Always hungry? Conquer cravings, retrain your fat cells, and lose weight permanently

In this ode to whole, natural foods, Ludwig, professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, criticizes the dieting tradition of counting calories. Although a bottle of cola and a handful of nuts may have the same calories, they certainly don't have the same effects on metabolism, he writes. Good point. He urges people to go easy on processed foods and simple carbohydrates and go big on healthy fats and proteins. A recipe for a power shake even calls for some heavy cream. Why? What drives the pancreas to produce too much insulin which causes weight gain? he writes. Carbohydrates. He intersperses his general advice with patients' stories. Like Ludwig himself, these folks lost weight without dieting. Expect to find charts with the glycemic load of carb-containing foods and the phases of his program. He ends with an arresting epilogue titled Ending the Madness, which reveals how the U.S. government essentially subsidizes the production of grains with low nutritional quality over nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Now that's food for thought.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2015 Booklist

Ludwig, a professor at Harvard Medical School and its School of Public Health, shows why counting calories doesn't work. The author explains that what we eat is more important than how much and describes the effects of high and low glycemic load. High-glycemic foods flood the body with sugar, and then cause a sugar crash. Low-glycemic foods result in the body feeling full sooner and take longer to digest, thereby evening out metabolism and reducing or eliminating cravings. VERDICT Ludwig's meal plans and recipes are excellent. This quality book on the basics of losing weight will appeal to all types of readers. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.