Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of US

One of my favorite books on nutrition and all the myths and fallacies that surround it. It's also a good insight into human nature and the need to believe in or belong to something, no matter the drawbacks. The only thing I really disagree with Matt on is his take that endurance athletes are the healthiest people. With all the acute and overuse injuries, along with the tragic deaths that have occurred while training for and participating in endurance events like marathons, I think trainees are much better off doing some type of circuit weight training for overall fitness and health.Matt is a very good writer and the book has a good flow to it.Really nice work, every fitness and/or nutrition buff would be well advised to add this to their library.

Over 65 years ago in  The True Believer , Eric Hoffer surmised that political and religious fanaticism stemmed from underlying feelings of inadequacy or self-hatred. So it is with dietary fanaticism as well. People’s desperation to lose weight, or in the case vegetarians and vegans, guilt over eating animal products, will carry them to extreme lengths, and make them susceptible to nutritional claims which are bogus, if not dangerous.In my own case, I went vegan at age 17 after watching  EARTHLINGS . I highly recommend people watch that movie so they can be conscientious of issues of animal suffering, but the trauma of my viewing experience blinded me to the devastation that was about to follow. After only one year of being vegan (and a mostly raw vegan at that), I was suffering from chronic indigestion, irritability, hair loss, emaciation, and acne, which I barely ever got in the thick of puberty. After switching to the McDougall Diet, a very low-fat vegan diet based on cooked starches, the acne persisted, and I now suffered from toothaches, constipation, and dry eyes. This madness continued for almost 3 years, and I always thought my health problems could be stopped by taking this or that supplement, or by tweaking my diet within the overall framework of veganism or "plant-based." Moreover, on those occasions when I did cheat on animal products, I would beat myself up about it, then vow to eat vegan harder and more diligently than ever before. This is the sort of disordered eating Matt Fitzgerald is trying to prevent.One negative reviewer of this book stated that Fitzgerald owes Loren Cordain an apology since the top four foods in Fitzgerald’s “diet hierarchy,” vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds, and high-quality meats, are essentially the Paleo Diet. Ignoring that there IS evidence of hunter-gatherers consuming grains and legumes (plus honey- another food foolishly banned by Cordain), and that hybridized, agricultural foods are extremely different from the wild foods consumed by hunter-gatherers, this misses the point entirely about what constitutes “diet cults.” They’re not about balance, inclusivity, moderation, or nuance. They’re about certain foods being monolithically good, others being monolithically bad. Even if Cordain himself is OK with a little cheating on the Paleo Diet, he still bears responsibility for the Puritans in his movement, due to his categorical demonization of grains, legumes, and dairy- portraying them as the root cause of everything from obesity to type II diabetes to heart disease to cancer to leaky gut and autoimmune disorders, and literal toxins even. Whenever you categorically demonize a food, people are naturally going to assume that the less they eat of it, the healthier they’re going to be, when that’s not necessarily the case.In conclusion, here are my five biggest indicators someone is in a diet cult. If any of these apply to you, you need to read Fitzgerald’s book ASAP!1. You think any health problems a person experiences on your diet are due to improperly following the diet, not the diet itself. Gaining weight, or feeling sluggish, cold, constipated, or nauseous on your low carb diet? Well, you’re just eating too much protein, not enough fat. It’s time to go ketogenic. Or you’re just not keto-adapted yet. Or you’re sneaking carbs.2. You think it’s possible to eat unlimited calories on your diet and not get fat. Eat all of the butter and lard you want. You can’t store fat if you don’t spike your insulin!3. You think your diet is “the natural human diet” or “the one true way.” As Fitzgerald explains, there is no “the” human diet. Indigenous diets varied wildly, but there were some overlaps. All included cooked foods, all included a mixture of plant and animal foods, and whenever a diet was heavily skewed in favor of one macronutrient, it seems to have been carbohydrates more commonly than fat or protein.4. Your diet requires you to supplement. Nutritional supplements were not even around until the mid 1900s, so say you’re a vegan who has to supplement B12 simply to survive. That should really tell you something about how unnatural your diet is. Amazingly, some vegans will reconcile their supplementation with their belief that humans are natural herbivores, saying for example that in the olden days, people used to get B12 from “dirty” produce, and B12 deficiency is simply a result of sterile, modern fruits and vegetables.5. You see people who don’t follow your diet as being "not merely in error, but in sin.” For example, a vegetarian will commonly see meat eaters as evil. It is true the factory farming system is highly unethical, but vegetarian hatred of meat eaters extends beyond that, because vegetarians will irrationally attack people such as Joel Salatin who produce meat in an ethically and environmentally responsible manner.

