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Are Aliens Making You Fat?

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Naturopathic physician Dr. Scott Olson has come up with a different angle in helping those who are battling the bulge--HUMOR! How else do you explain a title like ARE ALIENS MAKING YOU FAT? What's funny is how many people who have struggled for years to get their weight under control might actually believe the answer to that question is YES. But the point Dr. Olson is making with this book is that far too many people are walking around overweight, struggle to keep weight off, endure a whole host of chronic diseases, and seemingly keep getting bigger and bigger as years go by. Find out why within the pages of this book.

It doesn't take long to see what he believes the real culprits are in this whole weight and health equation: sugar, foods that act like sugar (starchy carbohydrates primarily), natural sugars (can you say fruit?), and artificial sweeteners (they removed the sugar, but what they replaced it with may not be any better). But I gotta admit that he lost me when he started talking about the role dietary fat plays in this when he claims that fat makes you fat and leads to disease. This is simply not true as evidence by a plethora of recently-published research studies over the past few years showing saturated fat isn't the great health enemy we've been led to believe that it is. I'm surprised Dr. Olson fails to mention the work of Dr. Ronald Krauss who showed this in a monumental study published in 2010.

While fat does indeed have 9 calories per gram compared with just 4 calories per gram of protein and carbohydrate, that's not really the point. Fat satiates and fills you up faster and longer which means there is a spontaneous reduction in the total number of calories consumed. But the beauty of cutting sugar out of your diet and foods that turn to sugar in the body is the fact that you are able to consume more fat without consequence. Of course, I'm referring to natural sources of fat like the kind in meats and hard cheeses and not Crisco or high-omega-6 vegetable oils.

The proclamation that "fat in our diet causes many problems" is just plain wrong, Dr. Olson, and you should know better. High-fat, low-carb diets are showing incredible weight loss and health improvement results in countless numbers of people, including myself. It's the high-carb, high-fat diets that are packing on the pounds which must be the target of your dissertation on this subject. Unfortunately, that's not clearly stated in your book.

I can appreciate that Dr. Olson puts the focus on how people are addicted to foods, but there is no such thing as a fat addiction. Sugar? Yes. Carbohydrates? Absolutely. Saturated fat? Impossible. There's some decent information in the rest of the book about not pushing calories too low, exercising, nixing the grains and dairy, and shedding your diet of processed foods. But this unnecessary fat-phobia was very difficult for me to get past knowing that it is not based on the science I have been following the past few years. I highly recommend you read Dr. Uffe Ravnskov's brilliant book on this called Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You.

I have had this book for a very long time sitting there gathering dust, and completely forgot to read it or didn't have the time. Today I sat and read the whole thing in one sitting and wondered why I didn't read it before. I am someone who has struggled with addiction to sugar and I never really understood why. This book explains the various reasons and factors behind weight gain, unhealthy addictions, and problems of fats and sugars. More importantly,it on also provides sound, stable advice on getting out of the food trap and setting yourself free. It is written in a personal manner, and very simply and does not overload you with info that you do not need. I would highly recommend this book. It will change the way you think about what you are eating.

Dr. Olson has done it again! First in Sugarettes and now in this new book "Are Aliens Making You Fat?" he lays out healthy eating and nutrition in such an easy, smart and understandable way. His common sense approach is sure to be easily understood by all, while hard science buffs, can rest assured that his research is all extremely well presented, citing over 50 studies, as well as numerous books.

I loved the comic side of how aliens are tied to our current state of health and weight problems. It is only as absurd, as thinking that the health agencies and government have your back when it comes to the food sold in stores and restaurants. This book presents a clear wake up call for a return to real food, and a weight loss program that is sure to give results.

The only question then becomes how badly do you want your weight gone. Dr. Olson lays out a pretty much full proof way to lose the pounds. If you are sick and tired of battling with your weight and health issues.... take the challenge... do the personal experiments laid out in the book... and see what happens.... after all, what have you got to lose, but weight itself. Some may be disappointed by his approach, hoping to have gotten some quick fix diet scheme or not have their traditional view of food shattered, but this goes beyond all of that.

There are also recipes provided to ensure an easy transition to not a diet, but a new, health and weight loss promoting way of life.

Love this book. The alien analogy was interesting. As always, Dr. Olson describes what sugar does to the body and how to avoid eating sugar and sugar like foods. I was successful with his Sugarettes book challange and am starting this new challange. It is similiar to the first but more challanging. If you desire a vegan life style this is your book. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.