Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy

Description

For over a century, we've accepted the scientific consensus that cancer results from genetic disease due to chromosomal damage in cell nuclei. But what if scientists are chasing a flawed paradigm? What if cancer isn't a disease of damaged DNA, but rather of defective metabolism as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction? What if that startling truth could revolutionize our understanding of other diseases too-and show us a radical new path to optimal health? In this groundbreaking guide, the first of its kind, New York Times best-selling author and leading natural-health practitioner Dr. Joseph Mercola explains how nearly all disease is caused by defective metabolic processes. Then he reveals what's causing your metabolism to go haywire: damage and dysfunction in the mitochondria, thousands of which are at work in nearly every cell in your body, generating energy you need to stay alive and well. When mitochondria are damaged in large numbers, it is impossible to stay healthy. Dr. Mercola shows that you can take control of your health simply by giving your body the proper fuel-and it's not what you've been led to believe. A ketogenic diet, very low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, is the way to optimize the biochemical pathways that suppress disease and support healing. And the benefits can be astonishing-not only in treating or preventing serious illness, but in boosting your brainpower, increasing your energy, helping you lose weight and keep it off, and much more. As you read this book, you'll learn in clear, rational terms how your body works at a molecular level. You'll finally understand the type of fuel it's designed to burn in the most efficient way possible. You'll find detailed guidelines for starting a ketogenic eating plan. And you won't have to wait decades for metabolic mitochondrial therapy to make its way into the mainstream. You can build a healthier body and brain starting right now.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is a passionate advocate of natural medicine, a wellness champion, and a visionary who has implemented much -needed changes to our current health-care system. As a physician for over 30 years, he treated tens of thousands of patients at his wellness center outside of Chicago, and in 1997 he created Mercola.com, for the last 13 years the most visited natural health website in the world. A New York Times best-selling author of books including Effortless Healing and The No-Grain Diet, he has also appeared on national news media such as CNN, Fox News, ABC News, TODAY, CBS's Washington Unplugged, and The Dr. Oz Show.

"Dr. Joseph Mercola has been a shining beacon of health wisdom and freedom for decades. His latest book, Fat for Fuel, is a masterpiece of cutting-edge research and practical application. This information, if applied, holds the key to sustainable weight loss and enhanced energy. More than that, this lifestyle plan can help reverse chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer." -- Christiane Northrup, M.D., New York Times best-selling author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and Goddesses Never Age "I truly believe that the concept of Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy will have significant impact on health. As I mentioned in my book, cancer is not likely to occur in people with healthy mitochondria. Dr. Mercola has expanded this concept to a broad range of chronic diseases that involve mitochondrial dysfunction. He provides a clear rationale as well as guidelines for implementation of MMT. This book should be read by anyone interested in maintaining their health without toxic pharmaceuticals." -- Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., author of Cancer as a Metabolic Disease and professor of biology at Boston College "Dr. Mercola's Fat for Fuel eloquently presents the leading edge of science, exploring how best to power your body. This is a life-changing text that not only provides a deep dive into why choosing fat as our primary fuel source powerfully correlates with health and disease resistance, but also delivers in terms of how the reader can easily bring about this fundamentally important change. Health, on a global scale, has suffered profoundly as a consequence of commercially influenced dietary recommendations. Mercola's science-based refutation of this status quo provides a welcome and compassionate response, allowing readers to regain and maintain optimal health." -- David Perlmutter, M.D., F.A.C.N., board-certified neurologist and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan "This remarkable book presents a truly revolutionary program that can help millions of people achieve optimal health. Dr. Mercola clearly explains the importance of mitochondria for metabolic function and carefully guides his readers with detailed practical advice for enhancing their activity. Fat for Fuel will change the way you think about nutrition and your health." -- Leo Galland, M.D., author of The Allergy Solution "In Fat for Fuel, Dr. Mercola beautifully lays out the history--and the myths--behind the high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet that has been at the root of so much illness and death in the last half-century. Dr. Mercola is one of the few who have properly understood and embraced my long-standing belief that one's health and lifespan is mostly determined by the proportion of fat versus sugar one burns over a lifetime. He also understands that excess protein creates another whole set of health-eroding issues. Anyone who values their health should read this book." -- Ron Rosedale, M.D. "The world of nutrition is more confusing than ever. But one thing has become increasingly evident over the past decade: teaching our bodies to use fat instead of glucose as the main fuel source has immense potential to support patients suffering from some of the most devastating