|
Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gary Taubes
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.94
You Save: $7.01 (41%)
New (41) Used (17) from $9.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  227 reviews
Sales Rank: 1257
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 640
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 1400033462
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.283
EAN: 9781400033461
Publication Date: September 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| 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 222 more reviews...
 brilliant takedown of poor science June 30, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
first, Taubes is not Dr. Atkins. he's not shilling for any diet.
he is simply exposing the "fat is bad" diets as inventions based on flimsy evidence and laughably poor science.
the book reads like a detective story. it's actually a page-turner despite all the technical parts. it's a lot more than a book espousing a particular diet.
science writing at its best.
Eye-Opening and Outstanding June 26, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes left quite an impression on me. It gives you a clear picture of how we got to the typical Western American diet through his thorough 7 years of research reporting on hundreds of studies, and in many cases, who paid for the studies. The American diet of high carbs and sugar are causing us many health problems. After reading this book, I walked into a supermarket and was real hit by all of the poor food items loaded with refined carbs, sugars, and salt that was in most aisles. It was interesting to see through the studies he discussed, how the low fat foods with usually high sugar added to them came to be the popular diet of the day. I want to keep it as a reference book.
Good calories...finally an update that makes sense. June 22, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I had read an excerpt of this book in a magazine article and needed the full story. I got it. Thanks
Destroys Conventional Wisdom! June 21, 2009
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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!
I lost nine pounds as I was reading the book... I'm sold! June 17, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Yes, this is a challenging book to read, as there is a lot of technical terms to read, but it simply is necessary, as although I might not fully understand the role of (for example) how fructose (which barely registers on the glycemic index) goes to the liver, becomes triglycerides, and ultimately becomes fat, I "get" how it is not good for us.
Or, the role of carbohydrates, especially refined, which raises our insulin levels, which is the guiding hormone that, at higher levels, keeps us fat.
There just no way to simplify something as complex as this topic is; nevertheless, I feel that I have an excellent introduction to the "mechanics" of how we (okay, "I") got fat. I have wondered, from time to time, about the (false) belief that "a calorie is a calorie", as I knew, from my own experience, that if I ate a plate of pancakes, I would "conk out"; or, a bowl of pasta would do the same thing. I now realize I am one of those people who is sensitive to insulin... and although I am NOT diabetic, my body responds poorly to carbs, especially refined.
So, as I was reading the book (it took me almost a month), I started to reduce my carbohydrate consumption, as well as reducing my sugar intake. I also started eating more meat and fat (e.g. butter, coconut oil). Lo and behold, I have lost about 9 pounds, so I am pleased. Yes, I miss carbs and sugar and I have not been "perfect" about avoiding them, but I have definitely reduced them. But the bottom line, of course, is in the results. Through sites like youtube, I have found that there are people who are devotedly pursuring the low-carb lifestyle--- and getting great results.
Thank you Mr. Taubes for producing this book.
|
|
|
Copyright 2006-07, VeggiePlaza.com | |
