Good Calories Bad Calories
Gary Taubes' book supports a low-carb diet for weight loss.
BACKGROUND
What if everything you thought you knew about being healthy was a big fat lie? Science journalist Gary Taubes proposed just such a hypothesis in an article in 2002. In it he challenged the low-fat diet orthodoxy, and insinuated that public health research has been driven by poor science and an insistence on outdated hypotheses. That is, cholesterol and fat cause common health problems like weight issues, heart disease, diabetes, etc.
So what's the truth?
Mr. Taubes is further stirring the pot in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories. His assertion is that the best diet is one loaded with protein and fat, but very low in carbohydrates. There are plenty of people who write hackneyed diet and fitness books. They are a dime a dozen. But, Good Calories, Bad Calories is not cut from the same cloth. Taubes spent five years researching his 450+ page book, consulting 600 doctors, researchers, and administrators in the process!
Taubes argues that we gain weight because the carbs we eat drive up the insulin level in the blood, which in turn encourages the storage of fat. His view is that not all calories are created equal. But be aware that this does fly in the face of some research that states that a calorie is a calorie.
PRO
- Good Calories, Bad Calories is exhaustively researched
- There are no ongoing membership fees, just read the book
CON
- The benefits of exercise are downplayed
- Refutes supported evidence that weight gain is due to calories
FOOD and RECIPES
You are urged to avoid refined carbs. Your diet should be heavy on meat, fish, fowl, cheese, eggs, butter, and non-starchy vegetables, typical of a low-carb diet.
EXERCISE
One of the more peculiar ideas in the list of principles is this: "Exercise does not make us lose excess fat; it makes us hungry."
EXPENSE
Cost of the book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, has a list price of $27.95 for hardcover. The paperback releases Fall 2008 for $16.95. Discounts are available from online retailers like Amazon.com.
CONCLUSION
If there's one thing you can say about Good Calories, Bad Calories, it surely is divisive. But, even if you find things that are disagreeable, does that mean you need you have to throw the baby out with the bath water? No matter what you think of his downplaying of the weight loss benefits of exercise or any of the other controversial views, adopting a diet that controls your insulin levels is sound thinking.
Common Misspellings
good calores, bad calores, good cals bad cals, good calorie bad calorie
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