Billed as “An Indispensable Guide to All the Fats You’re Likely to Encounter,” by Rosemary Stanton, PhD, “Australia’s best-known nutritionist,” this little volume is dedicated to “all those who think fat is a foe.” Unfortunately, Stanton does little to ease consumer fears of fat, in fact, she stokes those fears from the very first paragraph: “Americans are recoiling from fat as if it were poison. Some of us are even suffering from total fat phobia, hating every hint of softness on our bodies and shunning fats at every turn.” She then starkly describes the modern increase in obesity, laying the blame squarely at the feet of fat consumption.
Stanton’s politically correct take-home message is that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good and saturated fats are bad. Anything that contains saturated fat is badeven poly or monounsaturated margarines are bad, not because they are full of highly processed oils but because they contain some saturated fat!
Stanton likes to trash traditional beliefs about nutrition. She is sarcastic about the notion that “a plump child is a sign of health and good parenting” and the “widespread belief that well-rounded women are more attractive, possibly because they are generally more fertile, and fertility is still prized.” But it’s not good to be too thin, either, she says, because excess thinness results in the cessation of female hormone production, “nature’s way of preventing pregnancy in a body that does not have enough fat stores to support a healthy pregnancy and period of lactation.” So does Stanton think it is good to have some fat stores or not, or that fertility is a good thing or not? Her statements are so conflicting that it is hard to say. And the whole book is like that.
The chief crime of saturated fats, according to Stanton, is that they result in “harder cell membranes and more solid body fat.” She seems to be unaware of the fact that our body temperature is tropical, and saturated fat at tropical temperatures is not “hard.” Without plenty of saturated fatty acids in our warm cell membranes, these vital structures lack proper structural integrity; they become “leaky” and cannot function properly.
Wagging the pointed finger of food Puritanism, Stanton promotes the lie that our ancestors consumed a “virtuous” diet low in fat, especially saturated fat. Yet she then contradicts herself when she warns that “home style home-cooked foods” are not a good idea, because they contain a lot of fat.
The contradictions in this book are enough to make the reader dizzy. In Chapter 4, Stanton proclaims that the ideal level of fat consumption is an impossible-to achieve 10 percent of calories. She then points out that the Greeks have a long life expectancy on a diet that contains 45 percent of calories as fat, but. . . those fats are the “good” monounsaturated fats. Then, to add inconsistency upon inconsistency, Stanton presents a chart of countries noted for longevity. With the exception of Japan and Greece, all are western European countries (Australia, France, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra) where dairy foods and meats high in saturated fat are major components of the diet. Two paragraphs later she tells us that these saturated fats in Western diets “lead to fatty deposits in the arteries.” This statement is followed by a warning against the so-called “good” polyunsaturated fats, because they can oxidize and cause damage, a statement that happens to be correct. Then we learn that polyunsaturates are good because they lower “bad” LDL-cholesterol, but they are bad because the reduce levels of “good” HDL-cholesterol. All this in three short pages. The overall effect is one of utter confusion!
Next we learn that growing children need pre-formed vitamin A. “This is the reason that young children should be given regular milk rather than skim milk, which lacks fat.” According to Stanton, it’s fine for young children to have “High-fat but nutritious foods such as avocado, nuts or nut butters, seeds, [not sources of vitamin A, by the way] fatty fish, eggs, good quality meats, milk, cheese and yogurt. . .” but not for older children and adults to consume these foods. Apparently, most of the foods that humans eat are suddenly not nutritious when a person reaches a certain unspecified age. . . but they are OK again when you become elderly!
And there are more mistakes, many more mistakes. She blames the problems caused by trans fats, such as diabetes, on saturated fats and claims that trans fats affect your body “in much the same way as saturated fat” when in fact the effects of trans and saturated fats are oppositethe trans fats have bad effects while saturated fats support good health. Stanton condemns fast food but for the wrong reasons, claiming that fast food is a source of saturated fat, rather than trans fat, advising her readers to “. . . reduce foods that are drenched in saturated fats, such as fast and fried foods, baked goods, pastries, butter and sweets. . .” The only food in this list that is high in saturated fat is butter.
Stanton erroneously calls cholesterol a fat and claims that “if your diet is high in saturated fat, you may be making more cholesterol than you need”reference please! Another mistake: “Research now shows conclusively that fat in the diet is the major culprit in producing body fat.” We’d like to see that “conclusive” research.
Ironically, Stanton’s dietary prescription of more starchy foods and emphasis on consumption of monounsaturated fats is a recipe for food cravings and weight gain. . . not to mention malnutrition. Read this book as a superb example of modern dietary schizophrenia, not as an “indespensible guide.”
About the Author...
Sally Fallon is founding president of the Weston A Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education foundation with over 400 local chapters and 9000 members. She is also the founder of A Campaign for Real Milk, which has as its goal universal access to clean raw milk from pasture-fed animals. Author of the best-selling cookbook Nourishing Traditions and also of Eat Fat Lose Fat (Penguin), both with Mary G. Enig, Phd, Sally has a encyclopedic knowledge of modern nutritional science as well as ancient food ways. Her grasp on the work of Weston Price is breath taking and her passion for health freedom, inspiring. In each edition of Nourished Magazine Sally answers your questions about nutrition, health, food and medical politics. Send us an email with your question and we'll put it to her.
Jul 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 am
Greece has the highest per capita cheese consumption in the world - 25 kg a year - that’s half a kilo a week! Usually from sheep or goats that graze free range on the mountain sides, so the cheese is full of nutrients, and it’s definiately not low fat. Funny how you never hear about this from proponents of the Mediterranean diet, like Rosemary Stanton.
Jul 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Here is a task for all you fellow nourishers. Go to google images and type in ‘rosemary stanton’ and judge for yourself just how healthy she looks. This should give you an indication of what following her guidelines will make you look like!
