Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Dr. Oz takes on Gary Taubes

Last month, Gary Taubes, the author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, and Why We Get Fat, appeared on the Dr. Oz Show to defend his stand that it is carbohydrates that make us put on weight and that lead to cardiovascular disease, not fat.  You can watch the three part show online, over here.

Dr. Oz, predictably, gave him a hard time, though I found the discussion and the comparison of their opposing views illuminating.  I hope you do too.

I do think it was somewhat unfair of Dr. Oz to suggest that you have to stick to a menu as boring as this one to succeed with a low-carb lifestyle:


It's certainly not what I typically eat every day.  For one thing, I don't think I've ever eaten fried pork rinds for a snack, and for another, I usually stay away from cured meats like salami.  I also don't fry as much as is implied in the picture.  Lastly, Dr. Oz gave up a succulent-looking piece of salmon when he tried Taubes' supposed eating plan for 24 hours.  If it had been me, I would have stayed with the fish.  That's a suitable source of low-carb protein too.  Oh, and as for blueberries and yoghurt for breakfast?  Nothing wrong with that.  In fact, it's one of my favourite breakfast choices.

Bottom line:  Dr. Oz weakens his side of the argument by suggesting that meat is all you can eat if you follow Taubes' reasoning.  The reality is that there is a wealth of delicious and nutritious options when you cut starches and sugars.

Right at the end of the third part, you'll also notice Dr. Oz recommends that a better approach to weight loss is the much-touted shaving 100 calories out of your daily calorie load and sticking to a low fat menu.  In a short tv show geared at least as much at entertainment value as its underlying content, it wasn't possible for Taubes to defend this.  However, he addresses the shortcomings of the calorie-cutting approach to dieting in great detail in his books.

As Taubes points out, if this approach worked, everybody who wanted to lose weight would be doing it already.  Has it worked for you?  As my husband loves to say, if plan A doesn't work, don't try plan A again!

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