Description
One of the Best Health and Wellness Books of 2017 ― Sports Illustrated
Deep Nutrition cuts through today’s culture of conflicting nutritional ideologies, showing how the habits of our ancestors can help us lead longer, healthier, more vital lives.
Physician and biochemist Catherine Shanahan, M.D. examined diets around the world known to help people live longer, healthier lives―diets like the Mediterranean, Okinawa, and “Blue Zone”―and identified the four common nutritional habits, developed over millennia, that unfailingly produce strong, healthy, intelligent children, and active, vital elders, generation after generation. These four nutritional strategies―fresh food, fermented and sprouted foods, meat cooked on the bone, and organ meats―form the basis of what Dr. Cate calls “The Human Diet.”
Rooted in her experience as an elite athlete who used traditional foods to cure her own debilitating injuries, and combining her research with the latest discoveries in the field of epigenetics, Dr. Cate shows how all calories are not created equal; food is information that directs our cellular growth. Our family history does not determine our destiny: what you eat and how you live can alter your DNA in ways that affect your health and the health of your future children.
Deep Nutrition offers a prescriptive plan for how anyone can begin eating The Human Diet to:
*Improve mood
*Eliminate cravings and the need to snack
*Boost fertility and have healthier children
*Sharpen cognition and memory
*Eliminate allergies and disease
*Build stronger bones and joints
*Get younger, smoother skin
The Owl (verified owner) –
Last year my triglycerides were elevated and I started a quest to learn about LDL, HDL and what I could do to clean-up, yes, even reverse, any narrowing or plaque formations in my coronary arteries via changes in my diet. The explanations in Chapters 8 and 9 of this book showing how free radicals from polyunsaturated vegetable oils (excluding olive oil and coconut oil) and elevated levels of blood sugar precipitate plaque formations are easily the most informative, logical and plausible explanations I have found. I have been on a quest to understand the mechanism(s) leading to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques for the past six months, have downloaded and studied over 90 medical journal articles and bought five medical texts including Molecular Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis edited by Joseph Loscalzo. Figures 6 and 8 in Chapter 8 of this book are priceless. The table on page 174 listing 10 categories of foods containing inflammatory fat is worth more than 1,000 times the price of the book. Her chart on page 170 showing how Ancel Keys’ 7 countries study conveniently left out 15 other countries that skewed his data is the simplest, most concise and memorable treatment of that I have seen anywhere (I have 3 other books that agree on her conclusion that Keys unfortunately managed to put conventional wisdom on cholesterol and fat on the wrong track.). The great weight of the evidence today is that the animal fat/cholesterol theory started by Keys has backfired with tragic consequences to our national health. (Dr. Malcomb Kendrick calls it The Great Cholesterol Con). Obviously, she disagrees with Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn about the harm from eating foods that have a mother or a face; but she is not really at odds with their approach. Hers is simply more narrowly tailored on the one hand; and her points about epigenics actually helps them since it explains why we can reverse plaque formations through diet. [chemical signals happen all the time; especially in regulating the storage of fat and the level of blood sugar]. All three say cut way-back on any food containing added sugar. Soft drinks are lethal. Chapter 9 in this book says much more than any other book I have found or any journal article I have ever read about why even a little bit too much blood sugar wreaks such havoc on our intricate biochemical balance. Moreover, her point that you can turn-on or turn-off your own genes simply by what you eat is so profound, it’s staggering in its implication(s). Finally, her lesson in the cell biology of fat cells going back to stem cells and remodeling on the way (page 244) should be required reading for many if not all of of the professionals laboring daily in the highly critical and fertile fields of wellness, weight loss and nutrition. You fail to read this book at your peril. The reviewer who put this book in their All Time Top 10 is spot on. I bet it sells out in less than 2 months.
Brandy (verified owner) –
I received my copy of “Deep Nutrition: Why your genes need traditional food” yesterday and, I must say, I have not been able to put it down since. This book gets to the root of humanity’s nutritional needs, and explains, in depth, why we are not meeting those needs. Catherine Shanahan, MD concisely explains exactly what the typical diet of today is doing to our bodies, inside and out, and the magnification of these effects in our children. As a woman diagnosed with pre-cancer at the age of 20 (linked to poor diet, very high body fat and the use of estrogen in birth control) and now as a mother of a growing toddler, I consider this book an absolute MUST-HAVE in repairing and/or safeguarding one’s lifelong health and passing the nutritional wisdom of our ancestors on into generations to come. The only thing lacking: an accompanying shopping guide and/or cookbook. Overall, I am very satisfied with the purchase of this book.
Jeanne (verified owner) –
First of all, this is THE best book on nutrition out there. Get this book. I own three copies: one for my own reference, and two to lend out. It’s that good.
Deep Nutrition is an easy read, witty and engaging. It reads more like a novel than a nutritional text. You will find yourself turning the pages and wishing for more. It will change the way you look at food forever. It has for us.
The main premise is that you can change your life and the lives of your children by following the principles of traditional eating. In a society riddled by adult and childhood health problems, this is good news indeed! For the couple looking to conceive, it means having tools to have a healthy and beautiful child. For both children and adults with current health problems, it means hope for recovery. By eating a traditional diet, we can change how our genes work and how our children’s genes work.
We can also change the way our children look. Using principles from Stephen Marquardt and from modern scientific research, Catherine Shanahan shows us how beauty is objective, transcending all cultures and races. There is a certain dynamic symmetry that the human brain looks for and recognizes as beautiful. I know this sounds abstract, but the book provides some very convincing pictures. Especially interesting are pictures of siblings showing that the later born siblings have less dynamic symmetry, presumably the result of less optimal maternal nutrition. The latest born siblings have features similar to fetal alcohol syndrome. Could second sibling syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome both be related to maternal malnutrition? See for yourself, but you will not be able to look at facial features the same way again.
