Deep Nutrition - Shanahan

Deep Nutrition was a book published in 2017 by a doctor which addresses many popular misconceptions about nutrition. Its a readable book which anyone can pick up, but even someone knowledgeable about nutrition can learn from. It covers everything one needs to know.

The author first emphasizes how important nutrition is by exploring the new field of epigenetics. She says that even if you feel fine eating what you like, the consequences of how you treat your body can last for generations. Much of our genes are not set in stone as we once believed, but can be switched on and off. Not only that, but the changes we make to our DNA are passed on to our children, so people who are especially healthy today owe their health not just to their diet, but to the diet of their parents and ancestors.

The two biggest things to avoid are vegetable oils and sugars. These are to blame for many of the modern ailments which we face today, like diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. Vegetable oils, in their natural form, are just fine, but its when you heat them up, either to extract them or to cook with them, that they become toxic. The polyunsaturated fats get tied up into knots and oxidize easily so that they cause damage all over your body leading to inflammation which if left unaddressed can fry your arteries. Sugar gums up joints and organs and also causes inflammation. If you cut these two things out, you can improve your health a lot.

The core message of the book though, is about the four pillars. The four pillars are the common denominators you find when you look at all the best cuisines from around the world, including the French, Mediterranean, and Okinawan diets. The logic being that if all of those cuisines which allow people to live long healthy lives have these things, then these things must be the most important to the human body. The four pillars are: meat on the bone, organ meat, fermented and sprouting, and raw. She goes into detail about all four.

Finally, to give the reader a hand, there are some suggested meals and a few selected recipes which the author feels embody her diet best. For the modern cook I think some of them are a little bit uncommon, especially the organ meats. Going forward, Im going to try to incorporate her advice into my diet. For vegetable oils and sugar Ill try to avoid them at all times. As for the four pillars, Ill do my best, but when eating around others Ill have to relax my requirements a bit.