His first work regarding low carb diets was published July 7, 2002 in The New York Times. The article was titled What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?
Here is an interview with Gary dated December 10, 2003, regarding the New York Times article.
In a review of Good Calories Bad Calories, The Borzoi Reader breaks down Taubes book by these major points:
Good Calories
These are from foods without easily digestible carbohydrates and sugars. These foods can be eaten without restraint.
Meat, fish, fowl, cheese, eggs, butter, and non-starchy vegetables.
Bad Calories
These are from foods that stimulate excessive insulin secretion and so make us fat and increase our risk of chronic disease—all refined and easily digestible carbohydrates and sugars. The key is not how much vitamins and minerals they contain, but how quickly they are digested. (So apple juice or even green vegetable juices are not necessarily any healthier than soda.)
Bread and other baked goods, potatoes, yams, rice, pasta, cereal grains, corn, sugar (sucrose and high fructose corn syrup), ice cream, candy, soft drinks, fruit juices, bananas and other tropical fruits, and beer.
The 11 Critical Conclusions of Good Calories, Bad Calories:
1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, does not cause heart disease.
2. Carbohydrates do, because of their effect on the hormone insulin. The more easily-digestible and refined the carbohydrates and the more fructose they contain, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and well-being.
3. Sugars—sucrose (table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup specifically—are particularly harmful. The glucose in these sugars raises insulin levels; the fructose they contain overloads the liver.
4. Refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are also the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and the other common chronic diseases of modern times.
5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating and not sedentary behavior.
6. Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter any more than it causes a child to grow taller.
7. Exercise does not make us lose excess fat; it makes us hungry.
8. We get fat because of an imbalance—a disequilibrium—in the hormonal regulation of fat tissue and fat metabolism. More fat is stored in the fat tissue than is mobilized and used for fuel. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation of the fat tissue reverses this imbalance.
9. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated, we stockpile calories as fat. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and burn it for fuel.
10. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.
11. The fewer carbohydrates we eat, the leaner we will be.
On October 19, 2007 Taubes appeared on Larry King Live.
The following is a reprint from the blog Livin' la Vida Low-Carb:
Gary Taubes takes on the king of cable television talk, Larry King!
In case you haven't heard yet, Good Calories, Bad Calories author and New York Times science journalist Gary Taubes will be the special guest appearing Friday, October 19, 2007 on CNN's "Larry King Live" show beginning at 9pm EST. The topic of conversation will be the "Great Diet Debate" and will shine the national spotlight on livin' la vida low-carb in ways that haven't been seen since Dr. Atkins was alive.
This discussion about fat consumption being healthy and carbs being the root cause of obesity and disease will also feature a rather distinguished panel of "experts":
DR. MEHMET OZ
Best known as Oprah Winfrey's diet guru, he is definitely in the low-fat, low-calorie, portion control camp.
DR. ANDREW WEIL
Natural health advocate and alternative remedy promoter who also follows the low-fat line of thinking.
BOB HARPER, KIM LYONS, or JILLIAN MICHAELS
One of these three trainers on the hit NBC-TV reality show "The Biggest Loser" will participate. Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels are mindful of how carbohydrate-restriction are helpful for some with weight loss, but Kim Lyons is a low-fat and low-calorie puppet.
JOY BEHAR
Okay, I'm gonna ask it...why is she on this panel? Other than being known for her outspoken liberal beliefs on ABC's daytime talk show The View, what substantive comments could she add to this discussion? We'll see, I guess.
The show is soliciting comments and questions from people about this topic, so let's show our support for livin' la vida low-carb by writing to them with our personal experiences. Here's what I just submitted to CNN for the Larry King LIVE show on Friday night:
For the guests who will disagree with Taubes' book:
I lost 180 pounds in 2004 on the Atkins diet and have kept it off ever since by continuing to eat a diet consisting of 70% fat, much of which is saturated fat. Once weighing in at over 400 pounds, now I'm closer to 200 thanks to the low-carb lifestyle.
More importantly than the weight loss are the improvements in my health, coming off of three prescriptions and becoming athletic for the first time in my entire life. If low-carb is at least a viable option for people like me to shed the pounds and improve our health, then why can't we at the very least have government and health leaders recommending it as another option alongside the low-fat and "balanced" diet mantra that currently exists?
How about adding your voice to the comments and be sure to watch as Gary Taubes enters the arena of ideas espousing low-carb living in a low-fat world! GO GARY!
Here is the transcript of the show.
Here is a video of Dr. Andrew Weil talking about the book on LKL.
