Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
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 despite this advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Taubes argues that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates, like white flour, easily digested starches, and sugars, and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. In this groundbreaking book, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong.

Customer Reviews: Read 191 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A comprehensive review of dietary advice November 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book is a product of the internet age, as the author points out: a lifetime's worth of research was accomplished in only six years. His first task is to discredit the conventional wisdom and the institutions responsible, and he does this effectively, showing how a dozen or so influential scientists can spin ambiguous test data, so that, for instance, in the case of the dietary fat-heart disease theory, national policy results. His second task is to review the entire history of obesity research, concluding that calorie-restricting diets don't work. Throughout it all, the recurring theme is the harmful effects of refined carbohydrates.

5 out of 5 stars

A must-read for anyone interested in their health and longevity. November 12, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Finally a clear, well-documented account of this nation's delusion about
fat and carbohydrates that has made us the obese, disease ridden country
that we have become. Because of the erroneous obsession of Ancel Keys and
his supporters we have been lied to by the entire medical profession and
have sacrificed the health of a whole generation. How easily we are duped
when the results of so many studies are selectively distorted and
dissenting opinion is squelched. This is the same technique the neocons
used to get us into the Iraq war.
Fat is good for you and especially saturated fat. Cholesterol below 200
results in cancer and hemorrhagic stroke. READ THIS BOOK.

3 out of 5 stars

Excellent book, for the avid science/history reader. November 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The information in this book is Outstanding! It's almost like the light at the end of the tunnel of the lies about diet. There is only one problem! As an average reader, it is almost as if you need an abridged version to get directly to the point.

Gary presents all the facts and spares little to none of the details as to why our society has been taking "Opinions" as facts and costing our health issues!

My only wish is that for people with little time and patience for all the detail we could get to the solid fact and proof beneath all the evidence, times, names, organizations, and past issues.

I only gave this book 3 stars for that reason. Due to the length of the book and the amount of deatails. It took me way longer than I would have liked to spend to get to the juicy points. I am in no way downplaying what's presenting... only wishing it was easier to find in all the pages.

This book is a staple in the truth about our diets and why our sciences fail..... Thanks Gary.

2 out of 5 stars

Tired of the so-called experts....to each his own November 8, 2008
1 out of 12 found this review helpful

I had been eyeing this book for a while as I do try to keep an open mind about these things. So I read a friends copy. It was indeed a fascinating read...but no matter what you read....and there were alot of 5 star reviews here telling you to do this, do that....jump on the low-carb, anti bread, rice etc. bandwagon.....but the odd thing is.....look at the countries who diet is all about rice and veggies...and how HEALTHY they have been until our Fast Food joints enter the picture....and then you start to see fat all over the world. I did the Atkins plan about 5 years ago...lost 60 pounds...fairly quickly too. My body seemed to thrive on it..and contrary to what some reviews said...I was never hungry. BUT....and there always is one.....I started getting dizzy, started feeling sickly.....and ended up in the hospital....because on those extreme hard core diets like Atkins....you dont eat friut, you dont each healthy breads etc. I had a friend who had lost over 100 pounds on a low carb bragging how she hadn't had a piece of fruit or bread for over a year. And frankly I have to say...ANY diet or weight loss plan that FORBIDS a certain food...is not ever going to be ultimately healthy. My body shut down...completely...and my thyroid did as well. My doctors attributed it to being so obessesed with low carb...to eventually hurting my health. Now when I was following that regime, I was its staunchest supporter....but in restospect...after being so sick, in the hopsital and fighting a broken thyroid....I realized that the truth of the matter is that we are always looking for some fix. When the saying Everything in Moderation....is what is really the key. It took me almost two years and a weight gain of what I had lost PLUS more--to get my body healthy again, and get my thyroid working again. And one of my doctors--who also studied nutrition and was indeed a specialist...just came out and said...we have to find something that is FOR THE LONGTERM and that in his studies, those who tried to do the Atkins type diet...severe low carb...would evetually have tremendous aging issues down the road. It certainly aged me...it was not healthy. And now I eat fresh veggies, I eat chicken, fish and yes now and then red meat....but I also eat fresh fruits....any kind...I eat whole wheat bread and yes the evil potato now and then and I do eat rice too once and a while. I feel great....I have now lost over a hundred pounds...I look so much better. I do not say that one food is bad or good. Obviously I don't go walking around eating candy and cake and ice cream....but I will not forbid or banish any food from my world. I really try to watch the sugar and salt in my diet. But I will have a piece of cake or a candy bar once and a while..maybe every month or so..but the key is to NOT eat like that for most of your diet...and to get right back into healthy eating the next meal. There was some book out a few years ago by yet another author whos name escapes me, Julia Havy or something....but her gimmic was VICE BUSTING..she banned ice cream from her diet...and I watched her on some show and I thought wow-this woman is way too severe, it was her way or no way...and those types of people scare me, and are NOT healthy...they are too controlling and never open-minded which is never good. It truly is COMMON SENSE but we americans are always looking for the answer, a quick fix....I have to bust my vice and all...the fanatics out there selling health..its sad. They make money off our fears and desperation when we don't want to do the work ourselves. I have learned to eat in moderation. To exercise a half hour a day...to drink plenty of water and try (although its not always that easy) to get as much sleep as possible as SLEEP is just as important as diet in how we age and take care of ourselves. This book was interesting...but I really am tired of books that preach one regime over another....I just follow a healthy heart type diet. And to learn why I eat or reach for the so-called 'bad' foods, what emotions are playing a part in my choices. The mind is just as important as the body and most of us tend to ignore that. But I know I will never ever again go the low carb or nothing route...it was the worst thing I ever have done for my health. Or follow any plan that forbids you certain foods or tells you that you have to bust those vices or eles. Everything in moderation...and use common sense. You really dont need another book to know that. Go online...go to the American Heart Association site, or the Diabetes sight or another of the free sites out there and make your own way. Save your money, use your head. There is plenty of good free information out there for you to make up your own mind..and regain your health.

4 out of 5 stars

Great in depth journalism on nutritional politics November 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This book is not a health/nutritional book per se, but more like journalistic muckracking. If you are looking for dietary advice, this is not exactly the right book because you have to wade through a lot of historical and sociological material to find the nutritional gems of indirect advice.

The title is a bit misleading. Due to its in-depth journalistic investigative nature, I would title this "The Politics of Nutritional Advice." Taubes goes into great detail, leaving no nutritional stone unturned, as he covers the history of the anti-fat crusade and dispels the myths of dietary cholesterol causing blood cholesterol.

At the end of this book you will realize that obesity is not due to excess caloric intake and/nor a deficiency in exercise. Carbs are much more to blame because they (unlike fat) affect insulin release, the main hormone involved in fat storage. Gaining weight (or not) has much more to do with a symphony of hormones than calories.

You will also learn that there is a great deal of politics involved in determining which nutritional theories get funded (as is the case with just about any science). As he states on p. 51-52: "Scientists were believed to be free of conflicts if their only source of funding was a federal agency, but all nutritionists knew that if their research failed to support the government position on a particular subject, the funding would go instead to someone who did."

Taubes didn't go into the benefits of the Omega 3s, which are proven to be highly beneficial in weight reduction. While he uses the example of the traditional Eskimos as being cancer-free, he overlooked the causes: 1) They were 100% raw fooders and 2) they ate a great deal of omega 3 fatty acids (which fish are high in).

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