chronic diseases. Dr. Mercola's Fat for Fuel will be an invaluable resource for me in two ways: personally, because I'm a cancer patient myself striving to create an environment that will keep my disease at bay, but also professionally as a nutritional therapist. Fat for Fuel will help me inform, educate, and guide my clients." -- Patricia Daly, dipNT, mNTOI, mBANT "Fat for Fuel is another fact-based, insightful book by the visionary Joseph Mercola that will not just change your life, but could literally save it. Dr. Mercola understands how food can preserve wellness or destroy it. Boldly challenging old myths about fat, diet, and healing, he gives practical, step-by-step instructions that will empower you to take control of your health whether you are sick and want to get well, or are healthy and want to stay well." -- Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder, National Vaccine Information Center "Fat for Fuel is required reading for anyone wishing to radically and expeditiously address a current health crisis and also for those of us seeking to ameliorate genetic predispositions as we age." -- Karen Becker, D.V.M. "Dr. Mercola's lifetime of research reaches a crescendo with Fat for Fuel. Every page is a distillation of his genuine passion to optimize human health through diet." -- Travis Christofferson, author of Tripping over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms "Fat for Fuel is a powerhouse of practical, evidence-based information for the clinician and consumer alike. With so much conflicting information in the nutrition world, this book serves as a critical resource for every physician in training or in practice, and for every person eager to avoid the need for those doctors." -- Zach Bush, M.D., endocrinologist "Fat for Fuel is a powerful manifesto reexamining the fat-phobic paradigm that has long dominated the thinking about health and nutrition. This is an extremely valuable guidebook for those seeking to understand and implement transformational dietary changes to boost their metabolic and cellular function. By shifting away from the idea of glucose as the optimal source of energy, Dr. Mercola shows how we can harness the benefits of fat and ketones for clean-burning fuel in the quest for optimal health." -- Michael Stroka, J.D., M.B.A., M.S., C.N.S., L.D.N., executive director, Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists "In 2017, we have many chronic illness epidemics in the USA. At the center of most of those epidemics is the toxic, nutrient-depleted, dysfunctional human cell. And research is now showing us that the most important organelle in that cell contributing to most of these diseases is the mitochondria. In his book Fat for Fuel, Joe Mercola has given us a practical blueprint for how to revive our mitochondria using diet as a powerful foundation, with a few other added simple tools, such as intermittent fasting, exercise, light therapy, and some supplemental nutrients. Dr. Mercola tested the Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy recommendations he makes in this book on himself, with many months of trials and errors and continuous glucose monitoring. He also amassed impressive scientific research from the literature to prove what he recommends on these pages. I highly endorse Fat for Fuel as the most practical do-it-yourself guide available today for people to take back control of their health and resolve chronic illnesses." -- W. Lee Cowden, M.D., M.D.(H), chairman of scientific advisory board, Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine "Science has already shown that eating fat can make you thin. In this pathbreaking book, Dr. Joseph Mercola goes a critical step further, revealing that using fat as your main fuel source can heal your body at a mitochondrial level, restoring energy and well-being and even helping fight cancer and other diseases. Impeccably researched and passionately argued, Fat for Fuel dispels dangerous myths about 'healthful' diets, reveals truths the food industry won't tell you about the food you eat, and starts you on a path to radically transforming your health." -- Mark Hyman, M.D., #1 New York Times best-selling author of Eat Fat Get Thin and Director of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine "Fat for Fuel is a landmark contribution from Dr. Joe Mercola. . . . Metabolism at its core consists of how our mitochondria utilize nutrients, and Dr. Mercola educates his readers on how to choose the nutrients that optimize mitochondrial function. This book will contribute greatly toward our health goals for our entire population as more and more health-care professionals wake up to this understanding of the importance of optimizing mitochondrial metabolism. Fat for Fuel brings mitochondrial function into the mainstream for the healthy benefit of everyone. Bravo!" -- J. William (Will) LaValley, M.D. "Dr. Mercola is a deep thinker with a passion for seeking knowledge about the inner workings of the human body and an open mind about the role of successful alternative treatments that have hard evidence behind them. Dr. Mercola has a knack for describing difficult scientific concepts in simple and entertaining terms that a non-expert can understand. The information he provides is priceless: the result of decades of searching for, and finding, the truths that will keep you on the path to healthy living. You can't afford not to read this book!" -- Stephanie Seneff, Ph.D., senior research scientist, MIT "Dr. Mercola proves once again that he is at the very forefront of natural healing and wellness. With medical science understanding more and more how mitochondrial dysfunction leads to chronic disease, Dr. Mercola provides a simple, natural healing plan with this important new book." -- Jason Fung, M.D., nephrologist and author of The Complete Guide to Fasting "A revolution is growing in medicine, one that revolves around a change from seeing the cell as a membrane-bound bag of water controlled by the