Susanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food , by Suzanne Somers
Before she began penning diet books, the only remotely health-related entry on Suzanne Somers' resume was an infomercial for a thigh exerciser. She brings no nutrition credentials to bear on this book, which blames excess fat on the tendency of the body's enzymes to "cancel each other out." Her solution, a Byzantine process of eliminating "Funky Foods" and separating the rest into "Somersized Food Groups" for mixing and matching, has no nutritional basis. Somers maintains that when proteins and carbohydrates are eaten together, their enzymes "cancel each other out," creating a halt in the digestion process and causing weight gain. Unfortunately, this reasoning is based on assumptions that are completely false. In fact, the body contains enzymes that are specifically keyed to individual proteins, carbohydrates and fats. These enzymes do not "cancel each other out," because they remain in different areas of the digestive tract. Furthermore, if digestion did not occur, the resulting lack of protein and carbohydrate absorption would most likely result in weight loss, not the weight gain Somers' predicts. Somers' advice not to drink water with meals because it dilutes the digestive juices and slows digestion is also without merit. In most other particulars, the Somers's plan closely resembles the three diets AICR reviewed above, and places the dieter at similar risk. In defending her high-fat plan, Somers states that no reliable long-term studies have shown any negative effects associated with increased fat consumption. This is an untrue assertion. A 1997 American Institute For Cancer Research report, Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, identified numerous studies possibly linking a high fat intake with an increased risk of several cancers and other chronic diseases. The report went on to develop a set of general dietary guidelines that protect against disease while promoting overall health.
Return to Diet main menu |
