Ask Gary Taubes a question
I’ve just discovered that the soft-cover version of Good Calories, Bad Calories is out. I guess it has been out for a few weeks, but I just discovered it was available. If any of you have been waiting for the paperback before reading this terrific book, now is the time to get it.
Since GCBC came out a year or two ago, I’ve gotten countless comments asking me what Gary thinks about this topic or that one. And I’ve gotten comments from folks asking me to ask Gary a question for them. I was going to interview Gary and post his responses to my questions when it occurred to me that you all might like to ask questions of him directly without having them come through me. I contacted Gary this weekend to see if he would be willing to answer specific questions from people on this blog. He very generously agreed to do so.
Send your questions in via the comment section. I ask on Gary’s behalf that you ask no personal medical questions, but questions about the science and the history of the science behind the way we eat today and the way we probably should be eating. I promised Gary that he wouldn’t have to answer questions by the score, so we’ll see what comes in. He and I will look at the questions and answer those that are a) the most common, b) those of the most general interest, and c) those that he feels are particularly important.
I know I don’t have to tell the readers of this blog not to be shy, but I will anyway. Don’t be shy. Get those questions in. If you’ve had a question that’s been gnawing at your brain, now’s the time to ask.
I’m heading off for a 9 hour drive to make it home in time to do my civic duty tomorrow, so I’ll be out of the loop for a while. I can post comments through my Blackberry, however, so don’t hesitate to ask the question you would like to ask.
Note: I have closed the comments on this post. Since Gary agreed to answer a number of questions, I think 101 is probably enough. Thanks for all your interest and intelligent questions.
I would like to second the following questions already posed:
Please address:
1. The increased difficulty of losing weight the second or more time one returns to low-carb;
2. The influence of female hormones and menopause on weight loss;
3. Someone above mentioned heart palpitations on low-carb. I’ve been experiencing those too. My doctor was not concerned about them, but I cannot say the same. This might be more a question for Dr. Eades, but any experience with patients who exhibited this symptom on low-carb?
Loved the book, by the way. Just think how much more compassionately the obese would be treated if it was understood they really do have a metabolic disorder, and are not just “lazy gluttons.” So much of their suffering is caused by their not being given the correct nutrional education and treatment. I wish everyone who dispenses nutrional advice would just shut up until they have read GCBC (and/or PPLP!).
I’d like to make a reply in reference to Michael’s question about the Japanese/diet/thinness.
I don’t live in Japan, but I go there a lot every year. And for reasons that I won’t go into, but you can speculate, I’ve seen quite a few naked Japanese people. I think there’s a misconception between what you’re seeing when you’re on the street, and what they actually look like w/o their clothes. Yes, they have small waists, etc, but the majority of them naked have what I call “skinny fat”. They have little paunches and they have absolutely no definition at all, and droopy skin. In men, there’s a very visible fat accumulation around the bottom of the pectoral muscles that borders on gyno. If you saw the majority of them naked, you would not consider them in perfect shape. But when they’re wearing clothes, it’s not apparent.
Another aspect is that:
A.) they do eat a much smaller serving size of everything,
B.) and a lot of them still smoke like houses
C.) They also drink a lot energy drink that are pretty good at surpressing appetite.
And a lot of canned coffee (most of which is black or like 25 calorie or less)
D.) In general they are shorter than the average American. I’m 5’8 and I’m fairly tall over
there.
A lot of the younger kids/adults tend to eat pretty much garbage.
I don’t doubt that there’s probably a genetic or adaption component to it. As you don’t see as many of these mega-heifers that you see here, but I do notice there’s a lot of “skinny fat” over there, it’s just not apparent in clothes.
Hi. I am a family physician who often is confronted by patients so desperate to loose weight that they want me to refer them for surgery. I have found that using Beta HCG (as per Dr Simeons protocol) with a strict low calorie diet works brilliantly (the patients simply stick to the very low calorie diet because the BHCG relieves the hunger by releasing mainly fat for digestion). I have done this protocol on myself (did it first, and the results were impressive) and by tracking my body composition on a Tanita Innerscan I found that the weight lost was mainly FAT tissue, and very little muscle tissue. I would be grateful if you would ask Gary Taubes if he has come across any interesting research on this neglected bit of medical tinkering. Simeons noted the benefit of this BHCG approach to obesity in a childhood syndrome, and just tried it on obese patients. The theory has been raised to EXPLAIN the observed weight loss, but as far as I know that theory is 30 years old and better explanations may be now known. The follow-on diet after this protocol is pure Protein/Good Fats and leafy greens for a month or so, and if the patient reintroduces carbs/sugar/alcohol in that time the weight PILES back on at an astonishing rate.
thanks for considering the question!
Hi Bill–
I did ask the question, and Gary is not familiar with the protocol. I’ve read a little about it, but have never used it on myself or on patients. I’ve always found that a low-carb diet all by itself seems to work well, so I’ve not tried to boost its effectiveness with a more expensive and painful (painful to me anyway because I hate shots) addition. Since the protocol is coming back into fashion, I probably ought to look into it a little more closely because I’ll probably get a lot of questions about it when we tour the new book.
Best–
MRE
So the United Nations WHO ICD10 diseases goes to Wikipedia, due to neglection of the developing countries?
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/ICD10_WHO.htm
Here’s some statistics of the medical contribution of Jewish population all over the world to the host country in terms of inventions, science and technology:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/Indicator.html
Pauli Ojala
Finland
Seems to me the “correct” diet depends on your starting point. I have been on a low carb diet for 15 years and have lost over 50 pounds. But I am 80 years old, with insulin resistance , pre-diabetic, atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. CVD patients are advised to take it easy on meats and prefer vegies and fruits. Most meats are high in arachidonic acid which is not recommended for vascular problems. Would soy and other plant proteins be better than meats?
Also, does anyone else other than the Dutch group at Maastricht believe that vitamin K2 helps prevent additional arterial calcification?
No, I don’t think soy would be better. I think it would be worse. And, yes, many, including myself, believe that vitamin K2 probably helps prevent arterial calcification. But vitamin D3 probably does so as well.