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Gary Taubes: Why We Get Fat
It’s fascinating to watch the turbulence around Gary Taubes’ new book, Why We Get Fat. The low-fat community is furious over his encouragement of fats in the diet; those on the science side are looking for a knock-out over his anti-calories in vs calories out stance, and even his old fans are put off by his switch from science writer to casual diet author.
In this new book, Taubes sets out to overview his work from Good Calories, Bad Calories, a monstrosity of a 640-page text that covered nutrition science front to back. While I appreciated the work, I didn’t make it past the quarter mark, and even though I meant to get back to it, so far that hasn’t happened. I’m probably not the only one, and for us, there’s Why We Get Fat.
It won’t surprise anyone to learn his main argument is that carbohydrates are the biggest issue in our fattening society, primarily because of the hormone insulin. We’re both genetically and conditionally acclimated to insulin, both on the production and the resistance side, and he believes regulating that single factor will make the difference between storing fat or not. Not how many calories we eat, but how we relate to insulin, and for the most part, that means using a low-carb diet.
I first did a low-carb diet when I was about 14, 1970, I guess, when the grapefruit diet was popular and most of my meals were a 33-cent packet of lunchmeat and a half-can of V-8. It worked, and I got lean. Six or eight years later, Atkins was gaining steam, right along with Jim Fixx, and both became a staple in my life. Much later, around 1990, the Zone—before there was a book, there were handouts, and I was right there to soak up the diet buzz, this time from Greg Glassman, a long, long time before Crossfit. All of these low-carb, insulin-regulating diets worked for me (long-term adherence is an entirely different issue, and no, Taubes doesn’t help with that part).
The one that worked the best? Adkins-style high fat, low carb. The higher fat is satiating, and most people are never hungry on it, and even with the extra fat, they accidentally go lower calorie without intention. Many people believe that’s why low-carb diets work. Taubes believes otherwise. His bottom line: Fat storage is regulated by insulin. Thus, a low-carb menu is the way to go.
Hey! Didn’t Dave and his group experiment and tell us this back in the ‘60s? Why, yes, I think they did!
In Taubes’ own words, here’s his overview of this new work: The Inanity of Overeating. And here’s a lengthly “Why We Get Fat” webinar, part one of eight:
on February 13th, 2011 at 10:18 am
I hope this one would work. I already feel tired everyone claiming that the book, recipe or specific activity they have is “the one” that would work.
on March 11th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Low carb does work, and is the way to go. I tried everything for years and it wasn’t until I did low carb that I dropped the pounds.
I believe the insulin theory is absolutely correct from personal experience as well as additional studying I did on the subject, having quite a background in nutrition, biology, and physiology.
I also know I didn’t drop calories while on the low carb plan either with the quantities of food that I ate, yet the pounds still came off. I was never hungry, and dropped 75 lbs in 6 months, going from 305 lbs to 230 lbs, and going from barely able to walk to being marathon ready 6 months after that. If I can do it, anyone can.
Eliminating carbs and sugars stops insulin from being released, as insulin is the hormone that tells the body to store excess blood sugar as fat (it’s not from fat ingested from your diet, as so many erroneously believe) and then watch the pounds come off.
I also did a bit of studying and found other sources that confirmed why low carb works and why low fat does not, and in fact why a low fat diet actually causes people to become fat (as if you couldn’t tell from just looking at people who adhere to low fat diets) and came across a number of studies which have been done which have shown this.
In any case, from personal experience I can tell you that low carb works. If you want to lose weight, drop the carbs (which would be the Atkins diet, basically). If you’re afraid of dropping the carbs, the next best thing would be to at least drop the high-glycemic carbs (which would be following the South Beach Diet, basically), then watch the pounds come off.
on March 23rd, 2011 at 11:47 am
I should also point out that no carbs does not equal no insulin. Get your facts straight.
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/insulin-levels-and-fat-loss-qa.html
on June 30th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I read the article above and found nothing stating any facts as to the alternative cause of insulin besides carbohydrates. What it did say was that insulin varied for a number of reasons that weren’t dependent on high or low GI. Since fat doesn’t incite insulin and protein incites glucagon there must be a mysterious fourth food. But for the sake of argument lets say that there is another cause, perhaps trauma, drugs, or fairy dust. Would they or it release the amounts of insulin and keep them sustained when someone was on a high fat diet low carb diet to cause fat to be layed down. In the case of a drug being the culprit, as long as the drug is being administered it’s possible, but for the other two I doubt it will be long lasting, especially the last one. Without alpha glycerol phosphate binding fatty acids into tryglycerides you don’t get fat. It’s pretty simple, you are being lied to, there is a disconnect between the science and the belief. Lack of exercise and eating too much aren’t the cause of becoming a cow, it’s uncontrolled carbohydrate consumption causing for many unsustainable levels of insulin. If you are going to eat carbs you have to cycle on and off, otherwise say hello to your little friends cancer, alzhiemer’s and heart disease.