Monday, March 10, 2008
Skinny Bitch
Email to a friendPrint this article
Originally published in 2005, Skinny Bitch hit the big time when Victoria Beckham was seen carrying the book. Although Posh proudly claims not to read books, her ascension to the throne of skinniest bitch is a given, so it’s no surprise that Skinny Bitch appeared on the New York Times bestseller list shortly thereafter.
As is turns out, Skinny is neither Chick Lit nor an expose of bi-coastal anorexics, but a sharp-witted paean to healthy eating - Veganism, according to the authors. Publishers have long exploited the dieting consumer, from potential Biggest Loser contestants to those looking to shed the last 10 lbs, by releasing diet related titles often espousing contradictory advice.
Atkins, The Zone, Dr. Dean Ornish, South Beach and Ultrametabolism are just a few examples of successful diet book empires. Recently, newspapers, magazines and tv news have seized upon “nutritionism”, a theory claiming the key to optimal health lies in the nutrients. Finally, books such as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food and Marion Nestle’s What to Eat have also highlighted the ethical and environmental considerations of what we eat.
Skinny Bitch, coupled with Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, tries to cover all of this territory in a no-holds-barred Carpe Diem manner. There is no sugar coating, literal or figurative, in Freedman and Barnouin’s vegan universe. Instead they encourage a relentless Question Authority attitude and a healthy skepticism about any FDA or USRDA opinions about anything you might put in to your mouth or serve to your loved ones. They suggest that “whenever you see the words ‘fat free’ or ‘low fat,’ think of the words ‘chemical shit storm.’”
Skinny Bitch outlines the case against meat in the chapters entitled “The Dead Rotting Decomposing Flesh Diet,” and the authors take aim at the Zone and Atkins in the chapter “The Myths and Lies About Protein.” Freedman and Barnoiun offer another persuasive argument against dairy, pointing out that we are the only species who consume the milk of yet another species as adults. The discussion is laden with profane modifiers and its straight talk struck a chord with me.
The China Study, a book based on the results of a long term epidemiological study, examines the link between the consumption of animal proteins and the so called diseases of affluence (MS, diabetes and other autoimmune diseases) as well as cancer and heart disease. And a recent article in the Boston Globe on the connection between acne and dairy presented solid evidence against the “Got Milk” campaign. But it wasn’t until reading Skinny Bitch’s take on dairy that I finally kicked it for good and I have never felt better.
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch is less compelling. Recipes do not provide as much opportunity for the salty language that so endeared Skinny Bitch to me, and the recipes themselves may not be the best place to turn to for anyone considering veganism. The best vegan cooking (see Veganomicon and the Post Punk Kitchen website) doesn’t try to replicate meals like macaroni and cheese, but encourage cooks to strike out and discover other ingredients and flavors.
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch has many recipes that rely on soy products meant to mimic bacon, pepperoni or other meat-based items, and the majority of them contain one all too common ingredient – textured soy protein (TSP), a foul-tasting by-product of making soybean oil. Cheap and high in protein, TSP is often used in institutional kitchen settings, such as in prisons. While tofu is great, TSP and the “substitute foods” in which it is found are, IMHO, definitely not.
The Skinny Bitch manifesto proposes an eating ideology well worth considering. Even if you don’t cross into the final vegan frontier, embracing a questioning and educated attitude about what you put into your body can only enhance your well-being.
Comments
Susan,
Great article...makes me want to really investigate the benefits of going “vegan”. Thanks! Katie
Thanks for reading Katie. I promise the SB will not disappoint!
I too am concerned about processed foods, chemical additives, and extra hormones and antibiotics in meat and dairy products, and I think people need to be more vigilant about consuming these sorts of products. However, I am skeptical of any health advice that relies solely on weight-loss or body size as its primary motivating factor and its sole measure of success. Weight-loss and thinness doesn’t make you healthy. Eating a balanced diet and maintaining a physically active lifestyle makes you healthy, whether you lose weight or not.
The book should have been called Miserable Bitch because thats what you’d be if you tried to live to their standards.
Stephanie I agree and I think they used the title as part of a marketing ploy. I was turned off by the book and the title at first,but found their delivery appealing when I began reading. I also that like many “diet” books if you follow their program exactly you would be cutting out basically all junk food - which would reault in a total calorie deficit. This is why South Beach and other diets work for a short time as well because you are eliminating a huge source of calores the average person consumes. I agree also - it is how you feel, not how you look or how someone promises you will look.
Carolyn we really need to have good genes like you to have our cake and eat it too. I can’t be totally vegan either - at least righ now, but dairy free feels great.
I read this book as well--after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The China Study (and have since moved onto Vegetarian Judaism). I agree with Susan--I liked the tone of the book, and appreciated hearing that if I’m “fat”, it’s because I’m eating “junk” (insert “saltier” word here!)
I also have felt much better not eating dairy, my kids are better not eating dairy (no dark circles, less need to pee overnight or bed-wetting). It’s harder to give up eggs and fish, but after reading the descriptions of factory farming in here (and the Vegetarian Judaism book), it’s really hard to picture going out to buy any kind of meat at all. (I was eating just poultry, but not for about a month now.)
BTW, I never saw Posh with the book, but wanted to read it after seeing the article in the Wall Street Journal about the mostly-vegan football player (Skinny Bitch came up in the article).
It also helps to cut out gluten-containing products--the Skinny Bitches are right--beer and other wheat-products can certainly be bloating!
Page 1 of 1 pages