And the Controversial Science of Diet and Health

About me: I started (intuitively) reducing carb and increasing my activity level around 4 years ago. I was overweight by at least 15kg. Initially it was very painful and I had little success. I didnt have any book and somehow couldnt do endurance sports, it was painfully hard.
I lost weight, but very slowly. Only around 1.5y ago i started reading a lot more about food, all the phytochemicals and made some changes to my diet (I already was quite informed about a lot of things). Back then sugar was only one of many things i started to optimize. At that time i experimented for example with vegetable juicing and started running. Hence i did some lifestyle changes that are consistent with the book.

About my success: In total I lost 23kg and I am super fit now and close to my target weight. I have plenty of energy now and feel full of energy. I seem to even look younger every month (my wife is telling me) and my skin changed texture and apprearance. The last (most difficult) 6kg were and the next 2kg weight loss are due to strictly and very low carb. Since going very low carb it has been surprisingly easy.
My blood results now are very good now, liver values are perfect now. Total cholesterol increased (like it was predicted), but the HDL/LDL ratio (tested with ApoB100 LDL-P) improved. Triglycerides, perfect.

My goals: I am not staying on the very low carb train to lose weight at the moment. I have achieved that goal and no difficulty in maintaing it. I will maybe lose another 2kg or replace that fat with more muscle, but its all good now.
I am doing it to prevent health problems. In fact low carb done right has more benefits than weight loss to it (energy supply, oxidative stress, cancer prevention etc) - but forget about that for now, there still is a lot of research going on about these `added perks` and these are things that will not be discussed in this book.

About the book and whether you should read it:
If you are new to the topic and impatient, read Garys other book `Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It` - its more succinct and better written for the uninitiated. I read Good Calories, Bad Calories first however.
It will require you to learn a lot more than just `what to eat`, it will tell you THE WHOLE STORY. If you are not in to the whole story and a big journey, dont read it, read the other one.
I must admit, the initial chapters were a bit painful and it took a while to read the whole book, its very dense.

The reading experience has been critizied, because Gary truly has amassed a wealth of information and structured it in a way that will require you to read the whole book. Some people may not like that style, in that case dont critize the book and read the other one. However, if you read the whole book sequentially, it will open your eyes better on how politics, ego and NOT scientific results & facts turn from `just an opinion` to official recommendations (about what to eat) and then become a sad reality (and America and other countries keep getting fatter due to this). At times the book is more a statement about the state of science (back then and in many cases still today) and humankind then about nutrition.

What you will learn: Ancient civilizations and how they ate, selected individuals how impacted the course of history, cholesterol and how fat became subject of a witch hunt, how at the same time pre-existing common knowledge that starches are fattening and successful results in treating patient with very low carb diets were disregarded and forgotten, fat metabolism, salt, insulin, sugar, starches, fructose, hormone impacts... and much more, Gary will take you through the whole history. You have to be patient though and as he requested somewhere in his book, just look without any preconceptions at the facts.

I have to admit as well, the last chapters were by far the most pleasant to read with regards to nutrition and what you can do.

What to read afterwards: I read `Why we get fat` afterwards, just because i already bought it for my wife. Its quick and painless and focuses on the essentials. One of them you must read to open your mind, then you should turn to `The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living` which I am reading now and helps optimizing your diet once you understood the basics or if you are a professional and treating others.

A brief description of my background: I have been researching health & fitness since I was 16 years old, when my brother in law informed me that I was “getting fat”, I am now 44.

Gary Taubes has release a layman’s version of this book called “Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It”. If you don’t want to read a long, technical, textbook style book then I would recommend you go with Why We Get Fat. However, if you are like me and actually enjoy reading textbooks (yes I am a nerd) then you will get a lot out of Good Calories, Bad Calories.

The author dives deep into the science of why people gain body fat, and shatters conventional wisdom, our government’s nutritional guidelines, and standard medical nutritional information along the way. This book has added a lot to my knowledge of the impact of what we eat on our health.

Very engaging book for such a dry subject. Normally I'm bored in minutes, but not this time. This book was recommended by my personal trainer and he was spot on with its usefulness. It really helped me understand how to work through the fluff of other eat this and not that type of books. I enjoyed the history of the subject the most.

This book explains the role of the pancreas in weight gain and loss, and how different foods are processed
by different organs of the body. Once you understand that, weight gain is no longer a mystery. We live in
a society where grain and it's millions of byproducts are toted as healthy, without the knowledge that they
reek havoc on our blood sugar. Never did society have so much of this poorly nutritious food product
on our shelves until maybe a 100 years ago. What we accept as normal now, is horrible for our health.
Great seller also.

It's basically a text book. Audio version was over 25 hours. Lots of material to digest. If you want a lighter read I'd suggest Taube's The Case Against Sugar and Robert Lustig's Fat Chance.

But a great book. I'll probably go through it again in paper format to understand it more thoroughly.

