The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You

by Sylvia Tara PhD

Overview

A biochemist shows how we can finally control our fat—by understanding how it works.

Fat is not just excess weight, but actually a dynamic, smart, and self-sustaining organ that influences everything from aging and immunity to mood and fertility. With cutting-edge research and riveting case studies—including the story of a girl who had no fat, and that of a young woman who couldn’t stop eating—Dr. Sylvia Tara reveals the surprising science behind our most misunderstood body part and its incredible ability to defend itself. Exploring the unexpected ways viruses, hormones, sleep, and genetics impact fat, Tara uncovers the true secret to losing weight: working with your fat, not against it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393244847
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/27/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	937 KB

About the Author

Sylvia Tara holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Tara was a consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked at the world’s largest biotechnology companies. She lives in the Los Angeles area.

Table of Contents

Prologue Skinny Jeans ix

Introduction-Our Changing Views of Fat 1

I All About Fat

1 The Foundation: Fat Does More Than You Think 11

2 Fat Can Talk 26

3 Your Life Depends on Fat 46

4 When Good Fat Goes Bad 63

5 How Fat Fights to Stay on You 78

II It Is Not Only Food That Makes Us Fat

6 Bacteria and Viruses-Microscopic in Size, Giant in Effect 97

7 I Blame My Parents-Genes in Obesity 121

8 I Am Woman, I Have Fat 132

9 Fat Can Listen 146

III So What Is the Solution?

10 Fat Control I: How You Can Do It 165

11 Mind over Fat 179

12 Fat Control II: How I Do It 191

13 The Future of Fat 202

Acknowledgments 209

Bibliography and References 211

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

"You can outsmart your body fat, but first you must understand it! With the right lifestyle, eating, and exercise approach you can lose weight and keep it off. Learn how in this engaging and informative masterpiece."

Michael Dansinger

"Like comfort food for anyone carrying around a lifetime of guilt for eating an extra cookie."

Hadassah Magazine - Carol Saline

"A useful primer on the biology of fat…. Illuminating."

The New Yorker - Jerome Groopman

"For years we presumed that body fat is just a depot for energy, but current science is proving that it is actually the largest endocrine gland in our body. This enigmatic organ conveys many paradoxes and surprises; depending on its location, color and genetic makeup it might be either dangerous or protective. Sylvia Tara dove deeply in science of fat and adeptly explains it all in this fascinating book."

Osama Hamdy

"Biochemist Tara gives readers the skinny on fat in a lively discussion that incorporates sumo wrestlers, a bloated diet industry, [and] genetics… Readers will discover that, regardless of body size and shape, fat does some heavy work on our behalf."

Booklist - Tony Miksanek

"Powerful… [Tara’s] research and insight is deeply perspective-shifting."

Melissa Wuske

"Body fat is so much more than a passive calorie storage depot, as Sylvia Tara brilliantly shows. Read The Secret Life of Fat to make friends with this misunderstood and critically important organ."

David S. Ludwig

"A refreshing change to the conflicting advice and opinions about food that we are subjected to every day."

Chemistry World - Philippa Matthews

"Dr. Sylvia Tara addresses important concepts related to the development, prevention, and treatment of obesity. This book will be a very interesting read for lay people interested in fat and obesity, as well as for many in the scientific community—I really enjoyed reading it!"

Carl Lavie

Like comfort food for anyone carrying around a lifetime of guilt for eating an extra cookie.

Hadassah

2016-10-05
Americans spend more money on the war against fat than the war against terror. As Tara writes, “we are indeed a nation at war with a body part.”After the birth of her second child, the author, who has a doctorate in biochemistry and has served as a consultant for major biotech companies, struggled to hold her weight in check with a combination of diet and exercise in order to pass what she describes as the “skinny jeans” test. From her adolescence, dieting and exercise had become an obsession but not a solution, and Tara was on a roller coaster, losing extra pounds on a starvation diet and then gaining them back just by eating dinner. Her professional training fueled her determination to find out why she gained weight while her friends, who ate more and exercised less, remained thin. Examining a variety of scientific studies, she made a surprising discovery. Experiments revealed what she calls “the obesity paradox,” which showed how fat plays an important part in maintaining our overall health. While obesity is a contributing factor to heart disease, the survival rate after heart failure is better for people with “a higher body mass index and higher fat.” Tara also discovered new reports suggesting the possibility that obesity is the result of a viral infection. Ongoing research has identified people with an antibody to the virus who gained significantly greater body mass over a 10-year period. Researchers have also found that fat stores stem cells, which play a vital role in replacing bone, muscle, and cartilage in the body. For Tara, this provides a convincing explanation of why there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of maintaining a healthy weight. The author ably combines an accessible explanation of how the body’s metabolism works with a clear survey of the latest research on obesity. A book that should have wide appeal, not only to those fighting the battle of the bulge.

Kirkus Reviews