I picked up the book, "The Fat Resistance Diet" by Leo Galland, after seeing some good reviews for it on Amazon. I didn't have any expectations for the book, but the contents appeared interesting.
There is a good bit of focus on leptin resistance in the book. Galland believes that even though leptin resistance is a problem, the real cause of it and other problems is inflammation. Stephan has been writing about this as well, speculating that inflammation may underlie leptin resistance.
Galland goes through a number of popular diets (Atkins, Ornish, South Beach, etc.) and points out the flaws. He also comments on insulin resistance. He notes that even though it is a problem for some, not everyone who is overweight is insulin resistant. Galland states that while a low-carb diet may improve insulin resistance, it may not improve inflammation and therefore will not correct all health problems.
His recommended diet is to eliminate some foods and emphasize others. The usual suspects are eliminated - sugar, refined carbs, trans fats, etc. He emphasizes omega-3 fats and plenty of plant food. In fact, he recommends 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
The diet advice isn't revolutionary, but it is solid nonetheless. He doesn't recommend any supplements and doesn't try to sell the reader any additional products or services.
The second half of the book is fluff. It's 100+ pages of recipes.
Overall, it was a good read. The program is relatively simple but that doesn't mean it isn't effective. It isn't exactly Paleo as whole grains are recommended. I don't remember him discussing dairy much.
The take-home message is to eat more omega-3 fats and plant food. This matches up with the recent post on Paleo targets, which showed high consumption of both factors in the Paleo diet.
