Gary Taubes Bears Bad News for Carb and Exercise Lovers

Gary Taubes along with Michael Pollan have done a lot of research showing that the official food dogma from the US government and nutritionists everywhere has been wrong. The low-fat diet, embraced since World War II, has made Americans fatter and more morbid in their heart disease and diabetes. 

In Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories, he argues that carbs are addictive, that most of us metabolize them in a way that triggers our appetite, increases our hardening of the arteries, and in general makes us overfed and undernourished. My experience and others I talk to support the contention that carbs are addictive. Pasta, garlic bread, bagels, oatmeal and the like just make us hungrier for more and more. For most of us, refined carbs are drug that spike our insulin and send us into a feeding frenzy. 

In addition to the dangers of the Western Diet, which centers on refined carbs, Taubes has also written an article "The Scientist and the Stairmaster" in which he argues that exercise, while a healthy pastime, is not an effective tool for losing weight. 

I'm addicted to both carbs and exercise and I'm 20 pounds heavier than I'd like to be. Worse, Taubes diet recommendation, which focuses on meats, fish, birds, eggs, cheese, green vegetables, and fruit (except for bananas and grapes), doesn't appeal to me as I'm largely vegetarian or flexitarian or, as my cousin calls me, a "faketarian."  Most Americans eat 200 pounds of animal protein a year. I eat about 60 pounds, 95% of it from fish. 

I wonder if Taubes' dietary recommendations can be adapted for people who are vegetarian or close to it.  The hardest part of the Taubes or Paleo or Caveman diet for me would be eating meat or eggs every morning. Sounds revolting. On the other hand, I'd bet good money that if I went on a lower-carb diet, I'd lose 20 pounds and get my cholesterol down. 

Comments

[David Brown]

You could experiment with coconut oil and butter and not worry about the protein content of your diet. Both sources of fat contain medium chain triglycerides which tend to NOT get stored in fat cells.

You might also read up on the Kitava Study. Kitavans consume a high carbohydrate diet yet have no weight problem. http://www.paleodiet.com/lindeberg/

One thing you don't want to lose any sleep over is your saturated fat intake. http://www.sciscoop.com/controversial-saturated-fat.html

You do need to be concerned about you intake of omega-6 fats. http://omega-6-omega-3-balance.omegaoptimize.com/2009/11/10/why-omega6-fats-matter-to-your-health.aspx

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Omega 6 is good. Flax seed is good.

Regarding diet, I've learned that everyone is different. One person metabolizes carbs efficiently but for many the carbs cause an insulin hike, which works like a drug.

[kr]

jeff, i am over half way through this book and it is a tough read/believe... now i'm in the full on atkins diet chapter where he's saying to cut pretty much all carbs to lose weight. i'll cut carbs when they pry my frosted blueberry poptart out of my cold, obese hands...

seriously though, this book is a tough read, what's the net on it?

[Jeffrey McMahon]

KR, once I sifted through all the scientific studies, I realized he, like Michael Pollan, was showing that the nutrition we've been taught since WWII is bogus. I still eat 200 carbs a day after reading that book and not surprisingly I am not losing weight. If I kept my carbs under 100, I assume the weight would come off. I don't understand your question: What's the net on it.

[kr]

Jeff after re-reading your post, you did net it out for me fairly well, thanks.

I need to get on the same 100 grams of carbs per day boat that you are in, on August 7th, I have to face this:

http://nxtri.com/var/nxtri/storage/images/race_info/course_and_map/norseman_profile/587-1-eng-US/norseman_profile_lightbox.gif

[Jeffrey McMahon]

My kilo chart might soar as well. Last night I had buttermilk blueberry pancakes for dinner.