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Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs: The Simple Truth About Food, Weight, and Disease Hardcover – Illustrated, March 31, 2020

by David A. Kessler M.D. (Author)
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The American body is in trouble. Unprecedented numbers of us suffer from obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other debilitating illnesses. The root cause is a once-revolutionary idea that seemed to offer so much promise, but instead has become the cause of a global health crisis: processed foods. Over the past seventy-five years, a number of factors aligned to create a reality in which processed carbohydrates became our main food source. In Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs, bestselling author and former FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler explains how the quest to feed a nation resulted in a population that is increasingly suffering from obesity and chronic disease and offers a solution for changing course.

For decades, no one questioned the effects of these processed carbohydrates. The focus was on fertile grassland, ideal for growing vast amounts of wheat and corn; an industrial infrastructure perfect for refining those grains into starch; a food production behemoth that turns refined grains into affordable, appealing, and ever-present food items, from pizza to burritos to bagels; and an efficient distribution network that ensures consumption by Americans nationwide.

But during those same decades, our bodies quietly contended with the metabolic chaos caused by consuming rapidly absorbable starch. Slowly but surely, these effects accumulated and became disastrous, leading to the public health crisis in which we find ourselves today.

In Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs, Kessler explains how eating refined grains such as wheat, corn, and rice leads to a cascade of hormonal and metabolic issues that make it very easy to gain weight and nearly impossible to lose it. Worse still is how excess weight creates a very real link to diabetes, heart disease, cognitive decline, and a host of cancers.

We can no longer afford to dismiss the consequences of eating food that is designed to be rapidly absorbed as sugar in our bodies. Informed by cutting-edge research as well as Dr. Kessler’s own personal quest to manage his weight, Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs reveals in illuminating detail how we got to this critical turning point in our health as a nation—and outlines a plan for eliminating heart disease, allowing us to, finally, regain control of our health.

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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper
  4. Publication date
    March 31, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.05 x 7.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0062996975
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062996978
  8. See all details
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About the Author

David. A. Kessler, MD, served as Chief Science Officer of the White House Covid-19 Response Team under President Joe Biden and previously served as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Overeating and Capture and two other books: Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs and A Question of Intent. Dr. Kessler is a pediatrician and has been the dean of the medical schools at Yale and the University of California, San Francisco. He is a graduate of Amherst College, the University of Chicago Law School, and Harvard Medical School.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; Illustrated edition (March 31, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062996975
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062996978
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.05 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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David Kessler

David Kessler

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DAVID A. KESSLER, MD, served as commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is a pediatrician and has been the dean of the medical schools at Yale and the University of California, San Francisco. A graduate of Amherst College, the University of Chicago Law School, and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Kessler is the father of two and lives with his wife in California.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
215 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

stuart goldman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great and valuable book, but leaves you hanging
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book provides insights that explain hidden causes of disease and obeisity that have become part of the standard food environment of the United States. After reading it, I feel more empowered to make smarter decisions. THANKS Dr. Kessler.
However, there is much left unsaid, and I have individual questions. Are fruits in Smoothies relegated to fast carb status? How about the carbs of avacado, does it retain slow carb status if in vitamix generated smoothie or desert? Is Kashi GO, my cereal of choice, fast or slow carbs?
No doubt that this is a very valuable book for someone looking to make and understand dietary changes. I highly recommend it.

I do not criticize, for it is a new approach, and all the details I seek may not have been tested yet. I am glad that this was published now rather than wait untill more complete information is available.

Nevertheless, I hope that further research can clarify questions we as individuals have, and that a web site be set up so that questions can be asked and answers made broadly availabe.

Overall, still worthy of 5 stars!
14 people found this helpful
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MitchAmazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
A way of looking at carbs I had not seen before. Recommend.
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Cornelia Delee
3.0 out of 5 stars good, general read
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023
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The title says it all: SIMPLE. It’s easily accessible for someone just beginning their journey to health. It’s a tad repetitive and I would have liked the footnotes at the bottom of the page.
One person found this helpful
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Must Love Food
5.0 out of 5 stars Scientifically Sound, Non-Shaming
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
At a time when (not by choice) we are all probably eating more processed food than we'd like, this was a refreshing read on how we can focus on our long-term health. I loved the humanized approach to a book that is otherwise rock solid on the science. Struggles with weight aren't totally our fault because of our environmental influences - but they are within our control, with the author acknowledging that taking that control isn't always easy. But by better understanding the havoc that "fast carbs" have on our system, and knowing that we can still enjoy "slow carbs" - we are left with concrete, approachable ways to change our diets, and in turn, address our risk of diet-related chronic disease for good.
21 people found this helpful
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Worried Parent
5.0 out of 5 stars No wonder I can't lose weight
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book is full of "Aha!" moments. Why is it so hard to lose weight? When a food label says "whole grain," what does that really mean? Why are diabetes and heart disease so rampant in the United States and around the world? Through diligent research, Dr. David Kessler traces the problem to processed carbohydrates. Delicious, easy to find, easy to eat (you hardly even need to chew), processed carbs turn out to mess with our metabolism. This book is an easily understandable road map to better health.
17 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Why low and slow carbs work
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
The fad diets are out there. Keto, low carb, Atkins can work for many people.

This book gets behind the why, and pitfalls of those diets with an aim for long term health. Quick, and good read
One person found this helpful
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cookiemonster
2.0 out of 5 stars It just ends
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
I was looking for more information and examples. Maybe it's just the kindle version but I didn't learn anything new. There's 7 days of examples and that's really it and it's not really thorough. No concise list of fast and slow foods. Disappointed 😞
23 people found this helpful
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Adk Teacher
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Overall
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2020
Verified Purchase
I bought this book primarily because I learned so much from Dr. Kessler's previous book, The End of Overeating. I found this book much less interesting. I also think it should have included a list of fast carbs and slow carbs. There are meals listed and identified as slow, low, fast. But a chart would be simpler and easier to read. A much better explanation of slow carbs and fast carbs can be found in How Not to Diet by Michael Greger.
57 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Miss G
5.0 out of 5 stars Latest science. No gobbledygook.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2020
Verified Purchase
Am eye opener into ‘healthy’ whole grains. Processing infests much of the food supply. Gives useful advice about fast, slow and low-carb menus, so you can have a choice of diets and see how to easily improve your food choices. Very quick and concise book to read. Very quickly gives you the information and statistics that help you decide on diet choices. Latest science. No gobbledygook from an MD. who was a government official.
One person found this helpful
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