So what is Deep Nutrition? What is traditional food? It’s the food our grandparents and great grandparents grew up eating. It’s soups and sauces made from bone stocks and broths, pasture raised meats and organ meats, fish, fresh vegetables, fermented vegetables, raw milk, nature made fats and fruits. Compare this with the modern American diet of frozen dinners, Pop Tarts, Cap’n Crunch, Doritos, Oreos, Gatorade, soy milk, “vegetable” oil, and Coke Zero. Our ancestors would not have recognized these products because they didn’t exist until recently. So, how do traditional foods help us? OK. I’m in my 30’s and I grew up thinking that soup had to come out of a can or a little envelope full of powder. My husband’s mother made homemade chicken soup out of a real chicken, bones and all, for her children as they grew up. My 92 year old father-in-law tells us over and over about how, as a child, his mother made them real homemade chicken soup every Sunday and how they would eat the leftovers all week. He still walks without a cane. People cannot believe that he is 92. My husband is in his 40’s and is as strong as he’s ever been. He looks to be following in his father’s footsteps. I grew up being overweight and plagued by soft tissue injuries, including injuries to the tendons in my arms, a ligament in my knee, and problems with my lower back. I was given an honorary t-shirt at the local physical therapy practice and told I had been there so long that I was considered to be part of the family. After learning that the Deep Nutrition in broths and stocks made from bones contain substances that help the body heal tendons, ligaments and joints, you’d better believe I learned how to make these stocks and broths myself. It’s easy, by the way. I now use homemade stock in everything I can. It makes an ordinary meal taste extraordinary, makes delectable sauces and gravies, yummy soups, and my soft tissue injuries are finally healing! Talk about a win, win scenario! Oh yes, that’s the other thing. Deeply Nutritious food tastes GREAT! Those little envelopes full of flavored powder that promise to become tasty if you will only add water and heat them up taste nothing like the real food that is Deep Nutrition. Expect to be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen crafting the foods that will craft and heal you and will deeply satisfy you and your family.
Deep Nutrition is not a cookbook. It’s a unique guidebook to traditional foods – what they are and why we should eat them. Whether you are already experienced in cooking these foods, or like me believed that soup came out of a can or a little packet, Deep Nutrition has something for you. I have not seen such clear explanations in any other book. Much research went into this book, and while scholarly, it is amazingly accessible. Also included are lists of good foods to include in your diet which have the power to transform your health, foods to avoid and why, a list of baby steps to help you change your diet to healthier traditional foods, and even tips on using nutritional know-how to lose weight and stay young. You need this book! While you are at it, just order two. You’re going to want to share this with all the important people in your life. Seriously. Happy reading!
Patricia R. Blohm (verified owner) –
I first read your book “Deep Nutrition” about a year ago and have read it two more times over the year (actually it’s an ongoing read, I ‘get’ new things each time through, depending on what is going on with my body).
Like you I have suffered from plantar faciatis (sp?), achilles tendonitis and a myriad of other sports injuries off and on for 30 years. I always attributed it to running too much, being active, getting older etc. etc. I too, was terrifed of fat, ate 100 calorie packs of kibbles n bits, skinless chicken and the like. It was a mess of a diet and I felt like a hot mess most of the time. Deep Nutrition has given me the generational knowledge all wrapped up in one tidy package.
The reason for my writing however is that not only did the the bone broth heal my ailing joint and tendons but my skin looks amazing! A friend I hadn’t seen in a year asked me if I had done botox, and I said “no, I did bone broth!”
That coupled with the anti- inflammatory diet has cleared up my adult cystic acne as well and we are well into the dog days of summer in Atlanta. Usually by this time of year my skin is a mess as and I am happy to say
it looks and feels great. My body feels happy, fed, nourished! I just wanted thank you for all the research you have done and work that it took to write such a great book. It is my “bible” for nutrition and I have been having
a little private revolution around hear and spreading the word….
Many thanks!
Pattie Blohm
J. Irvine (verified owner) –
This book fills in so much physiology information for those who are going low-carb and or paleo nutrition. Dr Cate explains how traditional foods, the Four Pillars, actually convey information to your genes and how the genes use this information to nourish, build and energize your body. I appreciate her work and do so wish I had had this information while younger. I could then have had a slimmer, healthier body, better luck with fertility and transmitted better health to my only child and perhaps have had better fertility ).
Following Dr Cate’s Four Pillars I immediately felt the difference. It sounds hokey, I know, but believe it, or try it yourself and you will know what I mean. My body simply became more comfortable and limber, I got to feel the feeling in that saying “comfortable in her skin” I believe that the whole idea of adding saturated fats back into your diet makes a tremendous amount of sense. The little physiology and biology I studied showed that cell membranes and other tissues as well as hormones are composed of these fats. You don’t eat ’em your bod doesn’t have them to build with. Seems pretty straightforward. It is, however, scary (as the goody two shoes follower that I am) to buck the conventional wisdom and medical recommendations and eat these forbidden fats as there is heart disease in my family.
Not any less important than feeling great is the fact that my body fat is being metabolized – 15 lbs in 5 weeks. Oh, yeah!
To Weston Price’s amazing nutrition findings on traditional foods, Dr Cate adds information on the inter-generational effects of strong versus weak nutrition on the following generations. It is so very interesting.
Only problem is that this information may raise your ire and therefore your blood pressure! To realize that the medical / research community and conventional wisdom in partnership with the government have, over the years, steered people away from traditional foods and been absolutely ruining the health and well being of Americans now and into the next generations with their Standard American Diet and drugs is actually sickening. (See the interaction Dr Cate has when she tries to suggest studies to obstetricians) That the Weston Price research findings have been out there for decades and ignored is heartbreaking, in fact it is in a way criminal.
Bought a second copy as the one I lent out was not returned.
(Weston Price nourished parents give birth to healthy babies: […])
Read this book if:
You want to feel wonderful
You want to lose weight
You want to feel more energetic
You plan to ever have children (men, young men, this does apply to you too, the sooner you beef up your genetic health the better for your children)
and
You want to give your children the healthiest possible start in life.
God bless Dr Cate.
RileyRae (verified owner) –
I too have been a nutrition and exercise nut for years – trying low-carb, low-fat, vegan, Paleo and just about any other eating plan the made sense to me. I’ve read at least 50 books about health and nutrition, but as I aged and especially after hitting menopause, it became a struggle to stay healthy and feel good.
I decided to read Deep Nutrition and it didn’t take long to understand this was a different type of nutrition book. This book explains how genetics, biology, health and nutrition are so entwined and inseparable and did it in a way that I finally understood what I had been doing wrong all these years. I never understood that I could eat what I thought was a well-balanced diet and still be starving at the cellular level. I also didn’t realize why it was so important to consume only organic foods.
