The Queen of Fats

Susan Allport

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9780520941328
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

A nutritional whodunit that takes readers from Greenland to Africa to Israel, The Queen of Fats gives a fascinating account of how we have become deficient in a nutrient that is essential for good health: the fatty acids known as omega-3s. Writing with intelligence and passion, Susan Allport tells the story of these vital fats, which are abundant in greens and fish, among other foods. She describes how scientists came to understand the role of omega-3s in our diet, why commercial processing has removed them from the food we eat, and what the tremendous consequences have been for our health. In many Western countries, epidemics of inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders have been traced to omega-3 deficiencies. The Queen of Fats provides information for every consumer who wants to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and obesity and to improve brain function and overall health. This important and compelling investigation into the discovery, science, and politics of omega-3s will transform our thinking about what we should be eating. * Includes steps you can take to add omega-3s to your diet * Shows why eating fish is not the only way, or even the best way, to increase omega-3s. * Provides a new way to understand the complex advice about the role and importance of fats in the body * Explains how and why the food industry has created a deadly imbalance of fats in our foods * Shows how omega-3s can be reintroduced to our diet through food enrichment and changes in the feeding of livestock

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• 1. What’s for Dinner?
• 2. A Trip to Greenland
• 3. How the Omegas Got Their Name
• 4. Monsieur Cholesterol
• 5. Fishy Fats
• 6. Tree Lard and Cow Oil
• 7. The Chemist in the Kitchen
• 8. Out of Africa . . .
• 9. . . . and into the Membrane
• 10. Where Have All the Omega-3s Gone?
• 11. The Speed of Life
• 12. Putting Omega-3s Back into Your Food Supply
• 13. The Proof Is in the Pudding
• Time Line
• Glossary
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index