I had been looking forward to reading this, Dr. Mercola’s new book, but am somewhat disappointed.

Basically, the book informs us of the importance of “eating plenty of high-quality fats and activating the body’s natural ability to burn fat for its primary fuel instead of glucose”.

The author tells us that cancer and most chronic diseases are caused by defective metabolic processes in the mitochondria; he explains that mitochondria are “tiny energy factories” within our cells that convert our food and air into energy.

He presents a programme called Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy (MMT).

MMT is a system of eating that will help shift our metabolism from burning glucose as our primary fuel to burn fat instead. Making this shift optimizes our mitochondrial function and protects our mitochondrial DNA from potential damage that could lead to disease.

MMT is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carb diet, whereas most of us eat “excessive refined grains, sugars and low quality fats”.

MMT also includes (short) regular periods of fasting, which improve mitochondrial function and accelerate the transition from burning sugar to burning fat.

MMT is for people who either have serious health conditions such as cancers, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative disease including Alzheimer’s, or are keen on optimizing their health while also slowing down the aging process.

Ketosis is the state you achieve when you enter a fat-burning state, and it is “an exceptionally healthy way to create the conditions your body needs to stay healthy and age well”. This is not to be confused with ketoacidosis, the dangerous condition which occurs in type 1 diabetes.

The author provides us with a chapter listing the foods you can eat on MMT. We need to limit our carbs to 50 g per day and some will need to keep their net carb intake as low as 10-15 g a day in order to enter and stay in the fat-burning state.

Though I find the book to be highly interesting, it is also somewhat difficult to understand.

Moreover, you will need to test your blood glucose level several times a day, purchase ketone monitoring devices and accessories, lancets and a lancet-holding device to draw drops of blood, a digital food scale for weighing your food, and measuring spoons.

You will need to take blood tests to check our Vitamin D and iron levels, test your fasting insulin and a “fasting lipid panel” is recommended with no explanation of what it is, together with HS-CRP, which measures blood protein.

Then there are a host of practically incomprehensible body measurements to take and something called Cronometer.com that we need to use. There are pages of complex information about devices, analyses x-rays, etc etc.

I realized quite soon that because of all this apparatus and necessity for weighing, tracking etc everything one eats, not to mention taking innumerable blood glucose and ketosis readings, this was not for me.

I also had difficulty in keeping track of the many abbreviations used. To sum up, for immensely practical, scientifically gifted readers who are top motivated to find out what this MMT is all about, go for it! Dr. Mercola describes everything in detail. There was just too much detail for me, and too many practical obligations. The food changes themselves didn’t seem too difficult since to a great extent I’m already following the diet. ( )

“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
– Ann Wigmore

“He who takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of the physician.”
– Chinese Proverb

There are mainstream doctors, and there are open-minded doctors who are few, but dedicated, within the alternative health community. Dr. Mercola is one of these select few who isn’t afraid to not only call it how it is, but back up what he says with significant contributions and hard work.

Anyone that has been reading Dr. Mercola’s work for quite some time knows what kind of quality of work they will get. For those that might be newer, as all of us were at one time, Dr. Mercola has been putting in hard work on his website, and he has been dedicated to help others find truths within the sphere of health, no matter how uncomfortable they may be.

It is no surprise then that in Fat For Fuel, Dr. Mercola has come out once again pulling no punches with his new effort to show the truth behind the myths claiming fats being unhealthy. Better yet, he goes beyond that to provide the ample benefits that are to be had by eating healthy fats, which harbor immense benefits.

Fat For Fuel is a veritable crash course on how to streamline your health. Some of the most salient points in the book, which stand to help a lot of individuals, is that Dr. Mercola takes a very comprehensive approach into showing how to cut off the supply line for cancer cells, how to improve your overall health with simple dietary/lifestyle changes, and even discusses how to maintain healthy mitochondria, which helps maintain optimal health reducing the likelihood of cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Type 2 Diabetes and other diseases.

All of this comes about through what Dr. Mercola calls Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy [MMT]. Essentially, what MMT does is target mitochondria, which aids in bringing about healing of chronic disease. This is accomplished by making sure the body uses fat as a primary fuel, rather than using glucose, which is far less optimal.

The system that Mercola provides is rather comprehensive in its approach, while not overlooking common issues that individuals may face in their journey towards optimal health. The book offers considerations like when to eat and how much time to leave between, what cooking oils to avoid that are deleterious to health, ways to help individuals self-monitor their own health, and much more.

Extensively covered as well are the many benefits of fasting. Thankfully, there are a few fasting options offered, as well as many of the do’s and don’ts as well. Also covered there in are Mercola’s own favorite fast, as well as other fasts which also help the body reach optimal health.

The book even covers many of the extensive issues that are prevalent within individuals with too much iron. This part alone is quite salient since it couples directly too many other health issues like Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, and more.

In its totality, Fat For Fuel is an in-depth look at how the marvel of the human body can achieve healing by providing it with the proper fuel source. If you’re interested in healing yourself without having to deal with the myriad issues of that conventional medicine espouses, then consideration of this book should be done. One thing is for sure, after reading Fat For Fuel people will never think of fats – healthy fats! – in the same way ever again. ( )