Being raised by my grandparents, we ate stews made from soup bones and ham hocks, all our meat was cooked and served on the bone, we drank full-fat milk, cooked with butter or bacon grease, and ate fruit and veggies from our garden – I now understand that it was about more then just saving money. It has been 5 months since adding raw milk and cream, organic free-range poultry, grass-fed, organic beef (on the bone and straight from the farm), organic fruits, berries and veggies to my diet and I feel better than I have in years. Building and maintaining muscle mass is easier and so is reducing fat, especially belly fat that gets harder to control as you age. When friends ask me how I do it, and I tell them what I’m eating, they really don’t believe me.
I tell them, GIVE IT A TRY FOR A FEW MONTHS, like me, you will be a life-long convert. This book will change your life and is worth every penny. I have purchased several for family and friends.
ReadAllDay (verified owner) –
I surely wouldn’t consider a video review here – someone might notice that I am not a beauty! I did find the genetic theory in this book fascinating, but I am conflicted about having my daughters read the book – will it help them prepare for healthier babies, or will it depress them because of their own flaws? If I show it to my husband, will he grieve about his flaws and/or blame me for those of our children (wonderful kids but not genetic superstars according to Deep Nutrition)? While reading the book, I felt like a teenager again; those parts about feeling not pretty enough or good enough. I thought it was a nice touch that Dr. Cate freely admitted to her own flaws. That made me feel a little better.
I have been a vegetarian for almost 40 years. It cleaned up my acne – I now live near an old friend who constantly expresses her amazement at my skin. I have jogged and hiked and moved furniture and done Yoga. Odd but true – I craved and ate meat during both my easy pregnancies and lost interest in it soon after.
I realized in my 40s that stomach aches since toddlerhood indicated a problem with digesting dairy. In my 50s, I decided it was time to stop eating processed soy products. So I have been vegan with minimal soy (tofu once/week or less) for a few years, and I’m feeling that something is missing. Now in my 60s, I think hormone deprivation may be adding to my feeling a little lackluster. This book opens my mind to the possibility of a cumulative lack even though I enjoyed many years of good and comfortable health; but I can’t be sure, and I can’t bring back the years. The hormonal aspects of aging aren’t addressed much in this book. I kind of hope Dr. Cate will delve into these issues sometime, but I wouldn’t fault her for waiting until they affect her. Recently I added some fish to my diet. I still don’t like the idea of eating a piece of a mammal’s leg or body. This book makes me consider maybe trying some chicken stock.
The reason I decided to read this book, even though I was not a likely candidate for agreeing with it, is that I wanted some help fighting a sugar habit. The book definitely gives good reasons to cut back on sugar!
I couldn’t put Deep Nutrition down, and read it quickly. I am inspired by this book to improve my already health-emphasized diet. Maybe not meat-on-the-bone, but more emphasis on the other 3 “pillars”…and less sugar. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because some of the arguments seem a little exaggerated, eg, a breakfast of 2 eggs and butter (or a cup of granola with milk) being 500 calories. This is just the easiest example I can remember and put into words. I think there is a lot of good basic and important science in Deep Nutrition!
Cooljonnorris (verified owner) –
This is a book destined to radically alter our view on nutrition. Along with Primal Body, Primal Mind, this book represents the best nutritional information one can currently get in a book. I highly recommend getting these two books together if you want to create the best health you can.
One distinguishing characteristic of this book is the incorporation of the breakthrough science of epigenetics in nutrition and health. Combining the recent discoveries in epigenetics with the landmark work of Price and Pottenger, creates the most complete picture of our diet and nutrition available to date.
The fact that recent research in many areas of health has vindicated Price’s work is an important addition to our health knowledge. This author presents even more of that research in a very powerful synthesis. Taking the information about the dramatically superior health of previous generations and finding scientific grounds for understanding that will go a long way toward undoing the tremendous damage that last 150 years of commercial interference has wrought on our population. This book is a full-on broadside in that battle.
As the author (an MD) describes her own struggle to understand her own experience and that of her patients, she also treats the reader to a clear view of the corruption of modern science, the lack of proper nutritional information in our medical schools, and the wisdom of our ancestors, which “modern society” prefers to ignore (at its peril.)
She also exposes some of the corrupt junk science which has ruled nutrition for the last 60 years or so, especially taking time to thoroughly document the atrocity of Ancel Keys sloppy pseudo-science, which still rules dietary recommendations of backward and corrupt organizations today. It is high time we call to accountability people like Keys, who have caused more pain and death than Hitler and Stalin combined.
She explains how epigenetics shows us that genes are not set in stone, but can be changed by environmental conditions, especially nutrition. All throughout the book, she cites research and gives ample end notes and references.
She also goes into detail about proportion and symmetry in biological forms, and introduced me to Marquardt’s Mask, a geometrical construct based on the Golden Mean, which formalizes the physical patterns of symmetry and “beauty” in the human face.
It is in this research that we find the refutation of the Eugenics crowd, much as Price showed over 50 years ago – genetic expression depends more on environmental conditions than on “racial purity.” The idea that malformed poor people are that way because they are racially inferior is now completely shown to be false – it is clear that their genes cannot express properly because of conditions such as poor diet, usually caused by poverty, not the other way around.
Another topic she discusses is one of my favorites in which to rub the noses of the mainstream types – the fact that our quality of health has been decreasing over the last 100 years, not increasing. The percentage of the population living to 100 years has been declining over the last 180 years, drastically so in the last 20. This is in direct opposition to the idea that we are living longer, healthier lives today. The figures are usually skewed by the use of “average” life expectancy, which is open to numerous errors in addition to the usual problems with using the arithmetic mean. The median age of death is much more telling than average life expectancy, and those figures don’t tell us as much about health as does the dramatic rise in chronic disease striking a greater proportion of the population at ever earlier ages. She cites similar information about height changes.
She also discusses birth order and spacing along with nutrition, and its impact on long term health over many generations.
All this is in addition to discussing what a really healthy diet looks like, and the science and history behind that. The science vindicates what Weston Price and others like him taught, based on research done around the world at a time when “the disruptive foods of commerce” had not yet had time to destroy many people’s health, and there still existed large numbers of truly healthy people to study (no longer the case today).
