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

Name: The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You
Rating: 4.55555534362793 (9 reviews)

Sylvia Tara

Dec 2016 · W. W. Norton & Company

4.6

9 reviews

Ebook

288

Pages

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About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

4.6

9 reviews

M.K. Hobson

April 27, 2017

A tolerably good overview of the science, but way too heavy on "diet book" language (how to "outwit your adipose" and cutsey anthropomorphizations of fat as being "sneaky" or "tricky", etc.) I also got *really* tired of how so many of the personal stories (especially about women) were prefaced by physical descriptions like how cute, blonde, slim, perky, cheekbone-advantaged, etc the woman was. Even some of the women doctors quoted in the book come in for this silly romance-novely treatment. I'm sure the author was going for "friendly and relatable" but for me, she landed with a thud on "minimizing."

3 people found this review helpful

Alex B

March 7, 2017

The book is great. It will teach you so much about fat! I wish family sharing was turned on for this title. It's very inconvenient. The more people that read this the better for everyone.

5 people found this review helpful

Khalis

October 26, 2017

Delivers important and useful knowledge in an interesting way.

2 people found this review helpful

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.

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