--- title: Don’t Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate description: More to read about the changing American diet canonical: https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/ author: Bryan Walsh article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-23T22:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:34:19.424Z article:section: Health og:title: Don’t Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate og:description: More to read about the changing American diet og:url: https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Don’t Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate twitter:description: More to read about the changing American diet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Don't Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=49563fe6-7b64-46a9-9f8c-f8f2927fdef5&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Bryan Walsh](https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/)  ## Bryan Walsh Jun 23, 2014 10:00 PM UTC  by [Bryan Walsh](https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/)  ## Bryan Walsh Jun 23, 2014 10:00 PM UTC The debate over saturated fat—and fat in general—is of interest to anyone looking to eat a healthier diet, as the tremendous response to [TIME’s recent cover story](http://time.com/2863227/ending-the-war-on-fat/) has underscored. For readers interested in diving more deeply into the topic, here are some sources for more information. —Gary Taubes’s 2008 book [_Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health_](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Science/dp/1400033462), as well as his 2002 _New York Times_ _Magazine_ cover story “[What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie](http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/07FAT.html)” and his new project, the [Nutrition Science Initiative](http://nusi.org/) —Dr. Robert Lustig’s 2012 book [_Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Diabetes_](http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Chance-bitter-truth-about-ebook/dp/B0095ZMPTU/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403292934&sr=1-1&keywords=Robert+Lustig) and the Gary Taubes feature about sugar, “[Is Sugar Toxic](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all&%5Fr=0),” from 2011 —Jonny Bowden and Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s 2012 book [_The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease—and the Statin-Free Plan That Will_](http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Myth-Disease--Statin-Free-ebook/dp/B009PKIPOE/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403293241&sr=1-1&keywords=cholesterol) —Dr. William Davis’s 2011 book [_Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health_](http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health-ebook/dp/B00571F26Y/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403293387&sr=1-1&keywords=Wheat+belly) —Journalist Nina Teicholz’s 2014 book [_The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet_](http://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy-ebook/dp/B00A25FDUA/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403537659&sr=8-1&keywords=big+fat+surprise) —The 2014 documentary [_Fed Up_](http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/home), from executive producers Laurie David and Katie Couric, which we wrote about [here](http://time.com/92545/7-not-so-sweet-lessons-about-sugar/) —Michael Moss’s 2013 book [_Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us_](http://www.amazon.com/Salt-Sugar-Fat-Giants-Hooked-ebook/dp/B00985E3UG/ref=sr%5F1%5F4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403293533&sr=1-4&keywords=saturated+fat) —Former FDA commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler’s book [T_he End of Overating_](http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Overeating-Insatiable-American/dp/B004NSVE32), from 2010 —_TIME_ magazine’s [1961 cover on Ancel Keys](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,828721,00.html), the architect of the anti-fat fight movement; our famous 1984 cover [on the danger of cholesterol](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,921647,00.html); a 2002 cover on [what makes us fat](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1003160,00.html); a 2006 [cover about fat-free fat](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983918,00.html), and a 2006 cover [exonerating eggs](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,991517,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/"},"headline":"Don't Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate","datePublished":"2014-06-23T22:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:34:19.424Z","description":"More to read about the changing American diet","url":"https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","fat","Sugar","saturated fat"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bryan Walsh","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2912207/info-about-saturated-fat-and-sugar/","name":"Don't Blame Fat: Sources for Further Reading on the Healthy-Diet Debate"}}]}] ```