Another great text from Matt Fitzgerald. You'll either enjoy the book or find its content difficult to swallow - most likely if you're beholden to any of the cults he discusses. His point isn't that these systems don't work, but rather that each works for reasons far different than they advertise: primarily the sense of belonging they provide. Make no mistake about it, this is a vital component to any diet, or exercise, program. However, he's absolutely correct in his point that there is no single best diet program. Research has clearly identified the ability for an individual to stick with a diet or exercise program as the factor best correlated to success. It's simply a matter of do you like it and can you stick with it.

I find it impossible to read Fitzgerald's books and not come away feeling like I've learned something of value. Not only is his research helpful, his writing style is breezy and conversational. If you're feeling confused by the abundance of dietary dogma out there, this is an excellent book to clear the air and get you established on the path to eating in a way that is both enjoyable, healthful, and sustainable. If you're already found that way of eating, it's still an interesting read.

Interesting premise and examples. The author tells the stories of people who subscribe to various diets. The problem is he moves from anecdotes to sweeping generalizations and leaps in logic that he calls obvious, but those generalizations and leaps aren't supported by the science he cites.It’s worth the read, just be sure to maintain critical thinking skills throughout.

I've never bought a book immediately after it's release until I read a brief excerpt from Diet Cults. I needed this book. I am both a sceptic of rigid eating plans and a sucker for them. I cannot deny the appeal of diet cults, as they appeal to the part of me who admires the discipline and devotion of ascetics. But I also cannot deny my infinite attraction to any forbidden fruit.I have spent years telling anyone who will listen that food is fuel, not poison. There is no bad food; we need to recognize that some food is better fuel than others, but that doesn't mean you should never eat those " not great" fuel sources.I am grateful Mr. Fitzgerald provides the citations to the research he used. Sadly, he's most likely preaching to the choir. I frequently hear intelligent people wax poetic about purely anecdotal evidence and decry empirical evidence as biased or irrelevant. Nothing but their own experiences will change their minds, and we seek out information that confirms our biases and we ignore what contradicts it.Reading this book, l kept thinking, "This is just common sense." But, as a former boss of mine is fond of saying, "Common sense ain't so common."

A common sense to eating healthy , and Matt does a great job of presenting the idea with strong evidence of the contrary . Most people will relate to his conclusions . Good read .

Which diet is best? Probably which ever one you like the most. Explains the pull to follow specific diets and the science for or against each one

I found this book compelling reading. A lifelong obsession with finding the perfect diet and yo-yo ing on the scales, has left me in the position of knowing that "diets" don't work. I have been trying to find a simple healthy way of living but not quite knowing if I am doing the right thing and struggling to make sense of all the information in the media and literature.This book has helped me to clarify and organise all those thoughts and has provided factual reinforcement for the way I feel about diets and how I want to construct my nutritional framework. It has been like turning on the light and realising you made it to the right place in the dark!In the main the book is a summary of why all the popular diets have flaws. It is not a recipe book, nor is it a new diet to follow. But, at the end of the book, Mr Fitzgerald provides the best model I have personally ever seen for assessing your eating habits and highlighting areas in which you could make healthier choices.If you are looking for someone to tell you what to eat and when , this book is not for you.My opinion is that for anyone who is motivated to improve their nutrition and move towards a healthier lifestyle, this non prescriptive monitoring system may be just what they need to help them achieve that goal.

This is an interesting and well-written book. Essentially, it takes many of the established current diet trends and discusses their efficacy. However, you probably don't come to this book without knowing a lot of this information already: it's a 'meta-diet' book - not telling you how to be healthy and maximise nutrition (apart from a little at the end, which doesn't come as any kind of surprise), but explaining why diets work or don't work.I took a star off because I would have liked further information on meat and dairy free diets and whether Fitzgerald feels these are nutritionally greater or lesser than their dairy and meat alternatives. But, I enjoyed it, I was interested by the premise and Fitzgerald is writer I've read before and would read again.

What a disappointment. Having throroughly enjoyed Matt's running-related books and found them educational, I was excited about reading this. However, I found it poorly written, all over the place and lacking structure. There was an awful lot of waffling and I can honestly say I learnt absolutely nothing from it. Lots of speculating without firm conclusions.

A thoroughly interesting read for everyone. I feel everyone should read this book to get some perspective on food, backed entirely with scientific evidence. Not at any point does the author tell you how you should or should not eat. Instead, he introduces the world of research and science to the reader to emphasise why the reasonings behind certain diets are total nonsense. A refreshing change from hearing dieters give their opinion as law! Loved it.

Apart from the practical benefits of offering easy to follow guidelines to healthy eating at the end of the book, Matt brings a lot of interesting information about food from a historical, cultural and biological point of view. He debunks a lot of diet prejudices and misconceptions in a very simple yet scientific way, writing in a very down-to-earth prose.