She concludes with great advice on how to adjust one’s diet to the greatest advantage, including some meal plan ideas.
As I said, along with Primal Mind, Primal Body, this will give you the best grounding in truly healthy nutrition possible today. I would strongly suggest reading both together for the best nutritional information. I also recommend books by Ron Schmid, Mary Enig, Sally Fallon, Bruce Fife, and Uffe Ravnskov.
You are responsible for your health today. Doctors are mostly drug pushers, drug companies only want your money, organizations and governments are thoroughly corrupt, and insurance companies only want your money as well. They couldn’t care less if you live or die.
Learn the facts and take control of your health.
Alice (verified owner) –
Everyone should know the nutritional information presented in this book!It is so important to our lives, and so little understood. This is not the end all nutrition book. There doesn’t seem to be a book that gives a totally complete picture. But this one fills in some gaps in our understanding, particularly about fats, and their metabolism. Ever wonder why all the guys are getting ED?
Seagrape (verified owner) –
I never thought a single book could change the way I thought and felt about food but this one did. All my life I have consumed food for its taste and to satisfy my appetite even though I’ve eaten pretty healthy (most of the time). This book accomplished the impossible and I now see food in a totally different manner. I see it as the optimizing fuel that my body needs to function at the highest level possible and it is totally my responsibility to give it what it needs and wants. I now find it very easy to pass up low nutrient foods in favor of something that is nutrient dense. Although I well remember what a piece of chocolate pie tastes like, such indulgences are easy to pass up today.
Dr. Cate explains in a way anybody can understand just how our distant ancestors managed to live and thrive on the foods that were available to them, no matter what part of the globe they inhabited and she divides these foods into four groupings–the Four Pillars. By choosing foods from these Four Pillars (and passing up the food monstrosities that we consume today) one can change their lives and bodies to the best that is possible.
Thank you, Dr. Cate. I now eat for nutritional value instead of indulgence.
Just so you will know, I am bearing down on 80 and since I’ve been eating to “feed my genes” (as Dr. Cate points out), I’ve lost 30 lbs. and feel 20 years younger than I did a year ago.
Steeter (verified owner) –
Buy this book. This book is so informative and I really wish that more people would read it. I talk about it to anyone who is willing to listen. The connections that Dr. Shanahan make with sugars, vegetable oils and transfats to our health in every sense of the word is quite astonishing. As someone who is relatively new to reading about this information this book was so helpful to me. I’ve read Omnivores Dilemma and In Defense of Food but this book does even more to dive into what is really wrong with our health. Sugar is something that Pollan seems to skip over. Although, he does advocate staying away from processed foods which includes a lot of sugars, Shanahan explains what sugar does to us and why we should cut it out completely. She makes it easy to follow her rules once you know what it is doing to you. Also being a woman I thought this book was so beneficial to someone that wants to have children one day. The connections between a mothers health and the health of her children is something that is just not talked about enough. Our nutritional education is so heavily influenced by big agri-business and the Pollans and the Shanahans of the world are helping re-educate us and I couldn’t be happier that I’ve began reading and learning more about these topics. Like I said before I recommend this book to everyone that will listen to me.
I feel more prepared to keep myself healthy (now and long term) and I also have more knowledge to keep my family healthy once I have one.
CharleneCM (verified owner) –
This is one of the best books on nutrition I have read. The Shanahans explain clearly the dietary principles used by healthy peoples around the world. They call it the Four Pillars of traditional cuisine: raw/fresh (animal and plant – including a nice description of benefits of raw milk); organ meats (rich in vitamins and minerals); meat on bone (explaining how the glucosaminoglycans are healing of connective tissues); and sprouted/fermented (to make grains more digestible, and to get beneficial organisms).
My daughter used the principles of this diet to heal from a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis – without medications. I used this principles of this book, and Weston A. Price’s “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” to put together a dietary regime for her and got to see her slowly recover her health so that she could live life fully again without pain.
My one quibble – and it it not a minor one – is that the Shanahans argue that carbohydrates are unnecessary for human health and should be restricted to 100 grams per day. Some of Dr. Price’s healthy tribes ate grains (the Swiss who ate rye bread and raw milk and meat; and the Gaelic tribes who ate fish and oats) and others ate fruits and tubers (South American tribes) which belies this argument. Amongst people who eat a Paleo/low carb/ketogenic diet for weight loss or healing, many are reporting that after initial improvements in health, they experience worsening symptoms. The theory circulating is that diets that are too restrictive of carbohydrates will shut down thyroid function and slow metabolism with resulting serious health problems.
I would strongly recommend this book to people who want to regain or maintain health with the one caveat – which is to avoid a diet that is too restrictive of carbohydrates (ie., make sure to eat potatoes and grains along with the bone broths, sushi, raw milk, and liver pâtés.
CSD (verified owner) –
Tons of information with some repetative like any other book that talks about nutrition. It has a lot of great ways to introduce new foods or foods you don’t necessarily care for into your diet. With anything else though there are things that you personally will not eat no matter what but still a good guideline to start a dietary change.
NL (verified owner) –
I thought this book was well written, and I trust the veracity of Dr. Shanahan’s statements. However, I think “beauty” goes beyond the physical classification system Dr. Shanahan describes as the “classically beautiful” male or female face. How many beautiful females are there out there who don’t have upturned noses? Plenty! Barbara Stresand and Cher are two cases in point. I doubt there are many people who didn’t find them attractive when they were young women. That being said, diet does influence epigenetic expression, which was the basic premise of the book. In that regard, it was a well written book. I just choose to disregard the narrow definition of physically “beautiful” faces.
Justin Janoska (verified owner) –
I had a certain preconceived idea of what this book was about when recommended to me. I was heavily interested in nutrigenomics and believed that was the bulk of this book. It does cover it with an interesting approach, but that’s just the first half of the book. Everything else I read beyond that was a pure bonus and was changed everything about how I view food, what’s hazardous and how I educate my clients, as I am a nutritionist. Guess what? Saturated and cholesterol are your friends. That’s right. So get back on that butter, bacon and red meat! Of course though, it needs to be the right kind – organic, pasture-raised that is. You will learn a multitude of invaluable facts about the truth on trans fats, saturates and really how damaging sugar is.