I predict that Good Calories, Bad Calories will be remembered as one of the most important medical works of the first decade of the 21st century. It is not light reading, and it is more than science journalism. It is a thoroughly documented, exquisitely well-reasoned demolition of the conventional wisdom about obesity, heart disease, and what constitutes a healthy diet.
A secondary - and equally important - question raised by Taubes is why did the medical mainstream get it all so wrong? The public has funded medical research generously for decades, and the public has tried to follow the advice from the "experts". But Taubes argues that the advice we get - to eat a low fat diet high in carbohydrates - is worse than worthless, it's dangerous to our health. How have our medical authorities lost the capacity to do good research, and weigh the evidence dispassionately?
Take the time to read this great book!

This book was a revelation and started my journey on losing 30+ kilos and reversing pre-diabetes. It is clear from Gary's research that carbohydrates are the driver of the 'diseases of civilization'. I know this experientially as I applied this principal and it works. I have lost 30+ kilos and kept it off without exercise or calorie restriction or hunger. If you are interested in nutrition and your health then there is no greater work to read than this. I just wish he would hurry up and finish his book on sugar!

This book has some good information, but it is so tied up in the scientific explanations that it becomes a bit boring and overbearing for the novice or potential carnivore to read. His other book, Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It deals with the same topic in a much more readable fashion.

The author backs up all his claim with science. You will be shocked to find out how we have been misled by the FDA and food manufactures. Even well meaning doctors are misled.

While one review said:

"People in many countries have lived on diets consisting of almost 100% starches, rice, potatoes, corn. None of these populations ever had a high incidence of cancer, heart disease, or diabetes."

This person is misinformed and did not understand that there are many other factors - like for example these people are basically starving and can't get anything else to eat. Plus these people get way more exercise that we do. This person does not understand how science relates cause and effect, and just wants to justify staying fat.
Fat does not make you fat! This is just a scientific fact. As for heart disease the evidence is SLIM to NONE at best. And of course fat "cures" diabetes (does not really cure, but if you ate no carbs you would not need insulin.

This book is quite the extensive read, but while it is a very long book it has to be in order to explain and properly discuss the topics that have become mainstream and why they became that way. So that once the picture is painted you can see the cracks before they are pointed out by the author. Simply put this book is a must read for anyone who is a person interested in health and nutrition and especially anyone related to the nutrition field, because regardless of your persuasion the argument laid out is something that needs to be discussed

I try not to heavily associate myself with the low carb or low fat diet groups because they are usually a little dramatic and emotional about the entire situation and rarely get past head butting in terms of facts and research. In practice though I am student of the low carbohydrate, no sugar school of thought which I adopted after successfully losing one hundred pounds of fat with no exercise and a comfortable shift in my diet. I actually picked up this book in order to learn as much about the science behind carbohydrates and related nutrition research as I could because I realized after losing all of that weight I didn't really understand exactly what had happened and why this new diet had worked where others had failed to produce sustained weight loss and comfort.

On to my actual observations good and bad.

* I recommend a highlighter for marking key points or other form of note-taking so you can keep up with the sheer amount of information.

* It is a deceivingly thick book topping out at around 500 pages not including the source list, references and notes.

* This is not a diet book in the traditional sense. Dieters seeking how to guides or recipes will be disappointed by the focus on nutritional science. If you are looking for a more practical application of these conclusions you would be better off looking at some of these:
[...]

* Taubes focuses on these topics:
- Why calories in calories out is not a useful tool for weight loss.
- Why carbohydrates and insulin are the most important factors in human fat storage and metabolism.
- Why historically most scientists advocated a diet high in animal fat and low in carbohydrates.
- Why exercise does not affect weight loss in the generic and formulaic way it is prescribed as a treatment for obesity.
- How the current dietary guidelines for Americans (and soon to be other countries) were implemented more through political maneuvering than scientific study
- Why most diseases associated with obesity and a high fat diet (Diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers) are actually more directly caused and affected by a diet high in sugar and other carbohydrates
- Why the first law of thermodynamics is more of a glorified cop out misinterpretation and in fact provides little to no support for conventional dietary wisdom.

* There is a great deal of fascinating historical information that takes you through several centuries of obesity research and helps paint a really vivid picture of the timeline of obesity research. In particular Taubes details a number of researchers who pioneered obesity research and their personal experiences and conclusions based on those experiences.

I am probably forgetting a few things but I want to say something about the negative reviews I glanced through. Most of them are either casual readers looking for a how to diet book or low fat extremists not interested in objective debate. Taubes very clearly documents his sources and I recommend you contact me via my e-mail ([email protected]), or Taubes at his personal blog if you doubt the authenticity of his research.

Good book, loaded with information. I like that there are citations (at times an overwhelming amount), which is a good change of pace compared to a lot of other nutrition books.

The book is tough to read, partly because it is dense with information, and partly because it does get a little redundant. It took me a few months of casual reading to complete. If obesity and diet are something you're interested in, I would at least give it an attempt, whether you believe his point of view or not.

I read this after I read "The Big Fat Surprise..." as a second perspective on the vilification of fats in our diet. I liked it better than TBFS.