Jul 11th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
She grew up on home grown, home made food so her bone structure is alright but yes, her skin is getting quite crisp these days. Interesting her upbringing actually. Makes you wonder about her nutritional philosophy:
ABC radio program “talking heads” transcript 10/7/6
“PETER THOMPSON: Back in those early days, it seems like your childhood was really overshadowed by this membership of the Exclusive Brethren. How did it start for the family?
ROSEMARY STANTON: Well, my parents joined the Brethren when their first baby died and their next-door neighbours were Brethren and offered them great comfort. So we had this strange upbringing - that we weren’t allowed to mix with other people. We kept very much to ourselves and just to the Brethren group. So it was very restrictive, and, of course, we were brainwashed into believing all sorts of things and anyone who questioned anything was immediately said to have… Satan was in them - they had the Devil in them, so you weren’t allowed to question.
PETER THOMPSON: It was very hierarchical and male-dominated, wasn’t it?
ROSEMARY STANTON: Absolutely male-dominated. We always had to sit at the back, they had to be quiet. Women were not allowed to be teachers. They were not allowed to have too much education because then they might have some authority over a man. And you also had to wear a ribbon in your hair to signify that you accepted that the man was the head of the woman. Now that’s since changed to a scarf but it’s not like Muslim women wearing a scarf as a sign of modesty. The scarf for the Exclusive Brethren, or the ribbon as it was in those days, is actually a sign that you accept that the man is the head of the woman. Now this didn’t go down very well with me.
PETER THOMPSON: This notion of being exclusive really was about not being infected by the outside world, wasn’t it? Just mixing with your own in-group?
ROSEMARY STANTON: Absolutely. You didn’t have anything to do with anyone else and in fact the greatest sin you could ever have would be to enter a church. Now we certainly didn’t go to the movies - I’d never been into a picture theatre. I’d never heard a radio. My parents turned a blind eye to reading books. You were allowed to read school books - but you weren’t supposed to read other ones. They didn’t mind me reading, and so I was an avid reader. But there were lots of things that I’d just never done. As a child you don’t necessarily know that you’re missing out on those things. And of course there were lots of their meetings, their services, that you would go to several nights a week and three times on Sundays.
PETER THOMPSON: Was there an upside to all of this?
ROSEMARY STANTON: Well, I often think about that and I think… I was dragged along as my father would be preaching on the street corner and handing out little pamphlets to people, I’ve thought - did that actually influence me to want to preach the gospel of health?
PETER THOMPSON: To make you a missionary of some sort.
ROSEMARY STANTON: Maybe it did. I often wonder - is that where it all started? And maybe it did.”
Reminds me of so many super hero stories where the bad guy meglomaniac reveals his painful childhood.
Jul 16th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Rosemary Stanton doesn’t know what she is talking about. She is one confused woman - I think she needs some saturated fats in her diet!
Jul 22nd, 2007 at 3:07 am
My experience dealing with a low fat diet was dry skin, rashes, painful - kreaky joints, allergies, high cholesterol, hormone problems, you name it. Many of my client’s conditions improved when reasonable amounts of healthful oils and fats were consumed.
Although I believe fat can be over consumed which could interfer with digestion, and cause a type of indigestion, but to eliminate it completely would leave one susceptible to those maladies mentioned above.
Sincere for health,
CEG
Jan 24th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I take it all back Rosemary.
http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/nourished-in-a-major-newspaper
Jul 21st, 2008 at 10:41 am
Just wondering what degrees, education ect Sally Fallon has in the field of nutrition, other than an “encyclopedic knowledge” that is. She may be right, she may not, but I’d prefer to know her credentials before I accept her “facts” as “facts”. Meanwhile I’d have more respect for opinions counter to Rosmary Stanttons if those offering such opinioins would lay off the character assasination and the nasty little comments on her appearance.
Jul 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Lisa, degrees mean diddly squat when what you are writing is incorrect. Stanton is just continuing the fat phobia.
Bottom line is when you don’t get enough fat in your diet it can result in dry skin, rashes, hormonal problems etc.
Jul 21st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Hi Lisa,
Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
I’m sure Rosemary is a lovely lady, but unfortunately her looks are not a very good advertisement for what she preaches… Just my opinion though. Nothing personal.
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Sally Fallon has a masters degree in English. Her writing is wonderful and her culinary skills extraordinary, but it is her extensive research that is the power in her work.
Many scientists are members of the Weston A Price Foundation including Mary Enig whose ground breaking work on lipids totally turns Stanton’s book on its head.
University trained Nutritionists do not research as deeply as do the independent minds of those involved in the Weston A Price Foundation. They simply regurgitate what they’ve been told is the truth. Most Nutrition Degrees are filled with doctrine and propaganda parading as science and facts. Reviewing the political history of the food pyramid is enough to invite you to question the validity of the so called science used to create the ‘beliefs’ most degrees in Nutritional Science are based upon.
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Also, if you can read the book by Gary Taubes - Good Calories, Bad Calories - it will open your eyes about the validity of some of the so called healthful things we are encouraged to do - like eat low fat. Key’s specifically chose the 6 countries that would confirm his cholesterol causes heart disease and that sent us into a spiral of low-fat propaganda.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
an absolutely disgusting and irresponsible review.
Oct 15th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Dear Elsa,
A few years back I would have said exactly the same thing and would have felt as disgusted as you are. There’s actually scientific research that backs up the reviewers opinion. We don’t believe this because it’s trendy (it’s so not!) or follow it blindly. I actually spent a year researching the diet followed on this site and I was actually open to it because my kids had health problems in spite of a diet low in sugar, junk food and high in veges, fruits and wholemeal grains. Something was missing. So by all means feel outraged but at least research the claims made.