The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them

Susan Allport

Sep 2006 · California Studies in Food and Culture Book 15 · Univ of California Press

About this ebook

A nutritional whodunit that takes readers from Greenland to Africa to Israel, The Queen of Fats gives a fascinating account of how we have become deficient in a nutrient that is essential for good health: the fatty acids known as omega-3s. Writing with intelligence and passion, Susan Allport tells the story of these vital fats, which are abundant in greens and fish, among other foods. She describes how scientists came to understand the role of omega-3s in our diet, why commercial processing has removed them from the food we eat, and what the tremendous consequences have been for our health. In many Western countries, epidemics of inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders have been traced to omega-3 deficiencies. The Queen of Fats provides information for every consumer who wants to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and obesity and to improve brain function and overall health. This important and compelling investigation into the discovery, science, and politics of omega-3s will transform our thinking about what we should be eating.

* Includes steps you can take to add omega-3s to your diet

* Shows why eating fish is not the only way, or even the best way, to increase omega-3s.

* Provides a new way to understand the complex advice about the role and importance of fats in the body

* Explains how and why the food industry has created a deadly imbalance of fats in our foods

* Shows how omega-3s can be reintroduced to our diet through food enrichment and changes in the feeding of livestock

About the author

Susan Allport is author of The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love and A Natural History of Parenting: Parental Care in the Animal World and Ours, among other books. She lectures widely on issues related to food and health.