The studies these days that vilify saturated fats are commonly flawed and contain manipulated, misinterpreted data where the scientists have a bias and still follow and promulgate the same diet-heart, cholesterol idea garbage that has been taught to viewers (including you) through the media for years. Learnt he truth right now. Seriously, purchase this book. Now. Dr. Cate is brilliant and knows what she’s talking about. I have yet since supplemented my knowledge in this area about fats and cholesterol and have confirmed even further that this is legit info. in this book.
This is simply the greatest find for me and will unlikely find another book that tops this. Do yourself a favor and buy this and then educate others about how they need to cut out vegetable oils (the wrong kind, which is mostly everything) and reduce sugar, or carbs for that matter, down drastically. These 2 components so commonly seen in our diet are responsible for cardiac events, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Not the oppose of what you think. Save your health and others now and read this!
Kathy Bergman (verified owner) –
I really have to be in a studying mood to read this book but am very glad that I got it. It makes a lot of the nutrition debate make sense and supports a lot of what I have been saying about diets. Too bad the health “experts” don’t do their homework. It would do them a lot of good and get them on the right track of treating people as individuals. I really wish the Federal Government would repeal the idiotic pyramid and start feeding the children in our public schools correctly. They are essentially killing them.
Binkz85 (verified owner) –
It was a well researched book that presents an informed view. I have already implemented quite a few of her suggestions and am already seeing benefits. My only question would be why she is against frozen vegetables, as it is proven that these veg contain as much, if not more nutrients than fresh veg bought in stores. Otherwise a great read!
Bjørn Johansen (verified owner) –
A very good book that explains complex nutrition questions in an easy to understand manner. Shanahan has a way with words that makes this a worthwhile read and indeed explains a lot of important facts about nutrition. I learned a lot from it that I could put to good use in improving my diet, where many others, just as skilled or insightful as Shanahan, seem to write gibberish and contradict themselves.
Some of the explanations however, lack a deeper technical explanation for the processes occurring and stand as plausible but ungrounded statements on their own, particularly when they express mostly her own ideas. She particularly devotes a lot of scary stories to “MegaTrans” but there is absolutely no way to verify the biological functioning behind their dangers, since this label is her own invention and is not used elsewhere. How do they procreate and downgrade other fats?
All in all, it is a good and thorough book, which leans very much on an organic/natural/traditional/paleo/primal methodology, but with the technical explanation and backing of someone who actually understands epigenetics and a number of other topics that might otherwise be hard for laymen to grasp. This book provides mostly that.
It does however miss out a lot in terms of practical adherence to the principles. There are no guidelines for food in terms of recipes.
Karel Juhl (verified owner) –
At first, I didn’t think I was going to like this book; I slogged through the opening chapters, and admittedly skipped a lot. (This really isn’t a nightstand book.) When I zeroed in on Shanahan’s Four Pillars I began to realize I had underestimated the author. She has a great way with analogies that help you grasp information that can be difficult to understand. And, oh!, there’s a lot of information. I was itching to underline the things I learned, but I was reading a library book. And I finally gave up and ordered my own copy. Now I’m about to start again, from the very beginning this time, making margin notes and highlighting to my heart’s content. Thank you, Dr. Shanahan, for this book.
Kamil Kluziak (verified owner) –
The author is explaining why you should eat properly making a strong call to stop eating unhealthy fats and sugars.
For me this book was very deep explanation why I should avoid those two products. Sadly it lacked any steps, recipies etc. On one side it can be a disadvantage but frankly I don’t need a “all in one book”. This book’s title is “why your genes need traditional food” and this is what was explained in this book.
I remove one star due to lacking steps on how to remove sugar cravings.
Would I recommed it? yes
Kyle Douglas Baird (verified owner) –
Great intro to Weston Price diet theory. I have a friend from China who has always advocated that the “traditional diet” is healthier and this book helped me put his comments into context. I have experienced health and energy level improvements following the advice in this book but no weight loss, sadly. Maybe that will come down the line?
The author’s theories are fun to ponder but they don’t square with all the facts. Per the wikipedia on human height second born boys are taller than first born boys which doesn’t square with Catherine’s assessment that the second born child can suffer the effects of a mother who has paid a nutritional price from having her first child.
Also, people have been growing taller (and longer lived) over the last hundred or so years as the modern diet has taken hold… so there may be some powerful positive aspects of the modern diet that haven’t been fully assessed.
It is interesting that the US citizens seem to be falling behind the Dutch and Germans in terms of height… it would be interesting to find out if the reason for this is that the Dutch and Germans naturally follow the Weston Price/traditional ways of eating with homemade sauerkraut, more liver consumption, and more raw milk consumption?
I thought her connecting diet with epigenetic dynamics was very interesting. She said that there is a study that shows the second generation born of survivors of German concentration camps have lower birth weight than average. If true, that is extremely interesting.
Just 4 stars as her theory still needs a bit of work. I’m sure in 5-10 years, her next book will put the whole theory together.
Hubstermeister (verified owner) –
This is a pretty good book, lots of references, and presents a nice story and a new way, or different ammunition, to discuss the matter at hand (which in this case is what you should eat to stay healthy). I didn’t need any converting as I long ago gave up processed foods and meats from dubious sources. My purpose for buying the book was to keep abreast of the science which discusses healthy living (and science which does not). I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t more discussion centered around the “DNA ghost” and particularly more in-depth science concerning what is known and what is conjecture in the field of epigenetics and most particularly, how what we eat affects gene expression. I would love to see a book which has more depth in this regard. However, the discussion of Marquardt’s mask and “second sibling” syndrome was new to me and gives fodder for thought although there are a few comments by the author which seem a bit tenuous in their conclusions. Again though she may be right I felt that the science doesn’t always support the conclusions to the healthy skeptic (read the book and make your own call on that, don’t want to spoil things for ya besides it wouldn’t be fun if you agreed with everything an author says). The author’s dismay over the lack of institutional agreement on this matter is likely the same dismay we all have come to understand however the ramifications of having 7 billion people eating fresh vegetables stewed in bone stock makes this line of reasoning enough to fill several books alone so don’t even go there. Personally I will await Luke’s cookbook with bells on. If you’re interested on the related issue on how the American diet got sooo bad, or at least one aspect of this, check out “death by food pyramid”.
