A health book is being ridiculous My mother, who is 50 years old, recently became very concerned with her cholestrol level and high blood pressure. High blood pressure is hereditary on her side, not as a result of an unusual diet or lifestyle, and so it requires pretty dramatic changes in order to be lowered. My mom put herself in an intensely low-sodium diet and haven't touched beef or pork, halved her carb intake, and avoids any source of sugar other than what is found in vegetables or fruit. She also purchased a diet book that was recommended by her doctor, which apparently has good recipes on low-sodium cooking. It came in today when I was at my parents' home and as she was reading it this evening, she exclaimed some pointers in the book at me. One that got me was that the book claimed calorie intake less than 1500 calories daily for ANY woman was fatal (actually used this word). I thought, WTF, and stole the book for a second to see if it made any legit arguments to back that up, but there were none. Even My Fitness Pal, which is slowly turning itself into a haven for fatass circlejerkers, approves of 1200 calorie diets as a healthy method of losing weight. 1500 calories is a perfectly acceptable daily intake for a nearly-completely sedantary woman of narrow Asian frame. Chances are, it may not even cause any weight loss.  I tried disputing the book with her, that no, a 1500 calorie diet is so not fatal, but she still seems slighly skeptical. I can't believe an actual, published book is making such moronic claims without the decency to even back it up with proof, out there filling people's mind with false information. Probably written by an idiot who thinks to maintain weight, a sedantary woman must consume 2500 calories minimum. (And no, my mother isn't an FA ham, not even overweight. She's plump at 140 pounds and 5'5" tall. She just is underinformed about diets because she's never really worried about it before)