Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes

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It's been claimed that this assertion:

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Taubes claims that carbs are the sole cause of cancer and Alzheimer's, along with heart disease, obesity and type II diabetes.

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is incorrect.

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Can you back it up? Perhaps it was just a bit of careless hyperbole?

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I'm not Molbiogirl, but maybe she got that from this excerpt from Taubes' book. From ABC News

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4. Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.

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I notice that the word "sole" is missing from this quote, but Molbiogirl did reference some videos of Taubes as support for her claim about his claims. I didn't check out the videos, so I can't say.While googling along, I noticed some other provocative things that Taubes is saying. He apparently believes that fiber is unnecessary in the diet, that meat provides all of the necessary vitamins and minerals (including Vitamin C) and that exercise does not help you lose weight, it just makes you hungry. Sounds like his book would be an interesting read.Joe T.

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But I'm not endorsing a carbohydrate-free diet. No one is. I was simply noting that when it comes to the three sources of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates, only protein and fat are essential.

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Really? The only things I thought I had sure about this thread are that you take criticisms of Taubes very personally and that you think that it is perfectly OK to eat as much fat (including saturated fat) as you want and that you shouldn’t eat carbs. I must work on my reading comprehension.Joe T.

Percy said:

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Pepperidge Farm 9 Grain Whole Grain Bread, presumably made with unrefined grain,...

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Here your assumption may not be correct. I think that in the US labeling can be misleading. "Whole Grain" does not necessarily mean 100% Whole Grain. In my pantry is some pasta labeled "Whole Grain" that is only 51% whole grain. If the label says, "100% Whole Grain" then you can take that as truth. You are correct though that even 100% Whole Grain stuff can have sugar, HFC or other such sweeteners.You also wondered if white rice is considered a refined carb and the answer is a definite yes. White rice is just about empty calories as it has little protein, vitamins or minerals and zero fiber. Whole grain brown rice (again you have to be careful as not all things labeled “brown rice” are whole grain) is better, but maybe not the best of grains. Whole grain wheat, barely and quinoa all have more fiber and protein than does whole grain rice.Good luck with your diet. I have had good results limiting, but not eliminating carbs. I get about 70-100 grams of carbs from whole grains (1 cup grains and about 1-2 slices of bread). I don’t know how much from vegetables and fruits as I eat most of them with abandon. I also limit my fat intake to about 30-35% of my calories and have changed my fat sources. Most of my fat is unsaturated and comes from fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil (although I do loves me some steak or a pork chop every now and then). I have been able to sustain this diet for almost 2 years and have lost about 35 lbs.Joe T.

On MSNBC (MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos) and CNN there is a report of a study comparing the Mediterranean, low fat and low carb (no fat restrictions) diets. The report will be coming out in the NEJM. Some of the findings:1. In general low carb beat low fat for weight loss and cholesterol lowering. Note that the fats consumed by the low carb peoples were vegetable based so this probably doesn’t do anything one way or another to settle the Taubes/Atkins claims (as I understand them) that saturated animal fats are not a health issue.
2. Apparently men and women lose weight differently. Women responded better to the Med diet, while men responded better to the low carb diet.
3. Diabetics only lowered their blood sugar on the Med diet.I would be interested in seeing the NEJM article. Maybe one of the med types here can read it and post some of the details.BTW I finally found a low carb/high fiber (12 gms) tortilla that more closely resembles food rather than cardboard. I’ll print the brand name when I go home and look at the label. I think that the thing has less than 10 gms net carbs per serving.Joe T.

Glad your weight loss program is going well. You said something with which I take small exception:

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I don't believe bread or pasta in any form can be part of any effective low carbohydrate diet targeted at weight reduction. This includes even 100% whole grain products.

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My experience of loosing 35 lbs over a 1 year period (and keeping it off for the last 2 years) is that you (meaning me) can have a reduced carb diet, lose weight, and eat smaller (1/3 to 1/2 cup servings) amounts of whole grains (bread, pasta, rice, barely, bulgur wheat, etc). I also eat grapes and bananas which some low carb diets consider anathema.I also lost considerable weight once in my youth (mid to late thirties) on a high carb diet, but that involved unrealistic levels of exercise. Once the 10-15 hrs/week in the gym tailed off, the weight piled on. I had to adjust my diet to reduce carbs as I got older and busier to get the weight back off and keep it off.Joe T.