Rebecca (verified owner) –
I already have a MS degree in Health and Exercise Physiology, so i was disappointed that there really wasn’t any new information for me. If the topics of epigenetics and nutrigenomics are new to you then this book is a very readable, very approachable introduction.
Eva Martinez (verified owner) –
So far this book makes sense. You are what you put in your body. You also have to figure what kind ds of natural foods work for you. We are not all built the same.
Woodley Lamousnery (verified owner) –
With so many theories about what is the best diet to follow, in addition to the misguidance set by the medical and industrial food industry, It is good to know that dissidence like Catherine Shanahan MD and Luke Shanahan are here to dismantle misleading information and simply enlighten readers with the truth that proper diet should come from traditional foods. “Deep Nutrition” reveals that by going back to what our grandparents, great-grandparents, and ultimately our ancestors have eaten for centuries, traditional foods are what we should be consuming on a daily basis for optimal health and longevity.
The authors give outstanding explanations chapter by chapter as to why traditional foods should be the mainstay of our diet. Backed with loads of scientific evidence, I am convinced that traditional foods provide great health benefits. Ever wondered why the French are among the longest living people in the world, despite having a diet rich in saturated fats, like butter and lard? The French diet is what the Shanahans consider a part of the “Four Pillars of World Cuisine” that includes a healthy diet full of the naturally saturated dairy and animal fats, meat on the bone, fermented vegetables/dairy products, and chicken/beef bone broth. All of this, however, goes against the traditional western diet that has been sickening us with disease boosting pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated oils and sugar. The ailments plaguing Americans today are all linked to a common factor- rancid vegetables oils and tons of refining sugar. One would find it difficult to escape the ingredients in processed foods loaded with vegetable oils and sugar even when it claims to be “Organic.”
“Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food” provides details to all of this and more. The authors’ reasonably and scientifically explained findings of the health benefits of traditional foods will transform someone who adheres to American conventional wisdom about what types of foods to eat into one who will no longer tolerate the false claims about what is supposedly healthy from industries, like the Food and Drug Administration.
Tony Duncan (verified owner) –
This book has completely changed my life and my perspective of how much marketing and convenience has influences the way our society has been shaped.
The studies and explanation about infalammatory effects on our body from polyunsaturated fats found in vegetable oil was one of most profound parts of the book. I have always respected food, and thought I ate reasonably healthy, but after reading this book, I found I was dead wrong.
Cancer, allergies, obesity, fatty liver, autism, arthritus, depression, crooked teeth, heart disease, bad vision, the list goes on to why heat sensitive polyunsaturated fatty acids from manufactured Vegetable oils and sugar(no matter in what -ose form it is in, yes even fruit sugar) are the cause to all of these diseases that seem to keep increasing in our population as time goes on. She opens up your eyes to find how hard it is to get away from these two ingredients. IT IS EVERYWHERE! Every single restaurant, not just fast food!
She tells the truth about our industrial diet, and the reason we have come to live this way. Simply put, our food sources can’t sustain our growing population, especially when cheap food is the best seller. We have bought in to convenience at the cost of our health.
This book in my opinion will also make a better cook out of you, she also explains what is missing in our diets and how exactly what we can eat to get those missing nutrients back and become healthier and happier.
Please please please read this book and those negative reviewers didn’t even finish the book. I was hesitant to continue after reading the first part of the book, it does sound a little superficial, but please believe me, it is not about being pretty, she wanted to explain that being pretty and having those sought after perfectly symmetrical bodies (aka looking healthy) are merely byproducts of being healthy.
Arizona Snowbird (verified owner) –
Excellent book, but way too much talk on vegetable oils, it seems like the first third of the book was all on veg oils. Don’t need THAT much info to know they are terrible for us. Other than that, a lot of great info.
greyeagle (verified owner) –
I’ve been researching and learning about health for over 50 years and this is the best and most comprehensive book I’ve ever found on the subject of nutrition and health in general. The book is well written and interesting–not dry, not boring. I’m the kind of person that needs to know “why,” it’s not enough to tell me to do something without knowing why. In the case of health issues it is often times that the explanation is too technical to be understood by a layperson. Not so with this book. I love the information concerning cultures (health and long-lived) from around the globe. Combined with brief overviews of how our Paleo ancestors ate helps to understand how the typical American diet has devolved into a fast-food culture of easy and fast and how that is killing us. If you were alive in the 50s, you may remember that illness and disease were not widespread as they are today. Both sets of my grandparents lived into their 90s without having ANY hospital stays. One grandmother had 12 children and the other 4. They were bright and alert–no signs of dementia or alzheimers either. My great grandmother passed at 97, after her husband died, she lived alone and cooked, cleaned, and had a garden until the end. I have offered this detail for the benefit of the younger readers who have seen a very different picture of health in the general population of this country. We all pretty much know that sugar is detrimental to health and offers no nutrition or food value whatsoever, but I learned from “Deep Nutrition” that vegetable oil is poison and is a major cause of the deterioration of our brains. I could go on and on, but I know people are busy. This is a fabulous book for those that are looking for in-depth answers to their health issues and what to do to heal from years of bad eating habits. I would give it ten stars if that were possible.
Charles Boncelet (verified owner) –
Good book, lots of nice information, but a bit of a long read. She could have put the same basic information in about two-thirds of the pages.
Brian E. (verified owner) –
The book is good but it doesn’t go in enough detail and is really a nutritionist book for beginners. Her chapter about beauty is completely subjective and she could have gone into the fact that sexual selection is a determining factor when talking about evolution and modern humans (and beauty). The topic includes so many variables that even this 400 page book cannot fully encompass the many problems we face.
Jonathan SD (verified owner) –
This is truly a life changing book that has tremendous insight not found elsewhere. This is book is likely daunting for many readers looking for a quicker actionable summary. If you are looking for a quicker read, you should instead get the companion book to this which is Shanahan’s book, ” Food Rules: A Doctor’s Guide to Healthy Eating.”
This book is essentially written backwards where the conclusions on genetics are in the front of the book and specifics on nutrition are at the back. If you want to get into the heart of the book start at chapter 7 onward and then go back to the beginning. The beginning on how nutrition effects epigenetics is interesting but makes more sense if you have some of the information in the later chapters. Although I might normally take a star off for something like that, the book is so important that it deserves more than 5 stars.
