Sankara reviewed Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Review of 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Felt like reading a conspiracy theory.
Hardcover, 640 pages
English language
Published Sept. 25, 2007 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Good Calories, Bad Calories
challenging the conventional wisdom on diet, weight control, and disease
by Gary Taubes
3 stars
(4 reviews)
In this groundbreaking book, the result of seven years of research in every science connected with the impact of nutrition on health, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong. For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and exercising more. Yet with more and more people acting on this advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Taubes argues persuasively that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar, easily digested starches) via their dramatic effect on insulin, the hormone that regulates fat accumulation and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. There are good calories, and bad ones. Taubes traces how the common assumption that …
In this groundbreaking book, the result of seven years of research in every science connected with the impact of nutrition on health, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong. For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and exercising more. Yet with more and more people acting on this advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Taubes argues persuasively that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar, easily digested starches) via their dramatic effect on insulin, the hormone that regulates fat accumulation and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. There are good calories, and bad ones. Taubes traces how the common assumption that carbohydrates are fattening was abandoned in the 1960s when fat and cholesterol were blamed for heart disease and then wrongly were seen as the causes of a host of other maladies, including cancer. He shows us how these unproven hypotheses were emphatically embraced by authorities in nutrition, public health, and clinical medicine, in spite of how well-conceived clinical trials have consistently refuted them. He also documents the dietary trials of carbohydrate-restriction, which consistently show that the fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be. With precise references to the most significant existing clinical studies, he convinces us that there is no compelling scientific evidence demonstrating that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease, that salt causes high blood pressure, and that fiber is a necessary part of a healthy diet. Based on the evidence that does exist, he leads us to conclude that the only healthy way to lose weight and remain lean is to eat fewer carbohydrates or to change the type of the carbohydrates we do eat, and, for some of us, perhaps to eat virtually none at all. Good Calories, Bad Calories is a tour de force of scientific investigation certain to redefine the ongoing debate about the foods we eat and their effects on our health. - Publisher.
otrops reviewed Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Review of 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
I read Good Calories, Bad Calories over several months. This book is incredibly well researched (Gary Taubes says he's spent over fifteen years researching the book), and very well written.
It examines the science behind the "carbohydrate hypothesis." The hypothesis is that excess carbohydrate consumption, specifically sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread and white rice) is behind the rise in obesity over the last twenty years.
In order to make this argument, Taubes shows how he thinks public health officials got it wrong, leading them to effectively recommend that we eat more carbohydrates (we're replacing the fat we stopped eating with something, usually carbohydrates). This is perhaps the most fascinating part of the book. Taubes documents how a hypothesis (fat raises cholesterol causes heart disease and obesity) that was based primarily on epidemiological studies became the basis of the recommended diet in the United …
I read Good Calories, Bad Calories over several months. This book is incredibly well researched (Gary Taubes says he's spent over fifteen years researching the book), and very well written.
It examines the science behind the "carbohydrate hypothesis." The hypothesis is that excess carbohydrate consumption, specifically sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread and white rice) is behind the rise in obesity over the last twenty years.
In order to make this argument, Taubes shows how he thinks public health officials got it wrong, leading them to effectively recommend that we eat more carbohydrates (we're replacing the fat we stopped eating with something, usually carbohydrates). This is perhaps the most fascinating part of the book. Taubes documents how a hypothesis (fat raises cholesterol causes heart disease and obesity) that was based primarily on epidemiological studies became the basis of the recommended diet in the United States (and elsewhere in the world). In the tale that Taubes tells, this wasn't because this hypothesis was rigorously tested. The studies designed to test the cholesterol hypothesis were inconclusive. Instead, this was a battle of personalities, with careers and reputations at stake.
Taubes then reviews over a century of research. In doing so, he make a compelling and convincing defence of the carbohydrate hypothesis.
While the book is an impressive work, I had a two small issues with it.
The first is that Taubes effectively portrays some of the scientists mentioned in the book as the villains of the piece. This is not a dispassionate book, and you will leave with an unfavorable impression of a number of scientists. I'm not entirely convinced that it was necessary to do in order for Taubes to effectively make his argument.
The second is the lack of illustrations. Taubes is often describing complex biochemistry. While he is a fantastic writer and his descriptions are always clear, he often spends several pages describing a process that could have been made clear with a one page illustration.
Those are both somewhat minor issues and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in nutrition.
Subjects
- Carbohydrates
- Nutrition And Diet
- Health & Fitness
- Diet / Health / Fitness
- Diet/Nutrition
- Diets - Better Health
- Nutrition
- Health & Fitness / Diets
- Diets - General
- Low-carbohydrate diet
- Reducing diets
- Weight loss