It is not going to be for everybody. In areas where there are decades of history of research, Taubes takes the approach of presenting the trajectory of the research as a story. Personally, I find this more engaging than the same material presented as a series of facts. Also, stepping through the shortcomings of the early studies helped me get a handle on the challenges of doing good scientific studies in nutrition. The technique also helped get a perspective on where the true culprits lie, be they industry, pundits, researchers or policy makers. Honestly... I expected far more overt industry collusion but it actually appears to be that naively enthusiastic policy makers coupled with empire-building pundits/researchers was the truly bad combination.

Somewhere around halfway through the book, Taubes switches gears from fat/cholesterol and gets into a far more technical treatment of nutrition and how we digest, metabolize and utilize what we eat. He still keeps the historical trajectory in the narrative but goes, in depth, into the roles of (and current research into) diabetes/insulin, obesity, roles of cholesterol / triglycerides / fatty acids, atherosclerotic plaques, Alzheimers and our metabolic feedback systems. This is the part of the book that may not work for a lot of folks... he gets fairly technical and having a decent understanding of physiology and how feedback systems work is very helpful.

I would love to read a similarly thorough treatment of the diet that policy makers recommend.
Yeah... and when I say 'thorough', I mean with stated facts referenced to peer reviewed studies. Taubes' references occupy a third of GCBC.

Seemingly complete, well written, surprising information to me, as a physician educated in the 1970's. Recommended to me by a college friend, also a physician, who has suffered from obesity, diabetes, and heart attack, and who also had believed what we were taught back then about saturated fat as a main contributor to coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and obesity. This was not my field, and all I now remember is that we were taught that saturated fat in diet correlated with cholesterol in blood, which correlated with atherosclerosis--but with little biochemical or physiological explanation of why. Taubes makes a strong case for dietary sugar and refined carbohydates being the main driver of above problems, with a logical explanation of why, via insulin and insulin resistance. No, he is a science writer, rather than a nutritionist or physician or physiologist, but as my friend pointed out, he is a rocket scientist. I agreed with George McGovern on VietNam, but I think he mislead us on dietary fat. Taubes has a new book specifically about sugar, so I assume it has more up-to-date info than this old book, but I haven't read it.

FANTASTIC BOOK! AMAZINGLY WELL RESEARCHED! Get ready for a heavy read, though...very long and lots of science and history, but TOTALLY WORTH IT! Gary Taubes tells the amazing story of how we ended up with the terrible recommendations from the medical community on nutrition and health and what science (and history) REALLY tells us about nutrition and health. If you are interested but afraid the content may be too long or too heavy, I highly recommend his follow up book, "Why We Get Fat", which has the same purpose and overall focus and information as this book, but is much shorter and less intense on the history and science. Both are great books!

Great book, but an unrealist choice for most. Get his simplified book, "Why we get fat: and what to do about it". I have both books, and this book is just about unreadable for those that are just interested in the facts, specific to the process of losing weight. Gary overwhelms with names and footnotes to the point that a person's eyes start to spin. Never the less, I went over the book several times, and attained something new each time. Gary has many videos on Youtube and the like, and I recommend watching at least several of them before reading either book. Gary covers most of the material in his videos, to the point where reading either book may be unnecessary for some. Never the less, I recommend buying, "Why we get fat" as a quick portable reference. But, if you are the type to ponder technical material (like I am), then this is the book for you. My father was a philosphy professor, and taught me a thing or two about critical thought, including, "asking the right questions", and Gary is obviously well versed in these subjects whether he likes it or not. Like a true academic, for good or for bad, Gary's theories keep evolving to match the incredible amount of material that pours into the realm of reality, and tries to make the best assessment that he can at any given time. To conclude, read this book if you can or must, but like I stated, for most, his simplified book is the most practical way to go.

Thanks,

Michael Stillman

Good Calories, Bad Calories is a remarkable book. With impressively-researched and well-documented detail, Taubes recounts the history of the "science" of nutrition, and shows how many of the thought-leaders in the field remained wedded to their pet theories even as the evidence mounted that those ideas were just plain wrong. And he does a masterful job of explaining the not always simple science of nutrition in a way that a careful reader can understand. Throughout the book, he does what a good journalist should do which is to report as much as possible by quoting the people who actually did the work.

Good scientists know that there is no such thing as "settled science". Taubes shows, once misleading ideas leave the lab and become part of mainstream lore, just how difficult it is to change them. But if he's right, and the evidence he presents is truly compelling, it's well past time for some of the most settled ideas, for example, that a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet is good for diabetics or anybody else for that matter, to be discarded.

Anybody who is interested in understanding more about the fundamental science of food and nutrition will find this book rewarding.

This book contains all the information you could ever hope to learn about the competing hypotheses on the causes of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions associated with metabolic syndrome. If you want the full story, including all the history, the names of all the players involved, etc., then this is your book. Personally, I'm more interested in the current state of our scientific understanding. Although I learned a lot from this book, I wish I had bought his other book, Why We Get Fat, which was written specifically for audiences like me who would like to get right to the "meat" of the issue (pun unintentional).