I’ve purchased several copies to give to family and friends. Much of this information that has started to come out elsewhere but it is hard to find a book as complete as this on this subject. I can say that following the advice has radically transformed my life over the past year and half. My wife and I started with Whole 30 and paleo eating before we found this book and it reversed my metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea and weight issues. This book explains why those methods of eating work and how to introduce more food to those types of diets while keeping the still same beneficial results and adding even more benefits. I wish my parents had this book when I was younger.
quantum_racer (verified owner) –
This was a fascinating and informative book that advances a hypothesis and then seeks to show the truth of that hypothesis. The hypothesis is that what we eat matters, a lot. As diets have changes to, in general, more carbohydrates and vegetable oils (poly unsaturated fats) chronic disease and indeed genetics they have affected human well being. Many of the commonly believed myths that cholesterol is bad for you and that saturated fats should be avoided are discussed in an intelligent manner. References are provided for those interested in seeing backup for the points of view. I only wish the government could get motivated to modify some of the dangerous half-truths and its nutrition recommendations because they have a large impact on all of us. Dr. Shanahan also touches on some of the highly regarded organizations such as the American Heart Association and where their funding’s comes from (pharmaceutical firms). By itself this is not necessarily bad but it seems less than pure. I guess my only criticism would be it does mix the anecdotal with journal references but that probably makes for a better read. Really good book!
Nan (verified owner) –
This book is awesome, even though the recipes are very heavy in animal products and I have hot eaten red meat in over 40 years. I am a MD and have practiced medicine for over 48 years. Her science is exceptionally profound and adds to all of my prior reading. I have read over 300 books in the last three years, all pertaining to this subject. If I had to pick one book this would be it. I can make my own recipes, without all the meat, which is not good. Her description of the cascading free radical damage to the unprotected brain and eyes is of particularly great significance and usefulness in understanding the explosive incidence of dementia in the US population. I cannot express how much I appreciate her work. I am 86 years old, in good health and work every day, including as the caregiver for my wife for the last 8 years. So I know a little about maintaining good health ad sanity in the face of adversity. Godspeed to all who tread here. Robert L Youngblood MD.
DH22 (verified owner) –
This is a most fascinating book and I have reads scores of books on nutrition. Dr. Shanahan makes so many great points that are NEVER discussed or even known by 99.9999% of MDs. I should know as I am an MD. Nutrition is blown off by the medical establishment and medical schools as being totally irrelevant to health. Nothing is further from the truth. I agree with the doctor on almost everything but since I have been on a ketogenic diet for years and actually feel and look younger than I did 10 years ago, I think the upper limit of carbohydrate intake should be no more than 50 gms/day. The doctor addresses so many issues in this book. An amazing discussion on the spacing of children and a mother’s nutrition is right on. She states that having kids in rapid succession is deleterious to the looks, brains, and health of the subsequent child. No obstetrician or family medicine doctor will ever tell you this since they are oblivious and do not know this. Of course there are exceptions to any rule but in general I believe this is true. I have pondered this idea regarding my own family and birth order. She also points out how “normal” levels of cholesterol and LDL are constantly lowered by the medical system in order to benefit big pharma and get as many people as possible on statins. Anyone who has really studied cholesterol/LDL knows this is not the culprit of cardiovascular disease but carbohydrate consumption that leads to hyperinsulinemia and then to insulin resistance which causes many diseases. This is an amazing and very interesting book! If everyone practiced the teachings in this book miraculous improvement in health would be obtained.
David B (verified owner) –
This is a great book on epigenetics and does a good job documenting how sugar and vegetable oil consumption have broken down our genetic inheritance. The book breaks down in the last half where the author presents her rather lousy food recipes and displays nutritional ignorance by recommending microwave food preparation. But hey, she is a genetic scientist, not a cook, and overall it is an excellent read.
Patrick McMahon (verified owner) –
I expected Deep Nutrition to offer a list of nutritious foods and explanation of how they affect our health. There is that, but Dr. Cate puts forth much more. Her compelling theory on symmetry and attractiveness as markers of genetic wealth will change the way you see the world.
Sadly, you’ll likely notice how increasingly rare the characteristics Shanahan describes manifest in our modern world. As you’d expect, the dearth is due to the ‘food’ we’re eating.
Deep Nutrition highlights two specific culprits and goes in-depth detailing their dangers. It recommends four broad categories of food and suggests specific ways to incorporate them into our diets.
I suspect that this book will ‘age-well’ as chronic disease overwhelms our healthcare system and its treat-the-symptom approach. I hope that Dr. Cate will continue to put the causal pieces together and make them accessible to anyone interested in protecting themselves and future generations.
jawdfs (verified owner) –
I don’t know about all the claims, but I took some really important stuff from this book that just really made sense to me: 1. Stopped eating breakfast cereals and granola’s, all of which are made in a highly processed fashion with vegetable oils. 2. Stopped eating all processed vegetable oils – literally all oils except virgin olive oil, coconut oil, unrefined.
Always Growing Nutrition<span class="a-icon a-profile-verified-badge"><span class="a-profile-verified-text"></span></span> (verified owner) –
I really enjoyed all the in’s and out’s of this book. It can be a bit heavy with scientific info, but valuable for everyone to read.
L-Consumer (verified owner) –
Dr Shanahan says polyunsaturated fat is bad for us which I agree, but if you look at some of the fats like avocado oil they contain both polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat. I’m assuming the avocado oil was processed which means it got oxidized and those unsaturated fats can produce free radicals.
We are told that avocado oil is healthy for us which is confusing?
Also almonds(nuts) have polyunsaturated fat, but they aren’t processed at least I hope. Since they aren’t processed they’re not oxidized which means that almonds are good for us?
Tyler Jay Hoffman (verified owner) –
Lots of good info in this book but she is way too long winded. I feel like their were far too many anecdotes and she should’ve just stuck to the science. Nevertheless her four pillars are a great foundation to health and I would recommend people follow her plan.
EL (verified owner) –
Everything Doc Cate says makes perfect sense and I can definitely say this book is a worthwhile guide. The science of epigenetics is very well explored. I’m docking one star for the mere reason that no way did this need to be 570 pages. Could have been 150-200 pages MAX. She seems to be in love with the sound of her own typing. I started skipping pages dying to reach the end. Exhausting read but I guess you gotta put up with it.
