Cereal Killer

by Alan L. Watson

A short, succinct critical history of the low fat era; answering the question, has the low fat diet failed the test of time? This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Perfect Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972048111
• ISBN13: 9780972048118
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Diet Heart Publishing
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Atkins Without Atkins

I have read several books about obesity and weight loss but Cereal Killer is number one. Chapter 7, Atkins Without Atkins, by itself, is worth the price of this book. Watson explains Atkins and puts the Atkins Diet in a historical perspective. Watson says there is a simple explanation for weight gain in our society: Excess carbohydrates - especially the "high glycemic" fast-sugar-release carbohydrates. If I'm not mistaken, these foods - like breakfast cereal and breakfast bars - have been at the base of the Food Guide Pyramid for decades. After reading Cereal Killer, I was convinced that all the body can do with any extra carbohydrates is turn them into fat. But Cereal Killer isn't just carb-bashing; the book provides easy-to-read comprehensive information about dietary fat and cholesterol. In easy terms, we learn that LDL is not only not a "bad" thing - but that it's not even cholesterol. Appendix I is a comprehensive review of all heart disease risk factors - better summarized here in Cereal Killer than anywhere else. If you are confused about weight loss, obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease and don't know what to eat for breakfast, read this book first.

Cereal Killer and Good Calories, Bad Calories

This review offers a comparison of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom of Diet, Weight Control, and Disease, and Alan Watson's Cereal Killer: The Unintended Consequences of the Low Fat Diet. The primary thesis of both books is that the established health advice of the last few decades--avoid fats in favor of carbohydrates--is wrong. Both cite ample evidence that we should depend on diets that are relatively higher in fats, and relatively lower in carbohydrates, especially the highly refined carbohydrates including sugars. Both single out a particular sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, for special avoidance. Both question the value of today's preoccupation with cholesterol. Both authors have spent years researching the topic, and while their positions are congruent, there are a number of interesting differences. Gary Taubes, in Good Calories, Bad Calories, traces the historical development of the recommended low fat diet and the carbohydrate-heavy food pyramid. Rather than lambasting the process by which our nutrition advice went so awry, he dispassionately traces, in incredible depth, the medical studies, people, organizations, and events that led to this situation. In so doing, he built credibility with me. Considering the well-documented sequence of events and influences, it became convincing that the organizations we respect for guidance actually got it quite wrong. However, I found the convoluted and voluminous detail to be excruciating; the book goes 453 pages before it provides us with Taubes' well-reasoned conclusions. But, it was certainly worth the effort to read, and it provided me with new information. For example, a) weight gain or loss is not determined primarily by total calorie intake vs. calorie expenditure, or b) while the glycemic index is widely respected as an indicator of the metabolic impact of carbohydrates, fructose does not register on that scale. I think of Alan Watson's very inviting and easy-to-read 144-page Cereal Killer as a handbook. Both authors address a gamut of health issues, but Watson centers on cardiovascular health while Taubes spends more time on weight gain and obesity. Watson's style is brief and to the point. His succinct review of fats, a complex subject, seems exceptionally understandable. Bulleted lists are presented in place of paragraphs of prose. Each chapter ends with a friendly "More to Explore..." section that provides helpful suggestions for further reading. A sprinkling of photos--of the Watson family, cows, and such--give it a pleasant and homespun quality. Cereal Killer goes beyond the narrow focus on carbohydrates vs. fats, to other related topics, such as grass-fed beef, and lard, but it left me wondering whether these topics were as well-supported by clinical studies as the fundamental carbohydrate vs. fat issue. Throughout, this book is a model of clarity and conciseness while presenting valuable information about which the author is passio

WOW!!!!

This book should be constantly sold out. If people care about themselves and or their friends and family they better read, buy and keep a copy in their houses for the rest of their lives!!! This is timeless and what I would like to call "God's Diet". In other words, if God didn't make it, you shouldn't eat it. No wonder the medical industry and pharmaceutical companies continue to cash in regardless of all the lawsuits filed and obvious misleadings of what are supposed "governmental leaders." I am enraged knowing that I lost multiple family members because of simple ignorance and literal brainwashing through mass media campaigns. "Genetic Predisposition"?, Give me a break!!! (ok, maybe with a small exception or two) Well of course your DNA changes when you spend your whole life shoving your face with MAN-MADE chemicals and products that are called "food" I have a feeling, it's all a big money making scam. Why don't the Call the American Heart Association the "UN amercian Heartless DisAssocitaion"? But they can't all have jobs and money if we dont have health issues, right? What a crock. I am so glad someone finally STEPPED UP and called these fools out. We are ameriCAN's not ameriCANT's and if we can't get the REAL INFO that is sooooo simply delivered in this book, in order to live better QUALITY of LIFE we deserve, then who cares about the QUANTITY of life we have. I'd rather be dead than spend the rest of my life finding "the right health path", when the obvious solutions addressed in CEREAL KILLER are right in front of us. WAKE UP AMERICA!!! Read this book and DO SOMETHING for YOURSELVES and your loved ones. The government WILL NOT do it for you!

Easy to understand weight loss advice

I've read many articles and books about obesity, weight loss, and diabetes, but Cereal Killer was easiest to understand. Just the weight loss chapter - "Atkins without Atkins" - is worth the price of the book. I've been reading Gary Taubes' Good Calories Bad Calories but it is lengthy and I get bogged down. If you are looking for an easier read (read mine in two days), clear succinct information about dietary fat, and a simple explanation for what causes diabetes and heart disease, Cereal Killer is a great choice. Besides - it's got an absolutely great cover! I was both educated and entertained.

Challenge the Conventional Wisdom

Once again Alan Watson challenges the conventional ideology concerning what we should and should not consume with his latest book "Cereal Killer." The American Heart Association continues to shovel false information down the throats of the American consumers about that dreaded word "Fat". The facts on High vs. Low and Saturated vs. Unsaturated has been a hot button issue for all of us and strikes fear in our minds about it's affects on our heart and body. This scientifically proven information dispels the myths surrounding our intake of Fat and how it affects our overall health. Statements about Fat and High Cholesterol have been drummed into our heads as something bad and unhealthy without giving us the knowledge required to understand the proper use of fat in our diet and how it can and will be advantageous to our health. Part I discusses the unintended consequences of low fat; while Part II explains the value of saturated fat and foods rich in cholesterol. The federal nutrition guidelines will be revised in 2010 concerning these important issues. "Cereal Killer" is out there challenging the corn syrup pushers who intend to spend $30 million between now and 2010 to make sure the guidelines don't single them out of the food supply. This is a must read for all to understand how to become truly informed and challenge the conventional theory and enjoy the foods that we are told not to eat. Enjoy...