The Doughy Gary Taubes' Big Fat Lies
Atkins' devotee Gary Taubes has been getting a lot of press lately. His message, “Low-carb diets are good.” Yeah, he’s nuts. Fad diets—like low-carb—are dangerous. Real quick, Dr. Fuhrman explains why:
Okay, time to take a page out of Perez Hilton’s book—or should I say blog—here’s a Perez Hilton-like rendition of Taubes’ photo. I’m a bad boy:
Admittedly, I feel bad POKING fun of the guy—WOO-HOO—but people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. For more anti-Taube’s and anti-Atkins information, check out these posts:
1. Sherwood, N.E.R. W. Jeffrey, S.A. French, et al. 2000. Predictors of weight gain in the Pound of Prevention study. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 24 (4): 395-403; Astrup, A. 1999. Macronutrient balancers and obesity: the role of diet and physical activity. Public Health Nutr. 2 (3A): 341-47.
2. Kahn, H.S., L. M. Tatham, C. Rodriguez et al. 1997. Stable behaviors associated with adults' 10-year change in body mass index and likelihood in body mass index and likelihood of gain at the waist. Am. J. Public Health 87 (5): 747-57.
High-fat diets are unquestionably associated with obesity, and eating meat actually correlates with weight gain, not weight loss, unless you radically cut carbs from your diet to maintain chronic ketosis.1 Researchers from the American Cancer Society followed 79,236 individuals over ten years and found that those ate meat more than three times per week were much more likely to gain weight as the years went by than those who tended to avoid meat.2 The more vegetables the participants ate, the more resistant they were to weight gain.Now, recently Taubes gave a lecture at the Stevens Institute of Technology and fittingly, a blog called Hoboken411 blogged about it. Here’s a snippet:
Taubes strongly explains his principles about the importance of a low-carb lifestyle. He goes into the history of how we became fat, and exactly why most current “diets” you see littering the shelves of your local bookstore are worthless.Indeed, all that bread is a bad, but Taubes assertion that low-carb ushers in superior health, is ludicrous. I mean just look at him. He’s looking a little tubby around the middle. My comment buddy Honcho was the first to point this out. Take a look:
The lecture is a bit technical at times, but it is very informative. He cites many historical references and shows how the obesity trend has worsened.
Now I’ve always been a firm believer in “burning more than you consume” as the rule of thumb for weight loss (whether I can put my words into action is another story.) However, his presentation and theories really made me think that there’s more to this than meets the eye. Maybe all the bread I love to consume isn’t such a great idea.
Seriously would you want this Taubes’ guys figure?Honcho’s right. A picture IS worth a thousand words. Here’s a picture of the doughy Gary Taubes speaking at Stevens. Proceed carefully:
Please…the guy has a paunch and a double chin.
A picture is worth a thousand words!
Okay, time to take a page out of Perez Hilton’s book—or should I say blog—here’s a Perez Hilton-like rendition of Taubes’ photo. I’m a bad boy:
Admittedly, I feel bad POKING fun of the guy—WOO-HOO—but people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. For more anti-Taube’s and anti-Atkins information, check out these posts:
- The New York Times: Diet and Fat
- Cholesterol: Well Blog Encounters a Loon
- TierneyLab: Nutrition Science and Gary Taubes
- The Physician and The Student
- How a High-Protein Diet Works
- Increased Risk of Cancer Associated with The Atkins Diet
- Short and Long-Term Dangers of High-Fat Diets
- What Happens When You Tell The Truth About Atkins
1. Sherwood, N.E.R. W. Jeffrey, S.A. French, et al. 2000. Predictors of weight gain in the Pound of Prevention study. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 24 (4): 395-403; Astrup, A. 1999. Macronutrient balancers and obesity: the role of diet and physical activity. Public Health Nutr. 2 (3A): 341-47.
2. Kahn, H.S., L. M. Tatham, C. Rodriguez et al. 1997. Stable behaviors associated with adults' 10-year change in body mass index and likelihood in body mass index and likelihood of gain at the waist. Am. J. Public Health 87 (5): 747-57.
I saw him on Larry King with other docs a couple of months ago. I think Dr. Oz was on too. Where is Dr. F when they need him? Anyway I didn't think much of what he had to say. Greens weren't even part of the discussion. At least not the way ETL is designed. He spoke about Robert Rodale and didn't even have his name right. He pronounced it as if it had a "y" at the end. If you're gonna talk about someone at least get their name right. He never smiled, did not seem happy or joyful about his food choices. That's where it's at for me. The more I eat ETL style, the happier I am, everywhere in my life.
So easy when you know (lol). I was looking for Banana. You can delete that part of my post. Just include the part about the farm. Thanks.
