Good calories, bad calories
by Gary Taubes · first published 2007
68% recommend26% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Heavily referenced, detailed history of nutrition science arguing that refined carbs and insulin, not calories in versus out, drive obesity; suits readers who want the research behind low-carb thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 carbohydrat
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Carbohydrates produce insulin, insulin causes us to store fat. It's not complicated. There have been scientific studies out since the 30's entirely dismissing calorie counting as being effective. Good Calories, Bad Calories: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Challenging-Conventi...
on “The Fat Trap: Our Bodies Are Fighting Against Us” ↗…(blood sugar). This is how cataracts, kidney disease, and atherosclerotic plaque develop. Small LDL is 8-fold more glycation prone than large LDL, providing a carbohydrate double-whammy." I also recommend Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes, which is a well documented indictment of our common wisdom regarding nutrition (ie, things like the preposterous food pyramid). The general point is that not all calories are alike. My…
on “The Startup Diet: How I Lost 35 Pounds While Working Overtime” ↗…the only way to raise animals. On the other hand, grain agriculture is beyond fixing See http://lierrekeith.com/vegmyth.htm for a great intro. Meat is also healthy. Grains are not. See any of these Good Calories Bad Calories/Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes, The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/#axzz1wxjdQqRB Eat real food.
on “Obvious Goes Beyond Meat” ↗Much of the academic research I have read (Check out Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes) shows the exact opposite to be true. Our diets accounts for dramatically much higher cause of obesity than our environment and specifically cars.
on “Study: carpooling apps could reduce traffic 3x in NYC” ↗…(though not for much longer). I was poor as a child, so I think I can speak to this subject a little. It's anecdotal, but when accompanied by what I have learned from different sources (in particular, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes), I suspect that my experience was typical. Poor people eat an unhealthy diet because they cannot afford high quality protein and complex carbohydrates on a consistent basis. Further,…
on “Why Are Southerners So Fat?” ↗…less does not lead to long term weight loss, it leads to hunger. I know many have talked about this idea on HN before, but in case you missed it, an excellent, eye-opening read is Gary Taubes' book, Good Calories Bad Calories - http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...
on “Weighing the Evidence on Exercise” ↗…has a god damn clue how the body regulates fat and how weight gain really works. People recommend fruits, while fructose is probably one of the worst things you can eat. I can only recommend the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" from Gary Taubes. Basically it explains the philosophy behind low carbohydrates, no sugar and high protein & fat. Makes evolutionary sense, too. At least that's what I believe in.
on “Permanent Weight Loss” ↗Indeed. For those wanting to learn (a lot) more about this, with references to all the studies, check out Gary Taubes's book Good Calories, Bad Calories.
on “How to lose weight: What worked for me, with graphs” ↗He follows (old) USDA dietary recommendations, which stipulate no saturated fat, and 60% carbs. That is really, really bad. The ultimate reference is "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes - it is meticulously researched and referenced, and is likely 40 years more up-to-date than your nutrition or medical professional.
on “Eating Healthily for $3 a Day” ↗On a similar note I'd nominate Good Calories, Bad Calories as my book. Ferris gets my back up, especially the received wisdom that others quote from him, but Taubes really opened my eyes to the fact I could change what I eat and feel ten times better.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗…and that the type of calories are everything. People associate the number of calories as mattering because they change other things at the same time. Please watch videos from Gary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories Bad Calories" and "Why we get fat". Here's his google talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4 On a personal note, I lost 40 lbs and I eat far more calories now than I did before. Open you mind for a bit…
on “Learning to Eat Well and Stay Healthy” ↗…and despite reductions in red meat consumption[1], health outcomes have gotten catastrophically worse, not better. So maybe the conclusions that people are drawing from these studies are wrong. Read Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes if you want to do a deep dive on how so many people can be so wrong about something for so long. It will completely undermine your faith in experts along the way. [0]: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/magazine/16epidemiology-t...…
on “How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US” ↗Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. He starts with a takedown of the dietary fat-heart disease hypothesis, moves on to the dietary fat-obesity link. Finally he makes a convincing argument that neither eating less nor exercising…
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗I saw this literally after just finishing this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4362041487661765149# Gary Taubes giving a presentation about his book Good Calories, Bad Calories. If you've never seen someone actually make the case for this stuff, but only let other people diss it for you, I encourage you in the strongest terms to actually listen to the case directly and make…
on “UCSF Endocrinologist debunks "Calories In / Calories Out" Model” ↗Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories is a great book that examines the science behind low-carb diets and attacks low-fat diets as completely lacking scientific support and being essentially the biggest public health disaster of the 20th…
on “More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart” ↗