Gary Taubes: the man who hated carbs before it was cool

April 16 2018 by , medical review by in Gary Taubes, Sugar/fructose, Weight loss

How come we started to believe that fat was the enemy – and ended up consuming a ridiculous amount of sugar instead? And why did calories get the blame?

There’s probably nobody who can answer these questions better than Gary Taubes, who has dug deep into the topic. Check out the article below for the full story.

Obesity is one of these subjects where it helps to have a weight problem. The way I describe it in my lecture is a male obstetrician can deliver 10,000 babies and won’t understand childbirth as well as one woman who has given birth. It’s just a fact of life. If you don’t understand what it’s like to get fatter and fatter, year in and year out, regardless of what you do, you just don’t understand obesity.

Reason: Meet the man who hated carbs before it was cool

Calories

Isn't weight loss all about counting calories?
03:14
To lose weight, you just eat fewer calories than you burn. Is it really that simple? Top low-carb doctors answer.
What to do instead of counting calories
16:02
Why is counting calories useless? And what should you do instead to lose weight?
Are all calories the same?
20:04
Are all calories created equally – regardless of whether they come from a low-carb, low-fat or a vegan diet?
Weight control – calories or insulin
36:26
Is weight loss controlled by calories in and calories out? Or is our body weight carefully regulated by hormones?
Do you have to count calories to lose weight?
10:22
Do you have to count calories to lose weight? Dr. Jason Fung explains why you don't.
Q&A with Gary Taubes
20:18
Science journalist Gary Taubes answers questions related to obesity, sugar and low-carb diets in 2016.
Why we get fat
47:30
Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Gary Taubes at Low Carb USA 2016.
Diet Doctor podcast #14 with Dr. Robert Lustig
47:31
The debate wages. Is a calorie just a calorie? Or is there something specifically dangerous about fructose and carbohydrate calories? That's where Dr. Robert Lustig comes in.

Taubes

How to think about how to eat — Gary Taubes
30:34
In this presentation from the Low Carb Denver conference, the amazing Gary Taubes talks about the conflicting dietary advice we are given and what to make of it all.
The problem with sugar
50:01
Is it fat or sugar that has triggered the unprecedented epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease? Taubes at Low Carb USA 2017.
Diet Doctor podcast #1 – Gary Taubes
57:26
In our very first podcast episode, Gary Taubes talks about the difficulty of accomplishing good nutrition science, and the awful consequences of the bad science that have dominated the field for too long.
Why we get fat
1:12:26
Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Iconic science-writer Gary Taubes answers this question.
Q&A with Gary Taubes
20:18
Science journalist Gary Taubes answers questions related to obesity, sugar and low-carb diets in 2016.
The cause of obesity and diabetes
45:52
Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Iconic science-writer Gary Taubes answers these questions.
Why we get fat
47:30
Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Gary Taubes at Low Carb USA 2016.
Q&A with Gary Taubes
26:48
What is the greatest barrier to changing the world? Gary Taubes answers questions 2017.
Why we get fat
47:13
Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? We've been told that it’s about eating less and running more. But this seldom works well.

Low-carb basics

Keto for beginners: Introduction
08:02
Learn how to do a keto diet right, in part 1 of our video course.
7 tips to make low carb simple
09:41
The star of the BBC series Doctor in the House, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, gives you seven tips that will make low carb easy.
Cereal Killers
1:00:07
What if you could – in fact – break records without eating massive amounts of carbs?
The 5 common mistakes on LCHF
09:25
Is it hard to reach your goal weight, are you hungry or do you feel bad? Make sure you're avoiding these mistakes.
Carb-Loaded
1:14:40
This may be the best (and funniest) low-carb movie ever. At least it's a strong contender.
Everything in moderation?
05:44
What’s the point of low carb, shouldn’t we all just try to eat everything in moderation? Top low-carb doctors answer this question.
My Big Fat Diet
42:31
What would happen if an entire town of First Nation people went back to eating the way they used to? A high-fat low-carb diet based on real food?
"I sort of wanted to save the world"
22:22
How can you give back to the low-carb community after achieving great results on the diet? Bitte Kempe-Björkman explains.
Does the brain need carbohydrates?
05:56
Doesn’t the brain need carbohydrates? Doctors answer common questions.
The cause of obesity
38:45
What is the real cause of obesity? What causes weight gain? Dr. Jason Fung at Low Carb Vail 2016.
How to formulate a low-carb keto diet
48:32
Low-carb pioneer Dr. Eric Westman talks about how to formulate an LCHF diet, low carb for different medical conditions and common pitfalls among others.
Living low carb with Caroline Smale
07:30
Caroline Smale shares her low-carb story and how she lives low carb on a daily basis.
"If you do it right, this will work"
36:24
Keto is much more powerful than medication, when you get it right. Dr. Eric Westman has more than 20 years of experience guiding patients on a keto diet.
How to stay low carb on a budget
02:36
Do you want to know how to stay low carb on a budget? Kim Gajraj interviews Dr. Eric Westman to get all of his best tips on how to keep costs low when on a low-carb diet.
Q&A with Franziska Spritzler
09:52
Questions about how to formulate an optimal low-carb or keto diet.
A global food revolution
34:30
The mistakes behind the obesity epidemic and how we can fix them together, empowering people everywhere to revolutionize their health.
Teaching low carb to patients in the Middle East
05:44
How do you help patients in the Middle East to start a low-carb diet?
How to do an LCHF or keto diet
1:00:45
Dr. Eric Westman explains how to do a well-formulated LCHF diet.

