‘Eat Fats, Get Skinny‘ is the title of an article published in the ‘Ottawa Citizen’ on the 22nd November 2007 regarding low-carb nutrition. This is but one small example of Gary Taubes’ master work Good Calories, Bad Calories penetrating mainstream culture. The article states:

A growing number of experts insist that scientific studies show that it’s starchy and sugary carbohydrates that are at the root of obesity, diabetes and heart problems, not saturated fat. In other words, it’s not the burger that’s bad for you –it’s the bun.

This is great to see. Also, Dr. Eric Westman of North Carolina’s Duke University is a supporter of the science of low-carb diets. He led 2 studies, one in 2004 and one in 2005 that both showed that low-carbers lost more weight and lowered LDL cholesterol levels compared with low-fat dieters.

Of course, this flies in the face of many of today’s dietary recommendations. Last month the World Cancer Research Fund announced that people should limit their intake of red meat. Dr Westman states that these recommendations are based on many short-term, non-clinical trials where varying levels of red meat consumption were compared and contrasted after being self-reported by participants. He says:

“They have no testing of the recommendations at all. You have to test something before you recommend it. A lot of this is on belief.”

This is precisely the point I was making in the post, ‘Is Diet Science Still Scientific?‘ Dietary recommendations to the public should be based on science, not belief.

The Chicago Tribune is also getting on board. Their article, ‘Carbs are the culprit in this writer’s book‘ is an interview with Gary Taubes worth Checking out. Here’s a little excerpt:

Q If carbs make you fat, how do they do that? What’s the mechanism?

A You secrete insulin in response to carbohydrates, and insulin drives fat accumulation. It’s that simple. What’s more, you actually need carbohydrates to store fat in fat tissue. And to get fat out of the fat tissue, you need to lower insulin levels. Other hormones like adrenaline and growth hormone also work to get fat out of the fat tissue, but they won’t do it successfully when insulin levels are high. Insulin will override that.

I’m loving the buzz surrounding this book at the moment. I believe it’s going to be instrumental in bringing low-carb back to the forefront. Thank you Gary Taubes!

Mark McManus