It's interesting to note that the concept of good calories vs. bad calories is still hotly contended. If you are someone who still believes that "a calorie is a calorie," I definitely recommend that you read something to bring you up-to-date... But this book may drive you to tears with its faithful, well-intentioned thoroughness.

The author spends quite a bit of time discrediting old studies and how the results could be biased/skewed. Then goes on to quote old studies for the whole book. Not sure why he spent a good amount of time telling the audience about those biases then went on to continue to quote history

An excellent review of the literature for nutritional science. Mr. Taubes does an excellent job compiling and exploring the literature and presents clear and well supported conclusions. As a skeptical sort, I looked up many of the original studies and found that he did an excellent job of accurately representing the conclusions and methodology of the original research; no cherry picking or straw men here. This an excellent example of what a lit review ought to be.

Explains and clarifies the metabolic (and unfortunately political) details of the carbohydrate vs. fat debate. It addresses one of the most important issues concerning human (un)health in our time and I hope it will be widely read and taken seriously, especially by doctors and other professionals who have a direct impact on public health. It is both scholarly and readable and (I think) it won't leave the non technical or readers new to the subject in the dust.

Well written and edited and clearly NOT ghost written. Extensive references and bibliography.

I think the title doesn't do it justice, making it seem to be just another populist diet book. That's too bad.

A thorough and thoughtful review of the research. In the midst of all the confusing information on how we should eat to promote health and weight stability, Gary Taubes is one person I trust I can look too for an honest evaluation of nutrition and its affect on obesity and disease. Most people I know want to be healthy and eat right, but there is so much conflicting information out there for the layperson that it becomes overwhelming and often leads to throwing one's hand up in hopelessness. Mr. Taubes provides a calm in the storm. By the way, following the guidelines Mr. Taubes sets forth on how we should eat has changed my life. I am off all Rheumatoid Arthritis medications for the first time in 20 years. My sleep issues that I encountered after having a hysterectomy have resolved. I feel more energetic, more mental clarity and healthier overall. For me, I felt worse before I felt better. It took about 4 weeks of strictly adhering to a low carb lifestyle (no more than 20-25 carbs daily for the first few months) before I really began to see the benefits in terms of how I felt. The best part? After the first couple of weeks, I found I was not as hungry, not constantly thinking about food and felt a comforting sense of satisfaction with my meals. If you are having difficulty getting past the dietary "truths" that have been drilled into our brains by the "experts" over the years, consider just trying the low carb way of eating for 8 weeks and see how you feel. Remember, low carb does not mean high protein.....low carb, moderate protein, higher fat. Good luck!

Not much to say, since there are already great reviews. This is one of the most impressive books I've read. For three decades, I've accepted the low-fat, high-fiber view. I really hadn't even checked into it for a long time, to my regret. Thank you, Gary Taubes. Since since reading GCBC, I've deeply investigated the closely related books and websites on the paleo/primal/evolutionary fitness view. Although already in good shape at 46, since adopting this approach, my bodyfat has gone down (almost in single figures now) and my blood pressure quickly dropped by 20 points (both systolic and diastolic). I'm very much looking forward to Taube's new book, due out in December 2010.

I bought this book last January and read it twice. I'd read The Omnivore's Dilemma the year
before and together, these two amazing books created a paradigm shift in my thinking. It's
now seven months later. I've lost 41 pounds and am still loosing every week. I didn't need a
diet, just common sense. I'm a woman who has been obese most of her life and tried every
diet out there. After reading this book, I said to myself, I'll try it. It was my last resort. I decided
that if this didn't work, I just be fat. I refused to starve myself anymore on all the diets out there.
I'm 58 . Here's are the results after seven months. Eating this way I'm never voraciously hungry.
I don't think about food all the time. And miracle of miracles, I can actually tell when I'm full.
I haven't exercised once. I'm still just over two hundred pounds, but am beginning to feel like I have
the ability to exercise, which I didn't before. I went to my doctor after eating this way -- few carbs,
lots of meat, fish, poultry, butter, cream, good fats, salads, some fruits (mostly berries) and vegetables -- and my cholesterol had dropped almost into the normal range. (290 to 210.) My triglicerides which
were off the scale had dropped to normal. My doctor was thrilled and told me to go home and keep eating low fat, high carb. She doesn't get it and I didn't bother explaining it to her. But, next time I go -- in November -- I'll bring her this book and give it to her. I would think my experience would go a long way toward getting her to read it. Finally, I've found something that makes sense to my life. I couldn't have
done it without Pollan's and Taube's wonderful research.

