Fats Are Good for You: How Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Actually Benefit the Body [Paperback]

Jon J. Kabara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2008

Common wisdom, encouraged by pharmaceutical companies with a financial interest in the matter, invariably blames cholesterol and saturated fats for everything from heart disease to stroke. Distilling 50 years of research on the subject, and citing studies largely ignored by the mainstream, Fats Are Good for You and Other Secrets offers a provocative challenge to this idea. Author Jon Kabara begins by revealing the surprisingly varied roles played by fats and cholesterol in the body — as a source of all sex hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids, and a necessary factor in digestion and the formation of cell membranes. The author describes the powerful antimicrobial and antiviral effects of fats and their positive influence on oral health. He examines the relationship of dietary fat to the immune system and the role it plays in cancer, and continues with a detailed look at how plaque buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis) begins and how inflammation and infection, rather than fat and cholesterol, cause its development. Kabara’s sensible, science-based advocacy for understanding the health benefits of moderate cholesterol and “medium-chain” fats, and the true causes of diseases linked to them, makes this book both important and timely.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dr. Jon Kabara knows and tells the truth in this book about the biomechanics of life. It’s well worth a read and a re-read.”
—John E. Upledger, DO, OMM, and founder of the Upledger Institute, Inc.

Dr. Kabara’s book is easy to read and provides thought-provoking information of interest for both medical professionals and consumers who want to learn more about the role of dietary fat in maintaining/improving their health.”
—Donald Orth, PhD, Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati

“This is a must-read book if you are in research, in clinical medicine, or if you simply want to have a more solid grasp about fats, as a basis for making the right choices on what best to eat."
—Vermén M. Verallo-Rowell, MD, Chairman and Program Director, VMV Skin Research Centre + Clinics

"Fats are Good for You and Other Secrets: How Saturated Fat and Cholestorol Actually Benefit the Body by Jon J. Kabara argues that these substances are essential to optimal body functioning."
—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Jon J. Kabara is an emeritus professor at Michigan State University (MSU), where he helped establish the College of Osteopathic Medicine. A consultant to industry and government, he has been granted more than 16 U.S. and foreign patents. He lives in Lakewood Ranch, FL.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (January 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556436904
• ISBN-13: 978-1556436901
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Really confusing, and contradictory, April 2, 2008

By 

Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fats Are Good for You: How Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Actually Benefit the Body (Paperback)

I should have been cautious that a book sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences and published by a second tier publisher would have been mediocre. Additionally, the editing of this book was absent as it reads like the draft of an unfinished rambling scientific paper. The author, a Ph.D. in pharmacology and biochemistry, almost never speaks of foods, but instead of chemical compounds. Thus, for the layperson it makes for a very hermetic read giving one no clear information on how to modify one's diet. Also, the book is full of repetitions that the reader can find confusing.

Additionally, the book is full of contradictions. Within the same page (74), the author states that the ideal multiple between Omega-6s and Omega 3s is 3 to 5. Just a paragraph later, he states it is 5 to 10. Similarly, on one page (73) he states that Omega 3s suppress the immune system but on another (92) he states they enhance it. Also, several times throughout the book he states that fats should be eaten in moderation. But, at the end of the book his concluding recommendation is a diet dominated by fats with only a "low quantity of carbohydrate and modest amounts of protein."

The book is also an infomercial for Lauricidin, his favorite saturated lipid monolaurin. The book is peppered by its universal health properties. The end of the book consists of 40 pages of testimonials lifted from a Lauricidin website where patients have indicated it cured a range of conditions such as flu, cold, Aids, toenail fungus, prevented tooth decay, etc... Is this for real? Thus, Lauricidin is the latest of expensive miracle supplements one should take (or not).