Hyacynth (verified owner) –
The name says it all. Not for the casual reader looking for quick fix or fad diet nutritional advice. This is a rather detailed and comprehensive book about nutrition. I know some people have written it off because of the controversy around some of the theories on how nutrition affects physical appearance in offspring. But it just makes sense – healthy offspring will generally be more attractive physically because they are more likely to not have compromised development (even minor compromises). She’s not saying that it will make offspring gorgeous by whatever trend is the new beauty standard but it will make healthy looking individuals with optimal physical development, which in itself is a component of being a physically attractive. Should that be the goal? Well, sure, why not? Again, we aren’t talking pure cultural beauty standards but optimal physical development. At least that’s how I took the discussion. Anyway, aside from the “controversy”, it’s a really deep dive into nutrition and a lot to be gained by reading it if you are trying to educate yourself beyond the basics. Also, a lot of respected wellness, fitness and medical experts praise the doctor and reference her work. Plan on it taking a while to get through and digest, and it may not be the ultimate authority on all things nutrition, but it will definitely be a worthwhile read.
PAW (verified owner) –
I am 58 year old woman who has battled weight problems my whole life. At 45 I was diagnosed prediabetic, with hashimotos thyroid, and other health related problems and have been on a quest to heal and find better health since. Though I had improved my health somewhat I could not get the extra 20 pounds I was left carrying to come off and stay off, until I was introduced to Dr. Catherine Shanahan’s book Deep Nutrition which led me to The Fatburn Fix. I snacked to keep from being hungry and keep my blood sugar in check because this is what my functional medicine doctor told me to do. Dr. Cate’s knowledge and the wonderful way she explain’s how our bodies really work has made my transition (Fatburn Fix) to an energetic fatburner with a fully functioning metabolism (among other health improvements) easy and my overall health better than it’s been my entire adult life. I owe my new found life and health to Dr. Cate and am forever grateful for her books and website and the fact that she was willing to share what she knows with everyone and not just the limited few that could become her clients.
KJP (verified owner) –
Dr. Cate Shanahan explains how nutrition, metabolism, and health are related. She justifies her position with medical information, research, and common sense. Once you know how nutrition affects your metabolism and health, you will feel motivated to change what you eat. I’d give this book 5 stars if there weren’t so many boring recipes and meal suggestions. She should just make her points and, perhaps, recommend a recipe book. I think she should publish a recipe book, with pictures, separately.
J. Black (verified owner) –
I first listened to The Fatburn Fix (also written by Dr. Cate Shanahan). As a long distance runner, I have been looking for better information about relying on fat as a running fuel rather than sugar. The Fatburn Fix offers this and much more which led me to her earlier book Deep Nutrition.
Deep Nutrition provides a great deal of evidence regarding Dr. Cate’s conclusions and recommendations. The highly detailed information regarding toxic vegetable oils and the problem with sugar were enlightening. I listened to both books three times on my runs. During that time, I bought copies of both books for myself and my two sons.
Dr. Cate’s books have given me the motivation to eliminate toxic vegetable oils from my diet and to eliminate almost all sugars/sweeteners. At the writing of this review, I have not (knowingly) had sugar/sweeteners in any product/meals for three days. Maybe I can keep it going.
Oscar A Orellana (verified owner) –
After about two weeks of reading this book I Would recommend anyone with any sort of dietary issue to read it. Though the author touches on a lot of good points, the biggest one is when she goes over the grocery store experience. I visited my local grocery store with my girlfriend and the idea was that we were going to read labels as if our lives depended on it. We found out that what the author mentioned was true; that sugar and oils can be found in all main stream foods.
All breads in the bread aisle had all sorts of preservatives, sugars, and oils. We were looking at breakfast sausages and found that they also contained oil blends and small amounts of sugar. Basically everything had sugar!
We have found items here and there that contain no sugar or oil blends and make sure that all of our meals contain a salad of some sort and a minimum of three vegetables. We have felt so energized since switching to this type of eating.
Mallory R. (verified owner) –
I took a LOT of great information from this book and it really got me thinking about what I eat and how what I eat works in my body – but I don’t buy everything she is selling, ESPECIALLY the bold assertions made about uniform beauty. I would recommend if you are interested in nutrition but I would also recommend reading other books to get a more comprehensive and well-rounded perspective.
Relbet (verified owner) –
I am not eloquent but I can tell you that this book will teach you what multi-million dollar corporations do not want you to know. Dr. Shanahan teaches us the 4 pillars of traditional cuisine, and reveals why sugar and industrial seed oils are so terrible for our health.
If you think that the studies “proving” that canola oil is “heart-healthy” are not bought and paid for by the billion dollar industry then you need to read this book.
The only thing I disagree with in general is that, just because a healthy, thriving indigenous population eats something, doesn’t mean we should all be eating it.
WGW (verified owner) –
Dr Cate rocks, and she is an absolute rockstar in the health world. Every body on the planet should read this book.
pco8 (verified owner) –
I love the in depth description of human physiology to explain why certain molecules are bad. Following the diet is easy when you hear the explanation
Biblioholic (verified owner) –
Chronic diseases have exploded in concert with industrial food production. It’s not rocket science, but it does require applying ancestral common sense to food to see cause and effect. Sure wish I’d had a trigger like Deep Nutrition to made me question, think, learn and adapt decades ago. Going forward I’m aiming for a vigorous old age. Hope you can join me!
Kate Siepert (verified owner) –
I didn’t love everything this author wrote, but I sure am compelled by it! She lays out a clear argument about where we come from as a species and where we are going if we continue to mess with our nutrition – the costs to our bodies and our children are pretty bleak. Luckily, she lays out some steps we can take to help boost our health, beauty, and longevity… it seems pretty simple, though she really is describing a complete overhaul to the ways modern people eat. A worthwhile read and some very worthwhile changes to make!
Laura (verified owner) –
This book was recommended to me and since reading it I have completely changed the way I cook for my family and the foods we eat. Since making some simple changes to our diets my husband and I no longer have to take medication for headaches or muscle aches. This book opened our eyes to the way we eat and how important the food is we put into our bodies. Highly recommend reading if you’re ready to come to terms with the importance of nutrition and make changes to the way you consume your food.