Feb 122011
- Gary Taubes has a new book — Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It — and he’s got a blog to go along with it. He only has one substantial post Calories, fat or carbohydrates? Why diets work (when they do). It’s on the poor methodology — the failure to control variables — in studies of nutrition. It’s well worth reading, and here’s a quick summary:
So here’s the lesson, the moral of this story: before we assume that low-carbohydrate diets are just one tool in the dietary arsenal against overweight and obesity, and before we assume that everyone is different and that some of us lose weight and keep it off because we eat less fat (and more carbohydrates) and some because we cut carbs (and so eat maybe more fat), we should make an effort to understand the concept of controlling variables and look to see which variables are really changing and by how much. Because it’s quite possible that the only meaningful way to lose fat is to change the regulation of the fat tissue, and the science of fat metabolism strongly implies that the best way to do that, if not the only meaningful way, is by reducing the amount of carbohydrates consumed and/or improving the quality of those carbs we do consume.
- A pediatrician makes a case for giving probiotics to children on Kevin, MD.
- Hardships of a Nation Push Horses Out to Die: It’s a story about abandoned horses in Ireland, and a sad follow-up to my post on the Perverse Effects of the Horse Slaughter Ban. For me, it’s not merely the suffering of these fabulous animals, but the fact that so much equine potential is wasted.
- Finally, I’d be remiss not to show you this video demonstrating why fried gnocchi is a bad idea. (No one was hurt, and I love the guy’s laughter!)
