Q: I haven't seen Dr. Sears' comments on the 2007 book by Gary Taubes. His thesis, as I understand it, is that heart disease research of the past 50 years is quite flawed. He raises considerable doubt on the cholesterol, dietary fat and heart disease hypothesis. He states, "Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization." I would appreciate Dr. Sears' comments on this book.
A: Gary Taubes’ book is rich in excellent historical research. However, doubts about the role of cholesterol and dietary fat in the development of heart disease were pointed out in my first book, “The Zone,” that was published 12 years before Taubes’ book. Somehow any reference to my work seemed to be overlooked by Taubes, even though The Zone was one of the top-selling 150 books of the past 15 years.