Gary Taubes has written a masterpiece. What a novel idea to actually go through the scientific literature to examine the science behind the fat-cholesterol hypothesis, the carbohydrate hypothesis, and what actually makes us fat and unhealthy. This is the most rigorous piece of literature for the general readership that I have read on issues of health. Taubes interviewed over 600 clinicians, investigators, and administrators when doing research for this book. If you truly want to be informed on nutrition, and "how we know what we know" than this is the book to read. His logic and empiricism are constant all throughout this book. It would also behoove anyone that is in the medical/health field to read this book. If there ever were reading this would be the book. Taubes builds a very strong case indicting carbs, not fat, as being responsible for obesity and disease. Finally for such a rigorous book it well written and will keep your attention with no trouble. I can't recommend this highly enough for everybody that cares at all about their health.

Describes the different interpretations of the science and how the nutritionists and cardiologists may have gotten it wrong. Bought the hardcopy long ago, sent copies to my sisters, now bought the kindle version.

Loved the book. I am a primary care physician trained in the 70's . Much of the material mentioned in this book was developed right before and during my career. I can attest that all the information presented by Taubes that I was familiar with was presented with spot-on accuracy. This gives me the impression that the strong likelihood is that information I was NOT familiar with is also accurate. Taubes' questions about the common consensus concerning lipids and carbohydrates are consistent with my observations and questions over the course of a career . But his implications and conclusions go far beyond anything I would have allowed myself to think given the consensus. I look forward to the Carbohydrate hypothesis being rigorously tested and I expect that it will be confirmed. In medical school I remember a lecturer in my first year saying somewhat waggishly,"fifty percent of what we teach you will change by the time you graduate. . . the other fifty percent is just wrong." Until this book I thought he was (only slightly) exaggerating.

This is important information everyone should know, but you don't need to buy this book. You can find all of this information online and a thousand times more. I bought this book thinking I would learn something new, but I had already learned all of this on YouTube.

Still reading as it is very long and thorough. The author has convinced me to remove carbs from my diet. It has been a couple weeks and I have already lost 5 pounds, even after consuming more calories. For two years now, I have been using delay tactics to keep my doctor from prescribing cholesterol meds and I am not overweight. I walk everyday but my bad cholesterol is inching upwards, but is still borderline. He is obsessed with wanting me to take them. Next month I will take another blood test and see my doctor. I am curious as to whether it has raised because I am eating more fat. And, according to the author, a high cholesterol number doesn't mean that a person is in danger of having a heart attack,

I absolutely loved this book, it turned my whole perspective around and got me on track. It took a chapter or two to get into it, then I could not put it down, incredibly researched. Taubes takes previous research and shows how results were misconstrued, resulting in the issues we face today, chronic illness and obesity. Very enlightening on the myths of exercising to lose weight etc. very impressed... Thank You Taubes for blowing the lid off the box.

I have read both Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat. Why We Get Fat was most helpful to me. It seems like the Good Calories book has more information than I needed or wanted, but it's a great book if you're doing your own research and get deeply into the fine points. Good Calories is also very long and is tedious to read. I found myself skipping over paragraph after paragraph, just to get to the point.

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes is an astonishing book. Mr. Taubes is a well respected science writer, not a scientist himself, but in his work he has to review and evaluate science on a daily basis. In this book he asks questions and provides information about cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease among other topics. Taubes does not make conclusions as such but provides thought provoking information about how national health policy probably has erred for more than forty years on just what a good diet contains. This is a must read for anyone, but especially for people who have weight problems, cholesterol problems, and even Type 2 diabetes.

A more thorough, in-depth journey into the realm of human obesity. This is the ground breaking work which lead to a more easily digested version entitled "Why we get fat ... and what to do about it" Excellent read.

Never read such an interesting yet unexciting book. It's a very very very thorough review of the science (good and bad), around some of the bigger nutrition questions we have.

The answers, depends what your original belief is, may surprise you.

What a fantastic book. It challenges the hypothesis that we will all be saved from modern day "chronic" disease if we only eat a low fat diet and high carbohydrate diet. The author is very detailed about showing how this hypothesis was been pushed at the American public without the scientific studies to back it up while supported scientific studies refute this hypothesis. The author presents his research in a rather technical manner in order to demonstrate that he is "not making up" his conclusions. Being a diabetic that has learned from 20 years of trial and error with eating habits, I know that the author is correct in indicating that the high carbohydrate diet of this country is the main contributor to heart, stroke, diabetes, obesity and maybe even cancer rates over the last several decades. Having strongly limited my carbohyddrate intake for the last several years, while not worrying about my protein or fat intake, I now have an acceptable cholesterol level, an HDL level to be envied, blood sugar levels in the normal range and no signs of the chronic progressive processes of being a diabetic. "Good Calories, Bad Calories" is a book to challenge anyone interested in learning how our food intake is used by the body and how it contributes to many disease processes. The author is not going to tell you what kind of a diet you should eat. He will leave that decision up to you.

The result was an amazing amount of clarity. How many years have I waded through poorly crafted studies and studies that might show correlation but no causation or studies that neglected to even measure what I considered to be basic information?

This book was a revelation and confirms every nagging doubt I've had about the conventional"wisdom" of high carb low fat diets. I will doubt sugar and refined carbs as the primary culprit of most chronic diseases no longer.

