If, in the future, I should become some kind of renegade dietitian who sits in class chanting “fat is good” quitely to myself then Gary Taubes and his book Good Calories, Bad Calories is the one to blame. Though my teachers would be very unhappy I would happily thank him for causing such trouble.

For too many years fat and meat have been looked down on. They’ve been blamed for all of our health woes. Numerous scientific studys have been done that supposedly point the finger at these evil foods. We don’t really hear or see what they actually show so we can have a better understanding of what they have discovered. Instead we only get bits and pieces which are then blown out of proportion by the media and even the scientists themselves. This is the first book that I’ve read that goes over the evidence that’s often touted to condem meat and fat.  I’ve read about many of these dietary studies in nutrition classes. What they often fail to do is fully explain things because, if they did, you would see that meat and fat are not the evil doers that they are made out to be.

If you want a better explaination of what they did discover then I would highly recommend you read this book. It gives incredible, easy to understand explainations. Often times many of the researchers are quoted and their own words will show you that what we have been told are the reasons for the current dietary guidelines are actually not in our best interests. It’s a long book, 601 pages in length, but it’s worth slowly making your way through it especially if you have any type of diabetes, are prediabetic, have PCOS or have often wondered why you can never lose weight no matter how little you eat. You won’t be sorry.

The ones who one day will be sorry are the manufacturers of high carb, low fat, overly processed foods. Oh, and the drug companies and the government most likely won’t be too happy when more and more people take back their own health by dropping the processed carbs and eating more fat and meat.

A few of the things I’ve learned from the book:

* Dietary fat is not evil and is not the cause of obesity, heart disease and diabetes……white carbs are to blame!

* The more processed the carbs the greater the impact on the body and insulin secretion.

* Sugar, even if it’s naturally produced (raw cane sugar, turbinado sugar, honey, etc) just might be the source of all evil…well, dietary wise anyways. If sugar isn’t evil then High Fructose Corn Syrup most certainly is because of the way it’s broken down by the body.

* I FINALLY understand why I’ve never been able to lose weight and keep it off following all those low fat, high carb diets….I was physically making myself more hungry and always felt horrible (I was told it was my body detoxing from everything the evil dietary fat had done to me)

* Insulin is the main hormone that regulates fat storage. Meals filled with mainly carbs, especially the highly processed ones, are quickly turned into fat. This happens even if you consume fewer calories by dieting.

There’s so much more information in the book then I could cover in one blog post. My suggestion to you is to buy this book or get it from your local library and slowly read through it. You won’t be sorry!

 
You don’t have to be interested in any aspect of nutrition to quickly discover that there are an incredible number of views on just about every topic. Views that range from one extreme to another. Will we ever know who is truly correct? Most likely not. Personally I tend to think that the actual truth can be found in the middle of all the extreme views.

If the above makes no sense allow me to offer an example….high fructose corn syrup.

Those who are favor of high fructose corn syrup claim it is a natural sugar extracted from corn and is no more harmful then regular sugar. The manufacturing process uses an enzyme to convert the glucose in corn into fructose so making it doesn’t involve horrible chemicals or some type of terrible process. It’s a cost effective sweetener with a long shelf life which helps to keep food prices low.

Those who are not in favor of it claim that it’s an unnatural, chemically altered product that should be avoided at all cost. It causes a wide range of health problems including heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Naturally occuring sugars are the only way to go when it comes to sweeteners.

Both sides will do anything possible to discredit the other. In the end the truth is most likely in the middle. I’m not advocating high fructose corn syrup. Nor am I saying that ONLY naturals sugars are the best. Here’s the facts as I see them:

- People eat too much sugar. Period. Sugar offers NO nutritional value. Even natural forms of sugar such as honey have minor nutritional benefits.

- Sugar and other sweeteners are a source of calories no matter which form it’s found in….graunlated sugar, raw cane sugar, honey, corn syrup, molasses, etc. Calories are calories and too much of any one thing isn’t good for you.

- Sugars of all types can be found in a huge number of products from the ones you would expect (cookies, candy and other sweet treats) to the ones you least suspect (bread, salad dressings and even vegetables). If you find some form of sugar in a product that you wouldn’t normally expect to find it then that product is most likely high processed.

With that being said there is some information out there indicating that high fructose corn syrup is broken down in the body in a different way then other types of sugars. This is probably one of the better video’s that I’ve seen explaining how high fructose corn syrup is used in the body. It explain it in terms easy enough for most people to understand. Well worth the few minutes to watch it. I’ve also included the original video that the first one refers to. The second one is much longer but still worth watching if you have the time.

And here is the longer version. It is from a lecture titled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” given by Dr. Robert H. Lustig.

Do I personally avoid HFCS at all costs? Not really. I believe that too much sugar is bad for you. As a family we attempt to limit the amount we eat on a regular basis. We also avoid processed foods and drinks which helps to limit the types and amount of sugar we eat. Making food from scratch is a great way to help control the amount of sugar you eat on a daily basis.

Do I think that people should avoid HFCS? I think that each person should gather the information necessary to make the choice that is right for them and their family.

***As a side note, after reading Gary Taubes’ book Good Calories, Bad CaloriesI’ve taken a second look at other information about HFCS and I think it is a much greater problem then I originally thought. Sugar is bad but high fructose corn syrup might actually be evil See this post for more information.

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