Most people who diet do so for cosmetic reasons. But Dr. Barry Sears believes dieting can actually save your life.

You wouldn’t take harmful medication, would you? He believes that’s the way we should look at food. The things we eat that result in what he calls Toxic Fat are not only making us overweight, he believes they are causing cardiovascular disease and cancer as well.

His new book, “Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad,” is a fascinating follow-up to his breakthrough book “The Zone.” That book, which was published 15 years ago and is one of the most successful diet books of all time, explained his belief that hormones in dietary fat trigger inflammation, which leads to many diseases and conditions.