I found this book immensely thought provoking. All I had ever thought to be true about nutrition now seems to be based on poor science and politics. The revelation of research that contradicts established mantra on nutrition was eye opening. I strongly recommend this book to anyone concerned about obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer or other diseases.

From the anecdotal evidence of one (myself) I've long believed that low carb diets were the way to go, after discovering the original Protein Power book by the Drs. Eades in 1997 and losing 80 pounds on it over the next 14 months. I loved the PP book as it did present actual science, rather than the more overhyped sales pitch of Atkins. I felt better on it, and all my blood lipids and other health indicators improved too. But all the overwhelming "conventional dietary wisdom" blasting me from all sides eventually eroded my confidence in the low carb plan and after maintaining my weight loss for 2 1/2 years I fell back to the dark side, and ended up regaining all the weight I had lost plus the proverbial "and then some".

In the intervening few years I've made half-hearted attempts to go back to low carb, but it took Taubes to finally give me the kick in the seat of the pants I needed to make a whole-hearted commitment. I bought this book, without having heard anything about the controversy surrounding it, because it popped up on one of my the store "recommended" lists. Little did I know it would change my world forever!

As others have said this is a dense and challenging read. It's not for everyone, but it was absolutely for me. The closet nerd in me loves being absolutely overwhelmed with relentless facts and figures. To those who say there was too much of that in this book I can only say, "Bring on more!" and despite the book's size I could happily have read one twice as long.

Other reviewers have given wonderful reviews of the actual facts presented by Taubes. I won't repeat them all, and can't give details anyway as I have lent the book to my son. The basic premise, as mentioned many times, is that the "low fat" dogma proposed as the healthiest way of eating for many years now, is predicated on totally flawed and biased data pushed hard by a strong-willed personality, and that it is sugars and refined carbs that are the more likely villains in the onward march of the "diseases of civilization".

Once again I can return to low carb eating without having to feel I need to be defensive about it to all and sundry, though *most* folks still take me to task for eating this way. How I wish they could all read this book. But because of Taubes I am now back on a journey to good health. I still have 45 pounds to go just to get back the low I had reached in 1998, but now I have the conviction that I have the tools and the absolute knowledge, both intellectual knowledge as well as mere "gut" knowledge, to get there and surpass there, and *continue* to eat this way life-long.

As a last point, as others have said, this is *not* a diet. If it convinces you to go low carb there are other books that will tell you how to actually go about it. My personal recommendation is the "Protein Power Lifestyle Plan" by the Drs. Eades - possibly because their own stress on the science of why low carb works appeals also to my inner nerd.

And as for preparing my food, the second most life-changing book I have read is "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon - the best cookbook ever. I don't agree with Fallon on many points - far too much sugar and white flour allowed in various recipes, and I don't feel that chocolate (dark bittersweet), caffeine or wine are inherently evil. But she made me look at *all* food with a new eye. These days I'm preparing everything from scratch. I can't even buy bottled salad dressing and condiments anymore after reading the labels.

So go out now and read Taubes for the WHY, then read Eades and Fallon for the HOW.

As a practicing physician, this has permanently changed the way I look at diet, the cause of obesity, and the advice I give to patients.
Unfortunately, it will take years if not decades to undo the damage done as documented in this book; for some physicians it may be a paradigm shift without a clutch, but it is necessary to preserve the health of the people of the USA, as well as the world as a whole.
This should be a MUST READ for any health care providers, as well as those in training in the healthcare field.

I highly recommend this book to anybody who eats. I teach biochemistry. I have grown children I have fed and I have struggled a bit with my weight over the years and my bad 'hemoglobin AIC' values shocked me out of my complacency a few years ago. I sat and read the entire book in 2 days and had to resist starting to re-read it because I told my co-workers (I teach at a college) about it. They asked me to return it to the library so they could start reading it. If you find this book difficult, read 'Cliff-Notes' reviews about it, because what Taubes says is critical and paradigm changing. It is spectacularly well researched and assembled. I couldn't put it down, but I am a science-phile so again, if you find it dry or incomprehensible, get someone to explain it to you. It might just positively improve and change your life. And if you are a parent feeding children, you must know about the tenets of this tome.

Mr. Taubes cites multiple references throughout the book; one thinks perhaps at times he cites every reference and study pertaining at the particular topic at hand! (For example, when addressing the efficacy of exercise and caloric restriction, he cites so many studies showing the failure of exercise to contribute to fat loss that I became not only bored with the chapter, but also disheartened.)

However, I appreciate the efforts to provide relevant scientific information for the topics addressed. And I was surprised to see just how little research was done prior to the US Government issuing its food guidelines, which still form the basis for what we think of as a healthy diet today.

It is a detailed and informative read. If you are interested not only in what works, but also the "why" of whether or not consuming certain foods contributes to obesity or health, it is hard to do better than this book.

