Critiquing Gary Taubes, Part 1: Mainstream Nutrition Science on Obesity

I'm 5 foot 10 inches and have gone from around 170 to 150 pounds. More importantly, my Cholesterol has greatly improved going from

Whole Cholesterol 150 to 232; Triglycerides 98 to 69; HDL 33 to 76; LDL 98 to 142.

Despite what you might have heard, higher Cholesterol (if it's accompanied by more HDL) is better.

It's true. It's said that for every gram of glycogen, you need three grams of water to store it. The average person has about 500g of glycogen, so you'd have around 2kg weight loss just in glycogen and water from starting a low carb diet.

It's a psychological effect. People start the diet, immediately lose 5lbs over a week, and think "OH MY GOD, this is working, I can stick to this!" They establish the habits and systems of losing weight. Then when weight loss slows down to the more reasonable 1-2lbs per week, they aren't bummed out because they know it's working.

When they cheat, their weight immediately shoots up -- and then when they stick to it, it immediately goes back down. This helped me a lot with getting back on track when I used a low carb diet to lose weight.

You know of any evidence replacing those calories with saturated fat is better for you then replacing them with (cis) polyunsaturated fats?

Let's make this a bit more complicated by adding a few questions. By nutrients I will refer to both micro- and macronutrients. You may allow this to refer to indigestible substances and artificial flavors as well.

Is it that they replace healthier food?

• They contain a lot of calories and contain few micronutrients compared to macronutrients.
• They might taste better than other foods, and might make healthier foods taste bland in comparison.

Is it that they regulate appetite differently?

• They might taste better than other foods, and people would eat them past satiety because they enjoy their taste.
• Different nutrients might regulate satiety differently.
• Different flavors might regulate satiety differently, and this is relevant to zero calorie artificial flavors.

Is it that they regulate digestion differently?

• The effectiveness of absorbing different nutrient ratios might vary in different portions and timescales.
• Different nutrients might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different flavors might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different nutrients might regulate the effectiveness of enterohepatic circulation differently.
• Different nutrients might lead to different bacterial normal flora in the gut.

Is it that they regulate metabolism differently?

• Different nutrients might be inherently different in how effectively they can be used to store fat.
• Different nutrients might regulate the efficiency of metabolism differently through increasing or diminishing thermogenic waste metabolism.
• Different flavors might regulate metabolism differently, either directly through taste or through hormonal changes from digestion, and this again is relevant to zero calorie artificial flavors.

Is it that they regulate where the fat is stored?

• The fat might be stored evenly, abdominally or in the proximity of different vital organs.
• Fat stored in different locations in the body might have different health effects.

Is it that they regulate physical activity differently?

--

• Does one's body composition affect how these questions are answered and are there other important individual differences?
• How interconnected are these questions and in where exactly are the relevant nodes?
• Are there nodes where many of these questions can be answered at once?
• Does the fact that different diets lead to different results in weight loss allow us to make accurate assessments of which nodes are affected, or is our level of understanding of the human body inadequate for that?

I'm sure people can add even more relevant questions to this bunch, and I would be interested to read them.

Let's make this a bit more complicated by adding a few questions.

Is it that they replace healthier food?

• They contain a lot of calories and contain few micronutrients.
• They might taste better than other foods, and might make healthier foods taste bland in comparison.

Is it that they regulate appetite differently?

• They might taste better than other foods, and people would eat them past satiety because they enjoy their taste.
• Different nutrients might regulate appetite differently.
• Different flavors might regulate appetite differently, and this is relevant to zero calorie sweeteners.

Is it that they regulate digestion differently?

• The effectiveness of absorbing different nutrient ratios might vary in different timescales.
• Different nutrients might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different flavors might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different nutrients might regulate the effectiveness of enterohepatic circulation differently.

Is it that they regulate metabolism differently?

• Different nutrients might be inherently different in how effectively they can be used to store fat.
• Different nutrients might regulate the efficiency of metabolism differently through increasing or diminishing thermogenic waste metabolism.
• Different flavors might regulate metabolism differently, either directly through taste or through hormonal changes from digestion, and this again is relevant to zero calorie sweeteners.

Is it that they regulate where the fat is stored?

• The fat might be stored evenly, abdominally or in the proximity of different vital organs

• Is it that fat stored in different locations in the body have different health effects?

• Is it that they regulate physical activity differently?

• How interconnected are these questions and in where exactly are the relevant nodes?
• Are there nodes where many of these questions can be answered at once?
• Does the fact that different diets lead to different results in weight loss allow us to make accurate predictions of which nodes are affected, or is our level of understanding of the human body inadequate for that?

Let's make this a bit more complicated by adding a few questions.

Is it that they replace healthier food?

• They contain a lot of calories and contain few micronutrients.
• They might taste better than other foods, and might make healthier foods taste bland in comparison.

Is it that they regulate appetite differently?

• They might taste better than other foods, and people would eat them past satiety because they enjoy their taste.
• Different nutrients might regulate appetite differently.
• Different flavors might regulate appetite differently, and this is relevant to zero calorie sweeteners.

Is it that they regulate digestion differently?

• The effectiveness of absorbing different nutrient ratios might vary in different timescales.
• Different nutrients might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different flavors might regulate different digestive excretions differently.
• Different nutrients might regulate the effectiveness of enterohepatic circulation differently.

Is it that they regulate metabolism differently?

• Different nutrients might be inherently different in how effectively they can be used to store fat.
• Different nutrients might regulate the efficiency of metabolism differently through increasing or diminishing thermogenic waste metabolism.
• Different flavors might regulate metabolism differently, either directly through taste or through hormonal changes from digestion, and this again is relevant to zero calorie sweeteners.

Is it that they regulate where the fat is stored?

• The fat might be stored evenly, abdominally or in the proximity of different vital organs
• Is it that fat stored in different locations in the body have different health effects?

Is it that they regulate physical activity differently? How interconnected are these questions and in where exactly are the relevant nodes? Are there nodes where many of these questions can be answered at once? Does the fact that different diets lead to different results in weight loss allow us to make accurate predictions of which nodes are affected, or is our level of understanding of the human body inadequate for that?

This puts my daily calories low enough that I can eat as much as I want for dinner and still lose weight consistently.

Maybe this is just a verbal quibble, but how can someone "consistently lose weight"? Losing weight, if successfully done, results in reaching some target, and then you don't lose weight any more.

Of course for some people it seems to take heroic amounts of willpower not to go shopping for more unhealthy food or go to a restaurant during the lunch break.

I'm experimenting with VLCD right now, and it doesn't seem to take much willpower either. I think the calories are low enough that my body thinks it's starving although it gets everything it needs, so I'm not constantly receiving hunger signals.