In view of the above, one may wonder why I am not rating this book a `1'? Well, if you can overcome the hermetic language, repetitions, contradictions, and infomercials, the book provides occasionally some very interesting information. The first one is that "fats" is a very complicated topic. The current labels of unsaturated fats are good and saturated fats are bad are not only a gross simplification; they are plain wrong. You need to disaggregate the family of fatty acids into its very different subgroups of chemical compounds that have different metabolic properties. The author has done that. But, he failed to synthesize what this new taxonomy of fat means in terms of actual foods and diet implications. It will be up to another author to provide the Rosetta stone to translate the chemical compound semantics into plain food vocabulary. The author does uncover that certain fats have very effective antibacterial properties and could provide an effective weapon that could supplement antibiotics. Unlike antibiotics, fats do not trigger bacterial resistance. The author also explains how antibiotic resistance is triggered by including antibiotics in industrial quantities in animal feed and soaps but at "subtherapeutic" levels (meaning levels that are not effective and allow bacteria to rapidly adapt to such antibiotics). All his material on cholesterol and the failing of statins drugs is very good. But, it is mainly an import from Ravnskov excellent The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease that the author strongly recommends too. To his credit, Kabara also focuses on the health risk of people with low cholesterol and finds they have often the multiple of certain cancer risks. From both those authors, you get that striving for very low cholesterol levels is clearly detrimental to your health. The author also indicates how the diet recommendations of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) contradict each other. The AHA strongly supports eating Omega-6s for sustaining cardiovascular health. Meanwhile, the ACS warns against too much Omega-6s because it suppresses the immune system and raises your cancer risk. So, this book does contain much interesting and original information.

In addition to Ravnskov's book that is excellent, the author also recommends The Great Cholesterol Con and Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease: From the Cholesterol Hypothesis to w6/w3 Balance (World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics). I have not read them, but if they are as good as Ravnskov's book, they are definitely worth a look.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This Is Nothing New, August 29, 2008

By 

D. E. Ruilova "Marian the Librarian" (So Cali) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fats Are Good for You: How Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Actually Benefit the Body (Paperback)

I already knew that fats were good for me. This guy has something to sell.

A better book is Good Calories Bad Calories, or Eat Fat Lose Fat, or Nourishing Traditions.

Good Calories Bad Calories was actually the best because it explains how the last 50 years of so-called research "proving" low fat was totally rigged.

Eat Fat Lose Fat was valuable because of how Mary Enig, who is a lipid researcher explains how the big corporations tried to buy research results to prove that low fat was right.

Get off your statins and eat fat. It is the natural way to get your body to stop over producing cholesterol. And oh yes, stop the sugar and starchy carbs. You'll be shocked at the results. Also poke a finger in the eye of big pharma.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 200-plus page info commercial!, March 24, 2010

By 

Wiliam J. King "knowledge seeker" (by the beach in FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fats Are Good for You: How Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Actually Benefit the Body (Paperback)

After reading about 20 pages I realized I had been "had." The author, Dr. Kabara kept referring to his wonder lipid product - "Lauricidin" over and over again as well as touting his commercial web site ([...]). Kabara is simply a tawdry hawker of goods, his goods! His web site is so pretentious with mention of all his credentials and articles. BUT when it comes time to provide a scientific basis for his statements about his wonder lipid product all he can provide are testimonials. How scientific! He actually has the temercity to state that the reason he has no scientific, double blind studies to support his claims of his wonder product is, ready - "Drug claims cannot be made for Lauricidin®. It is difficult and expensive to conduct double-blind drug type experiments [BTW, they are called research studies, NOT experiments] for dietary supplements to support such drug claims.....However, anecdotal positive reports from thousands of grateful users worldwide suggest that serious consideration should be given to Lauricidin® as an important supplement for attaining and maintaining health rather than for disease treatment alone." Incredibly, in the same paragraph Kabara states that "Human studies underway today support the many benefits of Lauricidin® when used daily as a dietary food supplement." What studies? I thought there were no studies [sorry, experiments]. And by the way - where are these studies??

Kabara does boldy state that "Dr. Kabara was the first to pursue the unique health benefits of Lauricidin®. Lauricidin® has now been extensively tested in university, government (CDC) and medical laboratories. As a result, his initial finding have [sic, has] been confirmed by many others and reported in peer reviewed scientific journals, books and patents (See references in other sections of this web page)." Well, if even one of these "confirmations" was dispositive as to the efficacy of his wonder supplement why not have it prominently plastered on his web site. The reason is, there is none! Kabara is a master of verbal machinations wherein the words are empty husks. The linked articles are laughable. Just one will do, conclusion "The studies suggest that GML [glcerol monlaurate - not his wonder product by the way] is safe for chronic use in monkeys, when applied vaginally...." I kid you not!! Now that would sure convince me to purchase Lauricidin, and of course buy a female monkey and then have some fun.

I gues the real irony is that Kabara is a dead ringer for the heroic pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, that landed the US Airways jet on the Hudson River (see his picture on the web site)

Don't waste a dime on this 200-plus page info commercial!