The idea that insulin drives obesity was popular for a while (did Gary Taubes start it?) but I thought it didn’t fare too well when tested against reality (see e.g. this and this)
Two arguments he tries to make from common sense
That’s not common sense, that’s analogies which might be useful rhetorically but which don’t do anything to show that his view is correct.
carbohydrates are relatively new to humanity’s diet, at least in significant quantities
I don’t know about that. Carbs are a significant part of the human diet since the farming revolution which happened sufficiently long time ago for the body to somewhat adapt (e.g. see the lactose tolerance mutation which is more recent).
Besides, let’s consider what was the situation, say, 200 years ago. Were carbs a major part of diet? Sure they were. Was there an “obesity epidemic”? Nope, not at all.
If you want to blame carbs (not even refined carbs like sugar, but carbs in general) for obesity, you need to have an explanation why their evil magic didn’t work before the XX century.
You are thinking of a situation where they are not allowed to eat at all.
No, I’m not. For any animal, humans included, there is non-zero intake of food which will force it to lose weight.
If you do not want to starve, you will have to eat more.
“Starve” seems to mean exactly the same thing as “lose weight by calorie restriction”, but with negative connotations.
And I don’t know about modified rats, but starving humans are not fat. Feel free to peruse pictures of starving people.
but I thought it didn’t fare too well when tested against reality (see e.g. this and this)
I can’t comment on those in detail without reading them more carefully than I care to, but that author agrees with Taubes that low carb diets help most people lose weight, and he seems to be assuming a particular model (e.g. he contrasts the brain being responsible with insulin being responsible, while it is obvious that these are not necessarily opposed.)
That’s not common sense, that’s analogies which might be useful rhetorically but which don’t do anything to show that his view is correct.
They don’t show that his view is correct. They DO show that it is not absurd.
Carbs are a significant part of the human diet since the farming revolution which happened sufficiently long time ago for the body to somewhat adapt (e.g. see the lactose tolerance mutation which is more recent).
Lactose intolerance is also more harmful to people. Gaining weight usually just means you lose a few years of life. Taubes also admits that some people are well adapted to them. Those would be the people that normal people would describe by saying “they can eat as much as they like without getting fat.”
If you want to blame carbs (not even refined carbs like sugar, but carbs in general) for obesity, you need to have an explanation why their evil magic didn’t work before the XX century.
He blames carbs in general, but he also says that sweeter or more easily digestible ones are worse, so he is blaming refined carbs more, and saying the effects are worse.
No, I’m not. For any animal, humans included, there is non-zero intake of food which will force it to lose weight.
Sure, but they might be getting fat at the same time. They could be gaining fat and losing even more of other tissue, and this is what Taubes says happened with some of the rats.
“Starve” seems to mean exactly the same thing as “lose weight by calorie restriction”, but with negative connotations.
No. I meant that your body is being damaged by calorie restriction, not just losing weight.
And I don’t know about modified rats, but starving humans are not fat.
He gives some partial counterexamples to this in the book.
The idea that insulin drives obesity was popular for a while (did Gary Taubes start it?) but I thought it didn’t fare too well when tested against reality (see e.g. this and this)
That’s not common sense, that’s analogies which might be useful rhetorically but which don’t do anything to show that his view is correct.
I don’t know about that. Carbs are a significant part of the human diet since the farming revolution which happened sufficiently long time ago for the body to somewhat adapt (e.g. see the lactose tolerance mutation which is more recent).
Besides, let’s consider what was the situation, say, 200 years ago. Were carbs a major part of diet? Sure they were. Was there an “obesity epidemic”? Nope, not at all.
If you want to blame carbs (not even refined carbs like sugar, but carbs in general) for obesity, you need to have an explanation why their evil magic didn’t work before the XX century.
No, I’m not. For any animal, humans included, there is non-zero intake of food which will force it to lose weight.
“Starve” seems to mean exactly the same thing as “lose weight by calorie restriction”, but with negative connotations.
And I don’t know about modified rats, but starving humans are not fat. Feel free to peruse pictures of starving people.
I can’t comment on those in detail without reading them more carefully than I care to, but that author agrees with Taubes that low carb diets help most people lose weight, and he seems to be assuming a particular model (e.g. he contrasts the brain being responsible with insulin being responsible, while it is obvious that these are not necessarily opposed.)
They don’t show that his view is correct. They DO show that it is not absurd.
Lactose intolerance is also more harmful to people. Gaining weight usually just means you lose a few years of life. Taubes also admits that some people are well adapted to them. Those would be the people that normal people would describe by saying “they can eat as much as they like without getting fat.”
He blames carbs in general, but he also says that sweeter or more easily digestible ones are worse, so he is blaming refined carbs more, and saying the effects are worse.
Sure, but they might be getting fat at the same time. They could be gaining fat and losing even more of other tissue, and this is what Taubes says happened with some of the rats.
No. I meant that your body is being damaged by calorie restriction, not just losing weight.
He gives some partial counterexamples to this in the book.