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For those who didn’t see it, Gary Taubes wrote a great piece (“Is Sugar Toxic?”) in the latest New York Times Magazine. It’s a little long, but as is the case with almost everything Taubes writes, it’s well worth the time. Taubes’s writing is no-nonsense and is backed by copious research. He doesn’t blindly accept the study results that often get regurgitated wildly until they morph into accepted societal belief. Instead, he looks at the scientific, political and economic factors involved in the issues being addressed to a degree that no other writer does.
This isn’t the first time Taubes has helped us question conventional belief. He has written several books, including “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” which may be the best book about nutrition, health and politics I’ve read. (I’ll discuss it in more detail in an upcoming post, but it does a great job in debunking many of the myths about cholesterol, saturated fat and other issues.)
Click here to read “Is Sugar Toxic?” which, if anything, will change how you think about the way we think.
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5 comments:
Wow, not knowing which is which is frustrating indeed. The simple answer I guess would be to stay away altogether, but it’s difficult to escape for most people. Has the study of Havel and Stanhope of finished yet? Taubes didn’t mention a time frame and I tried looking it up but couldn’t find it on his university webpage, could always email Taubes or Havel directly I suppose. Lustig has a very good point though, it kinda goes back to eating naturally made foods instead of breaking everything down to a single ingredient (Taking vitamin pills instead of getting vitamins from the actual foods).
Another note, would Honey be somewhere in-between isocaloric and isometabolic or is it simply one or the other?
Oni,
You should try emailing Taubes directly. It seems like he is open to dialogue, judging from the Q & A he did on the Times website: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/talk-to-gary-taubes-about-sugar/?ref=magazine
Hey I got a reply on May 2nd and this is what he said.
"The first part of the study has been done, and the last time I spoke to Havel and Stanhope in March they were working on getting it published. I know enough about the results that they didn't undercut my confidence in the central thesis of the article."
So he's still unsure I guess because of the lack of evidence, but wants to be able to eat sugar occasionally. What do you think Rob, have you lowered your refined sugar intake or completely eliminated it? Just curious since I know you are very strict about what you eat.
Just to clarify - by lack of evidence, I'm specifically referring to the point about not knowing just how long can we consume refined sugar before it damages us.
Oni,
I think your comment (see below) from the other day was deleted because of a Blogger snafu. My response follows.
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Hey I got a reply on May 2nd and this is what he said.
"The first part of the study has been done, and the last time I spoke to Havel and Stanhope in March they were working on getting it published. I know enough about the results that they didn't undercut my confidence in the central thesis of the article."
So he's still unsure I guess because of the lack of evidence, but wants to be able to eat sugar occasionally. What do you think Rob, have you lowered your refined sugar intake or completely eliminated it? Just curious since I know you are very strict about what you eat.
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Oni,
I have a sweet tooth, but I try to limit my sugar intake to dried fruit, , dark chocolate, maple syrup and honey. When we bake (two or three times per month), we use organic pure cane sugar, which I think (hope!) is better than the commercial, highly-processed white sugars.
Rob
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