Ep. 137 High Blood Sugar Levels And Its Long Term Damage with Gary Taubes

We are delighted to have Gary Taubes joining us today. Gary is an award-winning science and health journalist, and a co-founder and director of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI). He is the author of The Case Against Sugar, Why We Get Fat, Good Calories, Bad Calories, and most recently, The Case For Keto. Gary is a former staff writer for Discover and correspondent for Science. He has written three cover articles on nutrition and health for The New York Times Magazine. His writing got featured in The Atlantic, Esquire, and numerous "best of" anthologies, including The Best of the Best American Science Writing (2010). 

As a science writer for Discover Magazine, Gary became obsessed with “bad science” and how hard it is to do science writing. After he had written his second book, a physicist friend suggested that since he was interested in “bad science”, he should look into public health because it was terrible. Gary then moved into public health, writing mostly for the Science journal in the early 1990s. By the late 90s, he had stumbled onto the world of nutrition and did a series of investigative articles. Gary found that the evidence supporting certain basic notions, like salt causing high blood pressure, and dietary fat being the cause of heart disease, did not pan out. That got him interested in obesity and what causes it, and ever since then has not stopped writing about nutrition.

Be sure to listen in today to hear what Gary has to say about why the established rules about eating healthy might be the wrong approach to weight loss, and how low-carbohydrate, high-fat/ketogenic diets can help many of us achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

• Gary explains how after starting as an engineer, he ended up writing about science and health.
• Gary explains why calories are irrelevant.
• Gary discusses the roles of insulin in the body, and how it impacts your ability to utilize and store fat for energy.
• Looking at what leads to fat-shaming.
• Fat accumulation is caused by hormones.
• Gary gives his perspective on Ancel Keys’ policies.
• Gary talks about satiety and hunger.
• The health benefits of the ketogenic diet.
• The eating of carbohydrates after being on a ketogenic diet.
• Why certain carb-rich foods will cause cravings and spike your insulin significantly after you have been on a ketogenic diet for some time.
• Gary discusses the possibility of having long-term physical damage from your blood sugar levels going above 140.
• Gary explains the difficulties that surround writing a book about advances in nutrition.
• Gary discusses the reality of carbohydrate addiction.

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Gary's Links:

Visit his website, like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, and purchase his book, The Case for Keto!

Books mentioned: 

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Calories Don’t Count by Herman Taller

The Atkins Diet by Robert Atkins

Protein Power by Mike and Mary Eades

Sugar Busters by Leighton Steward, Morrison Bethea M.D., Sam Andrews M.D., and Luis Balart M.D.