Sue
Hey Gerry, Dont feel bad for poking fun at that guy. Someone has to have the errr guts to speak . He should be embarrassed to stand up there with that "THING" out front and speak. Particularily at an engineering school...!! Maybe you should let him have his meat.....there will be more kale for me!!! and I dont think guts was quite the word I meant above....Hey keep up the great work and keep n the truth Pete in Flemington
Hey Pete-
Thanks! Gary "Tubs" is off his rocker. Be sure to check out the comments of the Hoboken411 post. I put some low-carber in his place; that low-carber is also the blog-troll I have referred to in the past.
Peace.
-Gerry
Taubes is not an "Atkins devotee" - he's an individual whose spent the last five years exhaustively researching the cause of obesity and come to the conclusion that sugar and carbohydrates cause obesity. He's not an advocate of any particular diet program.
I eat 75-80% of my calories as fat, I feel wonderful, and I am loosing approximately 4 lbs per month.
As for Gary's paunch, he may not currently be following a low carb life style, or possibly fell off the wagon over the holidays.
Hey JoshV-
Taubes is a low-carb shill.
He should be embarrassed to have that paunch. Instead of being a flake and on-again-off-again following a fad diet (like low-carb) he should switch to a healthy diet/lifestyle; i.e. eating lots of fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and bean--and limiting the dangerous amounts of animal products (and fat) low-carb lemmings consume.
Personally, I have never "fell off the wagon" with my diet/lifestyle.
Peace.
-Gerry
Congratulations on your diet and life style, you should be very proud of your apparent superiority.
Taubes is not a low carb shill. You either misunderstand the word, or you've never taken the time to listen to Taubes' message.
You also misunderstand the word "fad". Low carbohydrate diets have been around for about 150 years, and used were prescribed by doctors 80 years ago for weight loss. Comparatively speaking low-fat is a fad.
Perhaps you could describe to me the negative health effects I should be feeling from my massive meat and fat consumption? I haven't observed any. My blood pressure is down, my weight is down, my cholesterol levels are great, I have tons of energy, and am almost never hungry.
Hey JoshV-
Just check out DiseaseProof's diet myths category and you'll quickly see that low-carb is indeed a house of cards.
Peace.
-Gerry
What does the way Taubes looks have to do with anything? He's an author, not some kind of spokesperson. If you want to refute the science, refute the science. But making a personal attack on someone's body shape has nothing to do with anything. No where in the book or any of his lectures, has Taubes ever said to look at him because he's an example of the low-carb diet's effectiveness.
These kinds of ad homonem attacks are just silly.
Fuhrman's explanation is ridiculous. Vegetarians are ~2% of the adult population. Meat-eaters are ~98%.
Hey Charles-
Its an issue of credibility, why would you believe anyone that clearly doesn't practice what they preach?
Martin Luther King Jr. was well known for never asking his followers to do anything, he himself wouldn't do. Taubes is a fat guy, talking about healthy diet--you don't see a problem with that?
That shouldn't sit well with anyone.
Peace.
-Gerry
Gerry:
Taubes has written a book about the science of nutrition, and about the fact that the prevailing hypothesis of why people are getting fatter doesn't have a lot of real science behind it, and the alternative hypothesis (carbs drive insulin which drives fat accumulation) seems to have some support if you really look at the research.
I am gathering you have never read the book, because there is no place where he puts himself forward as a Martin Luther King, or suggests anyone eat in any particular way. If you can find a quotation from the book, would you mind citing that for me and your readers?
This isn't a diet book, it's a book about the history of a particular area of science and public health.
You have read the book, right?
(And if you think Taubes is a fat guy, you haven't been getting out much.)
'An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: "argument to the man", "argument against the man") consists of replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking or appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim. The process of proving or disproving the claim is thereby subverted, and the argumentum ad hominem works to change the subject."
Again, refute the science. personally attacking someone's looks or lifestyle is just a way of avoiding have to do that.
Take some time, Google Gary Taubes and check out the recent photos of him. He doesn't have a double chin and he doesn't have a paunch. I think the photo posted here is just one of those unfortunate instances where the camera adds some heft to the person. Think about all the photos you take where the subject doesn't look at all in the picture as they do in real life. Pictures are not worth a thousand words, they can be unbelievably deceiving. This post is a cheap shot instead of a thoughtful response to Gary Taubes work. Juvenile at best.
Attacking someone based on personal appearance...wow
Oh dear, what an article. What is wrong with you? Can you do anything else but personally insult people? Can you maybe write such a well researched book like he did? I sincerely doubt it! He's doing a great service to humanity but you're blinded... just like the Earth used to be flat. Move on from the middle age please.
The fact is groups of humans (hunters and gatherers), and individuals, have lived perfectly well even on 100% meat diets. That is all very well documented and out there for everyone to check for themselves. It's because meat supplies all the nutrients required for humans (except vit. C which is only required in the presence of carbs).
A lot of humans have tried for example the frutarian diet (=where you only eat fruit) and all of them have failed miserably. It is not sustainable. Also vegans simply don't get all nutrients from their diets. Their diet is often considered children abuse for exactly that reason. That tells me something.
