by Teresa Rhoades

If you go to Howard County Library System’s online catalog, go to the advanced search section, search by subject “Reducing diets,” and limit by “books.” I came up with 322 titles (298 when you limit to books in English), but the number changes all the time.

Every now and again, a new diet book is added to the collection at the Howard County Library System. Some titles tend to have more requests than others. How do you decide which one to check out? Is it based on a friend’s recommendation? Was the book featured on the news or on a bestseller list? Did you happen to see it on the new book shelf or on a display?

Certainly the concept of an ideal weight-loss diet is a popular topic and many theories abound on the best type of nutrition that will aid one in losing weight. There are even times when, as authors J. O’Keefe, Jr., M.D., and Loren Cordain, Ph.D. point out, the advice given by two popular diets is completely contradictory. O’Keefe and Cordain provide the example of the Atkins diet, which is based on high protein and avoidance of carbohydrates, in contrast with the Ornish diet, which suggests minimal consumption of animal protein and high carbohydrates.

Both Dean Ornish and Robert Atkins have books in the HCLS collection, as do many other authors on the subject of weight loss. So which books should you check out? While the goal of this blog post is not to provide medical advice, nor act as a substitute for a consultation with a nutritionist, the idea is to research journal articles to come up with additional information for review that you could take with you when you are considering discussing a weight-loss diet with your health professional. Who knows, maybe I’ll even research Ornish and Atkins. But next time, look for more information about the Paleo diet.

Teresa Rhoades worked at the Central Branch from 2004-2005. During the next two years, she moved out of state and completed a degree in Library & Information Studies. She is currently the Assistant Branch Manager for the East Columbia Branch. She spends much of her spare time being walked by her dog, an extremely energetic German Short-haired pointer.