Earlier

Gary Taubes: Crusading champion for better nutrition science

Gary Taubes in BMJ: What if sugar is worse than just empty calories?

20 comments

1
Josh
April 17 2018 4
Except Taubes's own experiment funded by his own research institute showed that when calories are kept the same, it didn't matter whether the diet was high fat or high carb. People's body weights stayed the same during his cross-over study. Their insulin was cut in half on the high fat diet, but there was no magical shift in body fat. In my opinion, if people have an insulin problem, cutting carbs is only putting a band aid on the real issue. People need to consider things like Zinc (which is used to make insulin), chromium (which is used to enhance insulin receptor sensitivity), B-complex vitamins (which are used to metabolize carbohydrates). Stop eating empty carb calories because that's what's ruining your ability to function on a high carb diet. It's not the carbs themselves.

Replies: #15, #18
2
Josh
April 17 2018 4
Potassium and Magnesium are vital minerls for metabolizing carbs and storing them as glycogen. Do you think a pack of Oreos or a loaf of bread or pasta has any of these vitamins or minerals? Not really. People run entirely differently on clean carbs (aka fruits and vegetables) plus proper supplementation
3
Kenn
April 17 2018 3
Possibly it is easier to eat fewer calories without hunger when eating more fat, due to the the satiety effect? Or having low insulin allows your body to release stored fat, so you are less hungry, so you consume less calories?

Although I have lost 75 pounds, my main focus is health, so lowering insulin is itself a worthy goal (diabetes, heart, stroke, etc. )
4
Veronica
April 18 2018 3
I just read 'The Case Against Sugar' and it was great - well-constructed and highly recommended.
5
Ray
April 18 2018 1
What I really like about Gary is that he practices what he preaches, He eats LC and feed it to his family. I met him several years ago and was very impressed with him. His book " why we get fat and what we can do about it was the beginning of my journey into LCHF and my first real success in weight loss and better health. And now I have a new fuel source (fat) don't crave sweets or junk foods anymore, I am very grateful to everyone who has done all this hard work. And at 73 enjoy better sleep and energy.
6
Keith Bennett
April 18 2018 5
I have measured the weight of the majority of my foods for 10 years to the gram. Those measurements were taken to the USDA NAL database or currently MyFitnessPal and recorded. My weight has been measured to a tenth of a pound during this period. I spent 180 days on 25 grams of carbs or less a day. In the middle of that I rode my bicycle 60 miles in 6 hours. My 30 second take away: Carbohydrate in any form is not a vital nutrient. Sweet things are addicting. No protein, no muscle. Living on fat and protein did not negativity affect my cholesterol. I am a 60 year old athlete with numbers matching a collegiate athlete.

Reply: #13
7
Michelle Miller
April 18 2018
I'm a female that is 5'9, 195lbs. I'm exercising an average of 3 hours Monday-Friday. I walk 30 minutes before work & during my lunch. I go to the gym after work for over 2 hours and do the weight machines and do the couch to 5k. This week I've actually been walking an additional 35-50 minutes when I get home. Monday-Friday I get 20,000+ steps on my fitbit. I try to keep my calories between 1,200 & 1,500. I do cheat some on the weekend by having some carbs. In the last 3 weeks, I've only lost 4lbs. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Thanks!