This is a pathetic article and not worthy of publication. A personal attack on a man because you disagree with his science. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Gerry, Years ago I saw Taubes on televison with Dean Ornish. He absolutely knew what we was talking about and made Ornish look like a fool. And unlike Ornish, he didn't need a laptop with him to look up his facts.
To say that carbohydrates don't affect our health or weight gain is absolutely nonsensical and ludicrous. But once again, those with an animal rights agenda have to resort to blaming animal protein for all of our ills, all while giving sugar, trans fats and processed food a free pass. Way to go! You should be proud of yourself.
Never seemed to bother anyone that Dr. Andrew Weil was overweight (though he's since shed some pounds - on a low carb eating plan.)
Honestly, attacking people's appearance? You can do better than that, can't you, against an award-winning, independent science journalist who wrote a meticulously researched book that actually disproved theories that he'd previously held on the issue?
BTW, I'm 113 lbs (thanks to a low carb way of eating), and nowhere near overweight or even "doughy", and I get a double chin in certain positions, as does my rail-thin sister.
Hey recent comments-
I stand by this post. This tubby Gary Taubes and his book of nonsense should be ignored. He's just another crackpot trying to make money off the low-carb fad. He is no different than sell outs like Ornish and Weil.
Low-carb dieters are irrational fanatics, hell bent on promoting this dangerous fad. I have no problem dishing it right back. America's health is a stake and someone needs to speak up against this dangerous and misinformed diet. Dr. Fuhrman and I are happy to answer the call.
Peace.
-Gerry
You are so incorrect about so much.
You are correct about one thing though, America's health is at stake. Why are you so willing, Gerry, to promote so much harmful information that is not supported by the science?
That is the question you should be answering instead of ridiculing people on non-scientific basis.
Hey Ron Smith-
You do realize why legitimate science laughs at low-carb--right? Its just a money-making scam. Thats why I ridicule it. Science does not support low-carb. Profits support low-carb.
As for Gary Tubs, a chubby guy writing and speaking about diet--how disgraceful!
Its cliche, but, if you can't take the heat, get out of my kitchen.
Peace.
-Gerry
You must be kidding! Have you read the book? So what! The guy has a few pounds! Is that any reason to dismiss 100% of the painstaking reporting he did? I read the book, every word, and it never says that it's easy to alter your diet in these days and times, not for him, not for me, not for anyone. Taubes is a Texas boy from my era. If he was anything like me, he was eating cereal heaped with sugar or pancakes and syrup for breakfast for at least 15 years straight. He, I, and the rest of us have the nutrition "scientists" to thank for the stress our pancreases went through for all those years. And for those of us who happen to have genetics where an abundance of insulin really put the brakes on the fat to energy process, there's going to be (at least) a little dough around the middle!
Gerry,
I'm still looking for an intelligent reponse from you, but it doesn't appear that one is forthcoming.
As for low-carb profits, I find that amusing, especially when you see how many products containing refined carbohydrates are on the shelves. It stands to reason that a lot of the food industries would suffer, not gain, from low-carb eating. Also, the soy industry is quite powerful for those that follow a plant-based diet. So let's not be hypocritical and shortsighted when it comes to a certain types of diet being profitable.
Going back to human evolution, grains and other carbohydrates are relatively new to our system, so it stands to reason that many of us haven't adjusted to them. The simple fact that even complex carbs turn into simple sugars in our bodies when consumed. When this happens, insulin levels are raised and the body doesn't use fat for energy. Over time, this can cause weight gain and a variety of other illnesses. To gloss over this fact is DANGEROUS! Also, sugar feeds cancer.
I do agree that many commercial animal products are bad for your health, but a nice middle ground is to eat animal protein such as grass-fed meat, free range pultry and eggs and quality seafood like Sockeye Salmon from Alaska.
I tried your way faithfully for two years, but I'm convinced it's not the way to go. I ended up GAINING weight and becoming deficient in some of my vitamins, including B-12.
I'll close by recommending some good reads for you so you're not so misinformed in the future:
- Real Food by Nina Planck
- Life Without Bread by Wolfgang Lutz
- Living the Low Carb Life by Jonny Bowden
- Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig
- Pasure Perfect by Jo Robinson
- The Cholesterol Con by Anthony Colpo
Thanks,
Matt
p.s. I see a link to the China Study on the side here...nice. It's too bad T. Colin Campbell had to make outright lies about his findings in order to promote the vegan agenda!
Hey Matt R.-
Matt, why should I give you an ounce of credibility, when for some reason you lump Dr. Fuhrman with the failed standard American diet version of low-fat, clearly you assume DiseaseProof has a "vegan agenda", and you cite wackos like Mary Enig and Anthony Colpo.
Dr. Fuhrman's approach to nutrition is above the typical low-fat diet, above the Ornish's and Weil's of the world, and certainly WAY above low-carb nonsense.
You need to do some homework.
Peace.
-Gerry