Good Calories, Bad Calories

Everyone should read this book because it challenges all the dietary advice we have been given for 40 years. Many people are rigorously restricting fats in their diets and eating a high carbohydrate diet. they should at least look at the evidence in Taubes' book that they may be eating a very dangerous diet, and one that is not satisfying.

the story of how 'scientists' came to believe that fats, especially saturated fats were the main culprit behind heart disease and diabetes, and how they refused to face up to contradictory evidence reads rather like a scientific detective story. the information is complex, but Taubes presents it very clearly in a very readable and accessible style. Because refusal to consider evidence that contradicts one's assumptions and beliefs is unscientific, Taubes refuses to refer to these so-called scientists as 'scientists'.

Because Taubes' evidence that high carb diets are the major contributor to diabetes and heart disease (and in fact all the 'diseases of civilisation'), and these diseases are escalating, virtually no one can say, 'I'm not at risk'.

Take the time to read this book.

Gary Taubes is one of the most respected journalists in food and nutritional science. This book is a wonderful resource for anyone hoping to understand how we got to the place we're currently in with our defective nutrition, and how we can go about correcting those deficiences. It's not a diet book, per se, but it describes the background and future of healthful eating, and how we can reclaim the benefits of real food to our great advantage.

Gary Taubes's research matches what my body has told me. I tried the Rotation Diet back in the '80s and was successful. I didn't mind being on the 600/900 60% protein/fat portion, but absolutely hated the 1200 portion (low-fat ratio), because I was always hungry on it. I've tried the Protein Power diet and liked it, but had problems with arachidonic acid and could never really balance out the carbs effectively. After reading Good Calories, Bad Calories, I'm giving the low-card diet another go with the knowledge I gained from Potatoes Not Prozac about controlling serotonin levels. My thanks to Gary Taubes for explaining why my body has reacted the way it has. The book is very thorough and absolutely informative.

A small note about his comments on cancer. A few years ago, a NIH researcher mentioned that Marin County, California had one of the highest cancer rates in the county. I asked about pesticides. She said that the workers, who actually worked in the areas being sprayed, did not have the high cancer rate; it was the wealthy homeowners and so far they didn't have an actual cause. I suspect that Gary Taubes has found it with the low-fat diet increasing insulin in the blood and revving up the cancer cells.

Enjoy and do buy the book, your life will never be the same.

The medical establishment interprets everything through the filter of the old cholesterol-heart hypothesis, which was never anything but a theory. Like Tinker Bell, believing keeps it alive.

I found much of the same research that Taubes cites and had come to the same conclusions before his book was published. Many studies are available on Pub Med and other free online sources; when a study is mentioned in an article or a book, you can look it up. The actual study may be difficult for non-scientists to understand, but most of them include an abstract written in plain English. You still need to be aware that the abstract may reflect the bias of the person interpreting the study, but most of them will describe how the study was done and give the actual results. One example that comes to mind is the recent study that compared four diets, with Atkins coming out on top. The lead scientist, a vegetarian, was clearly surprised and dismayed by the outcome, but he was professional enough to tell the truth about how it turned out.

I used to travel with huge stacks of scientific studies to back me up when I was invited to give talks. Now, all I need is a copy of Good Calories, Bad Calories. Thank you Mr. Taubes, for lightening my load.

Judy Barnes Baker
[...]
Carb Wars: Sugar is the New Fat

This wonderful book is my nutritional Bible and I keep it by my bedside so I can inspire myself to remain on the low-carb wagon despite all the temptations out there. I consider Gary Taubes to be a saint because of the amazing amount of painstaking research he performed in order to write GCBC. I have been heavy most of my life, only with starvation diets or extreme exercise was I ever able to get down a couple of sizes. And the redistribution of body fat as one ages is a very disconcerting event, thank to this book I now understand how fat storage and insulin secretion and inflammation all work!!

This book requires careful reading and increasing one's vocabulary. I now try to eat zeroe carbs and I have raised my HDL, lowered my triglycerides and lost 44 lbs, also my Vit D was perfect!! It is a lifestyle I will embrace the rest of my life with Gary's help. The cost of obesity related disease is not only going to beggard our country, but due to our diets we are even passing on obesity to the unborn. It should be a cardinal form of child abuse to subject a child in utero to hypertension, diabetes and heart disease by eating a high-carb, low-fat, fructose filled diet.

When he discusses the fact that cancer cells need glucose to live and grow, it really took my taste for sweets away for the most part. The most terrifying aspect of this book is how mainstream medical professionals, nutritionist and scientist all accept the status quo. Get a copy today, it is the most important book you will ever read. Then go out and spread the gospel.

This is a scholarly treatment of obesity research spanning over 100 years. It clearly shows how the science of the last 50 years has been lost to politics and jockeying for grant money. The search for truth has been lost in the process.

Taubes: Either the nutritional savior or the great satin. You love his stuff or think it's evil. Can't really comment which category you'd fall under, but at least he seems to do a good and thorough job of researching the science and presenting his argument in a logical fashion.

