gives you a guide as to how to get them out of your life (way easier than you think!).

Reading Dark Calories solidified my distrust in all the agencies and “experts” in the field of health. I was intrigued by the history lessons provided, specially regarding the work of Ancel Keys and the American Heart Association. I have the message of cholesterol as what’s clogging arteries and causing heart attacks ingrained in my “health” knowledge. I am so grateful for voices like Dr. Cate and others who lift the lid on these fallacies and spread truth about food. This is a book I plan to spread the word about because it has already made a huge impact on my life.

Eat your butter and red meats! Drink your raw milk! You will be healthier and it tastes so much better!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, Hachette Go, and the author Dr. Catherine Shanahan for this incredibly informative and important book!

I first read Catherine Shanahan's books when I was in nutrition school ten years ago. She is a physician has specialized in looking at how nutrition affects health. Her first book, Deep Nutrition, looked at a number of factors in traditional diets that helped those populations avoid the chronic diseases now affecting so many in the US. This book goes deeply into one of the problem foods in our modern diets: vegetable oils, which did not make up a substantial part of our diet until after WWII. These are the seed oils such as canola, corn, soy and sunflower/safflower. These are all relatively new to the diet, unlike traditional fats such as butter and olive oil. This book does an excellent job at explaining the negative health consequences of eating large amounts of vegetable oils. The book also shows where these foods are in the modern diet, how to avoid them and what to eat instead. This book has many excellent references but is also highly readable for the average lay person. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in improving their health through nutrition. I received an advanced complementary copy via NetGalley.

Dr. Cate Shanahan's exposé on vegetable oils serves as a wake-up call, shedding light on the detrimental effects the oils have on our health. I had no idea of the link between vegetable oils and health conditions. Through insightful exploration and arguments based on well respected scientists, Shanahan compellingly illustrates how these oils can trigger cellular damage, deplete antioxidants, and foster free radical toxicity, urging readers to reconsider their dietary choices for the betterment of their well-being. While I don't know if I'm ready to give up french-fries completely, I am definitely reducing my intake of vegetable oils.
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Go for this ARC.