all-powerful DNA to a more fluid conception of the cell centered on the central role of the mitochondria. Dr. Mercola is at the forefront of this exciting revolution, and this book gives you both the theoretical basis and practical suggestions for supporting your mitochondria and regaining better health. I would encourage everyone to read this book and strongly consider following Dr. Mercola's many helpful suggestions and guidelines." -- Thomas Cowan, M.D. "A book like Fat for Fuel has been a long time coming. Backed by a wealth of research, Dr. Mercola makes the definitive case that fat, not sugar, is the power source on which our bodies are meant to run, and he outlines what changes we can make in our daily lives to use fat as fuel. KU Integrative Medicine has been waiting for this book!" -- Jeanne A. Drisko, M.D., C.N.S, F.A.C.N., Director, KU Integrative Medicine, and Riordan endowed professor of orthomolecular medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center "Dr. Mercola is one of the most brilliant minds in modern medicine, and he has achieved a true masterpiece with Fat for Fuel. Why? The book defies the status quo and reveals the truth behind everything from why fasting is a healthy habit to why you need to become a fat-burning machine. He even shocks us with the details on how iron can negatively impact mitochondrial health (you'll be surprised). This book is a must-read if you want to optimize your body and brain while systematically eliminating a host of risk factors for chronic disease." -- Ben Greenfield, BenGreenfieldFitness.com (Dr. Mercola's favorite fitness podcast) "In a bold voice and in plain language, Dr. Mercola continues his role as nutrition pioneer for America and the world. This book will educate, embolden, and empower consumers to take charge of their health destiny. Dr. Mercola, pro-health instead of pro-industry, shows us how we can bring in healthy fats and take a number of other key steps to right our own ships. This book should be a wake-up call to spur the medical and dental professions to take nutrition counseling seriously." -- Charlie Brown, J.D., Consumers for Dental Choice "Fat for Fuel consolidates the latest cutting-edge metabolic discoveries into an easy-to-follow system for optimizing your health at the cellular level. It gives people the tools and the knowledge to empower themselves and customize their own dietary therapy." -- Aaron Davidson, founder of Cronometer "Fat for Fuel goes well beyond a book on the health benefits of eating the right types of fat to offer tremendous insights on how to power up your health by ramping up metabolism and boosting cellular energy. It is an incredible book written by a truly insightful thought leader. My hope is that this book will produce the tipping point leading to needed changes in our collective thinking about the power of nutrition as medicine. I highly recommend this book!" -- Michael T. Murray, N.D., co-author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine "Dr. Mercola presents a well-thought-out, well-written case for a healthy diet that is surprisingly high in fats. Over the years I taught many a student about mitochondrial function, and it is a pleasure to see proper emphasis on this all-important cellular powerhouse.Fat for Fuel deserves serious consideration by anyone looking for practical, powerful ways to improve their health." -- Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., editor, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service "Fat for Fuel is a crucial read to obtain and maintain health, especially in the modern pandemic of inflammation-driven chronic diseases. This important book teaches principles most people have not yet heard and extends its reach beyond the small group of practitioners around the world who are already utilizing these methods. Implementing the principles outlined in this book has proved life-changing for thousands and I now expect that this information will transform millions. These tools and strategies are 'the real deal, ' and a proven answer to our current state of dis-ease. The science presented here is clear and well-documented and will change the way you think about what really brings you health and healing." -- Daniel Pompa, D.C. "Fat for Fuel comes at the perfect time. With the cost of health care soaring, we have to take responsibility for protecting our health instead of simply treating disease. Understanding the mechanisms of how we function is essential to a healthy body and brain, and modern-day revolutionary Dr. Mercola has relentlessly dug through the research to bring this latest and greatest knowledge of our bodies to the bookshelf. Not only does this page-turner highlight the need for fat in our diet, it shows us how to prepare our bodies to process and utilize it most efficiently--a key ingredient in the overall strategy to attain optimal health." -- Erin Elizabeth, investigative journalist, author of In the Lymelight, and founder of HealthNutNews.com "I had been playing around with low-carb and keto cooking on and off for a year but not making much progress toward my weight-loss goals. After reading Fat for Fuel I understand that I was limited by a kindergarten-level understanding of the ketogenic diet compared to what I needed to know and do in order to be successful. My father's recent death due to Alzheimer's has motivated me to be deadly serious about doing whatever I can to avoid this and other chronic diseases. I've read hundreds of nutrition books over my lifetime but this one is my favorite and the one I know will make the biggest impact on your health if you have the commitment to follow it to the letter. Once again, an outstanding contribution from Dr. Mercola!" -- Dr. Kendra Pearsall, N.M.D., founder of Enlita.com "Clear the brain fog, build up your energy, prevent disease, be happy! Dr. Mercola shatters the fat myth and shows us the way to ultimate health and healing." -- Dr. Alberto Villoldo, co-author of Power Up Your Brain