Whether you agree with it or not, it's sure to make your blood boil. Either because you disagree, or because you're outraged at being duped by the nutritional advice we've been getting for the last half a century.

This books, taken with Lustig's "Fat Chance," completely revolutionized my approach to food. The approach they espouse led to a dramatic improvement in my weight, blood pressure, glucose, and lipid panel results in just three months. Highly readable, but not dumbed down, this book should be required reading for anyone who takes the epidemic of metabolic disorders seriously.

Since I have a post-graduate degree in dietetics and am knowledgeable about the subject, Gary aided me in finding research that reinforced my views. I try to spread the knowledge whenever and wherever I can.

I purchased this book on the store and read it entirely. I also "reviewed the reviews" to see with which objections I agreed, and with which I disagreed. Like some others, I had difficulty following some of the more detailed physiological explanations. That difficulty was not fatal to a basic understanding of the theories and implications of the subject matter. Some complained of the "textbook" style of the book. I think that style is inevitable because of the exhaustive detail required to establish the author's case. This is the kind of book that remains in my thinking long after I'm finished reading it.

I was very recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, so I had a vested interest in completing the book. Based on reviews on the store and other commentaries on the web, this subject matter seems to elicit unreasonably passionate arguments on both sides, even among professionals in the related fields. Reading this book, if for no other reason, clearly explains the low carb line of reasoning side of the argument.

If only 50% of the conclusions in the book are true, the dietary needs of the average person need serious re-thinking.

I read a lot of information concerning diet in general and sugar specifically. I am only a third of the way thru the book and have gained a wealth of knowledge. I have gone from believing sugar is bad to being completely sold on the idea. I am now making a conscience effort to eliminate refined sugar from my diet as well as highly refined carbohydrates. I did not think there was much new information I could gain on the subject. I was wrong!

Fascinating and well-researched study. The writing is dense and precise. Not an easy read and not for the casual reader. Be prepared to focus when you pick up this book. While not a "diet" book per se, Taubes makes a compelling argument for limiting carbohydrates in your diet.

This is an outstanding overview of the science (or lack thereof) behind the dietary recommendations espoused by our fearless leaders. In the end I was very impressed with the author's thorough overview and angry that the lives of so many have been put at such great risk. You will never look at the food we eat the same way again!

After struggling for years to lose weight and only having marginal success in spite of my hard work and discipline, I thought I must be doing something wrong. It turns out I was following advice that really had very little science backing it up. Good Calories, Bad Calories reviews over 100 years of medical research and demonstrates how a relative few scientists developed a hypothesis and then selectively picked studies to support their hypothesis and totally ignored the studies that contradicted their hypothesis.

If you want to know when a calorie is not a calorie, this is a must read!

This book is an outstanding review of how we have come to believe low fat must be the sine qua non of a healthy diet. Taubes shows that the clinical evidence for this is non-existant and, in fact, the clinical evidence shows that the diet generally considered healthy, that is, a low fat, high carbohydrate diet rich in processed wheat and other processed foods is responsible for many deseases of present-day life, including diabetes and cardiovascular deseases and possibly cancer.
Taubes gleaned this information by carefully reviewing the tests that have been carried out and especially reviewing the conclusions drawn from them. In those cases where the evidence did not support the conventional wisdom (i.e. that fat is bad.) the tests were simply ignored. For instance, there was one important study involving some ninty thousand nurses. In this study the nurses were given check-ups periodically and any deseases or deaths were noted. They were also asked to keep track of their diets but not to modify them. It was expected that those that ate a fattier diet would have more breast cancers but the results showed that those who ate more fat had fewer breast cancers. This DATA was dismissed since it did not fit the preconcieved theory which said that fat should cause more cancers.
The book is full of such examples. I think it should be mandatory reading for every physician, especially cardiologists.
John R. Sellars, Ph.D.

Those who've read this will be unsurprised to learn that a great deal of material was cut out (including, interestingly, comments on the work of Weston A. Price) at the instigation of the publishers, simply because the size of the book was getting prohibitively large.

It's been suggested that Gary reassemble this material and publish it as GCBC, Part 2. In the meantime, Google "Gout: The Missing Chapter".

I'm one of those who think that Gary should get the Nobel Prize for GCBC.

Gary Taubes has written the most comprehensive, provocative, and educational book available supporting the hypothesis that refined carbohydrates, rather than fat and cholesterol, are the root cause of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and perhaps a host of other diseases including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. His research is outstanding and his argument is hard to fault. Particularly interesting is his thorough explanation of how we arrived at the conventional wisdom regarding what constitutes a healthy diet and why it likely isn't true. And his explanation of why exercise and calorie restriction usually fail to achieve permanent weight loss is equally compelling. His book is long and sometimes difficult to follow, especially for those without any medical background. Regardless, it's worth reading and studying by anyone truly interested in nutrition and healthy eating. Once I made it past the first 5 chapters I found it impossible to put the book down. For those experts who disagree......better have your ducks in a row if you're going to argue with Taubes. The man has done his homework