The really radical conclusion of this book is that the kilo of olive oil consumed in the absence of carbohydrate will not make you fat. Without the insulin response engendered by eating carbs, fat storage really cannot occur, or occurs much more slowly. Taubes suggests a relatively simple experiment which would likely prove or disprove this hypothesis toward the end of this interview on NPR.
As an interesting side note, a glass of olive oil is not an unusual morning beverage in some regions of Italy.
The belief that total cholesterol has any bearing on health whatsoever rests on science now more than fifty years old that has been completely superseded by more refined techniques and additional studies in the intervening years.
When cholesterol was first isolated we lacked the technology to separate it into its different striations. We've gotten marginally better over the years; now we have LDL and HDL cholesterol, VLDL, IDL, Chylomicrons, and now even small dense LDL vs. "fluffy" LDL. (The very latest research, by the way, seems to implicate the dense LDL as being associated with [although not necessarily causative of] heart disease which is prescient given it is primarily formed through fructose metabolism in the liver...)
In any case, I encourage the writer to read the work of Ronald Krause. He's considered by many to be the nation's leading researcher in the field of cholesterols and their various and often divergent associations with health.
Statements that weight is merely a matter of calories in/out demonstrate a misapplication of the laws of thermodynamics as they operate within the human metabolism. The human body actually regulates its total caloric expenditure based on availability of fuel to cells, which is primarily affected by the types of food eaten and the action of insulin to sequester blood lipids within fat cells. More available energy leads to higher metabolic rates, greater activity and lower consumption of calories. Consumption of excess carbohydrate causes excess insulin response which leads to greater fat storage and weight gain and lower calorie availability.
One of the more interesting implications of this research is that people with elevated insulin levels are actually starving on the cellular level, with too many calories being stored away in fat and too few calories available for the body to utilize. Cell starvation leads to hunger which leads to additional eating and/or low activity levels and decreased metabolic activity. Hence, weight gain.
The calorie in/out equation oversimplifies the processes at work here. The title of Taubes's book is meant to challenge this oversimplification, and the text bears out with copious evidence that the quality of the calories you eat is in fact more important than the quantity when it comes to what makes us put on fat.
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The really radical conclusion of this book is that the kilo of olive oil consumed in the absence of carbohydrate will not make you fat. Without the insulin response engendered by eating carbs, fat storage really cannot occur, or occurs much more slowly. Taubes suggests a relatively simple experiment which would likely prove or disprove this hypothesis toward the end of this interview on NPR. As an interesting side note, a glass of olive oil is not an unusual morning beverage in some regions of Italy.
The belief that total cholesterol has any bearing on health whatsoever rests on science now more than fifty years old that has been completely superseded by more refined techniques and additional studies in the intervening years.
When cholesterol was first isolated we lacked the technology to separate it into its different striations. We've gotten marginally better over the years; now we have LDL and HDL cholesterol, VLDL, IDL, Chylomicrons, and now even small dense LDL vs. "fluffy" LDL. (The very latest research, by the way, seems to implicate the dense LDL as being associated with [although not necessarily causative of] heart disease which is prescient given it is primarily formed through fructose metabolism in the liver...)
In any case, I encourage the writer to read the work of Ronald Krause. He's considered by many to be the nation's leading researcher in the field of cholesterols and their various and often divergent associations with health.
Statements that weight is merely a matter of calories in/out demonstrate a misapplication of the laws of thermodynamics as they operate within the human metabolism. The human body actually regulates its total caloric expenditure based on availability of fuel to cells, which is primarily affected by the types of food eaten and the action of insulin to sequester blood lipids within fat cells. More available energy leads to higher metabolic rates, greater activity and lower consumption of calories. Consumption of excess carbohydrate causes excess insulin response which leads to greater fat storage and weight gain and lower calorie availability. One of the more interesting implications of this research is that people with elevated insulin levels are actually starving on the cellular level, with too many calories being stored away in fat and too few calories available for the body to utilize. Cell starvation leads to hunger which leads to additional eating and/or low activity levels and decreased metabolic activity. Hence, weight gain. The calorie in/out equation oversimplifies the processes at work here. The title of Taubes's book is meant to challenge this oversimplification, and the text bears out with copious evidence that the quality of the calories you eat is in fact more important than the quantity when it comes to what makes us put on fat.