Replies: #16, #17, #19, #21
8
Mary
April 18 2018 3
Read the obesity code by Jason Fung. It is a great read and you should come away with a greater appreciation of a low carb, high HEALTHY fat way of eating!
9
Suzanne
April 18 2018 1
I've had my ups and downs with carb intake. But I can definitely say that my cravings subside 24hous after reducing cars below 30 g. I'm neither obese nor insulin resistant.
10
Michelle
April 18 2018 1
My cravings have been better.
11
Joan
April 18 2018 2
I suspect it is hypwrinsulinemia that is the culprit. The best way to achieve that is low carb. We do NOT need carbs.
1 comment removed
13
Reply to comment #6 by Keith Bennett
William
April 18 2018
Keith, your experience matches mine. Although I am not nearly as strict today, I was for a while maintaining ketosis around 1-2 mg/dL and riding 40-60 miles in a water fasted state. Took a while to get strength on the bike but it came back and more. With loss of weight came significant improvement in acceleration and I did ride a hard 100 miles with a group fasted on water with no issues. Nowadays I start a ride not in ketosis and end it in ketosis and have no decline in power over the course of the ride. The body switches to ketones while riding. I use the Precision Ultra blood glucose/ketone meter. I am about your age at 59. I find the best place to be is borderline ketosis with periodic meal skipping and hard long endurance exercise twice per week.
14
TeeDee
April 18 2018 1
Many times someone will come along and say, "dieters lose the same weight whether on low carb or high carb" Sure, fine. But the biggest draw (besides the crucially important better lab results) is lack of torturous cravings. Even if I get the odd craving here and there, it is so much milder and easier to manage/ignore now. I used to dread the nighttime because that's when the cravings would hit the hardest, even while still feeling satiated from dinner. Carbs would 'call to me' all night, no matter how well I did all day, but LC/Ketogenic eating changed that and gave me the fighting chance I needed to finally succeed in losing the excess weight. I still have some to go, but now I see myself getting there and staying there without 'falling off' the diet. I plan to eat a ketogenic diet for the rest of my life because I enjoy it and feel better than I have for many years.
15
Reply to comment #1 by Josh
Chip
April 18 2018 1
I would disagree with your statement about "empty carbs" causing the insulin resistance. All carbs are handled the same in the body, all carbs, so eating "complex" or "simple" carbs doesn't matter. If your body has a problem with elevated blood glucose that your body can no longer control with insulin - due to insulin de-sensitivy - then the only logical step is to either a: give yourself supplemental insulin (lots of health hazards long-term) or b: cut back on carbs.
16
Reply to comment #7 by Michelle Miller
Thomas
April 18 2018
You may want to try intermittent fasting. It will lower insulin and tap into stored fat.
17
Reply to comment #7 by Michelle Miller
Janalee
April 19 2018 1
Calories too low? Too much exercise? Fat high enough? Are you measuring blood for ketones?
18
Reply to comment #1 by Josh
Anna
April 19 2018
What do you think will shift the body fat? The addition of the minerals? A vitamin/supplement?
19
Reply to comment #7 by Michelle Miller
Viv
April 19 2018
Not eating enough food for the exercise you are doing, causing your metabolic rate to slow down.
20
Richard Clayderman
April 20 2018
I didn't like the article

I don't know if it was purposely edited to sound confusing, but it was sure lengthy and not clear, it had the feeling of most health and diet articles, to the regular person

Look at these lines

Describe the "Western diet." Is it processed foods?

Pizza Rolls, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Coca-Cola—

This made everything sound as though its McDonalds and fast foods fault for modern disease

Then in bold print

"Are we seeing less heart disease because we're preventing it with changes in diet? There's no evidence of that."

The Atkins Diet came out on top in a Stanford Study of comparing diets

a lot of bias in the questions, more like a PR article to confuse the masses, at least people will know who Gary is, this I liked

Bad article
21
Reply to comment #7 by Michelle Miller
johnny
September 26 2018
Exercise is not the answer to weight loss; you're like all the rest of the masses...you eat too often (not too much, but too often). Stop eating three meals a day, stop snacking, and drink water exclusively (only when thirsty) and your body will shed those unwanted pounds.

FYI, Gary Taubes is not the first person, not even close, to eschew sugar. There were many innovators in the 1960/70 that warned the public about the detrimental affects of simple-sugar. Don't worry about carbs, your body needs glucose (when patients in hospitals need nutrients to keep them alive they're IV'ed to a bag containing sugar not a bag of fat nor protein). Just know the difference between pastries, muffins, & chips vs. sprouted-whole-grain bread/pasta, brown rice, and potatoes (the former being bad, the latter being good).

Start by cutting out breakfast, than try cutting out lunch a couple of times a week (that is try OMAD one or two days a week).

Exercise is good for your muscles; eating like your ancestors (2 meals a day at the very most) is good for your waistline.