Dark Calories by Catherine Shanahan Summary
Overview of Dark Calories
In "Dark Calories," Dr. Catherine Shanahan exposes how vegetable oils destroy our health. This Cornell-trained physician's work has LA Lakers' Gary Vitti claiming it "may be the most significant healthcare decision you'll ever make." What everyday ingredient is silently damaging your cells?
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Key takeaways
When Your Kitchen Became a Chemistry Lab
What if the very foods marketed as "heart-healthy" were quietly sabotaging your metabolism? Picture walking through a grocery store, carefully selecting products labeled "cholesterol-free" and "low-fat," believing you're making wise choices. Yet hidden in over 80% of packaged foods lurks an ingredient so pervasive that it now constitutes roughly 30% of the average American diet-vegetable oils. When professional basketball teams eliminated these oils from their athletes' diets, the results were so dramatic that the practice spread across the NBA, contributing to championship victories. Dr. Drew Pinsky, skeptical at first, admitted after just two weeks: "If you had told me I would feel this good, I wouldn't have believed you." These aren't exotic superfoods or expensive supplements-this transformation came simply from removing something that shouldn't have been there in the first place. What we call "vegetable oils" aren't squeezed from carrots or broccoli but extracted from seeds through industrial processes involving gasoline-like chemicals and temperatures exceeding 400 degrees. Understanding how these oils infiltrated our food supply-and what they're doing inside our bodies-reveals one of modern nutrition's greatest deceptions.
The Industrial Invasion of Our Food Supply
The Cellular Catastrophe Unfolding in Your Body
The Obesity Paradox Nobody's Talking About
The Hunger That Hijacks Your Brain
The Great Cholesterol Con
Reclaiming Your Metabolic Freedom
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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