Gary Taubes, author of "What If It's All Been A Big Fat Lie?" and Good Calories, Bad Calories has a new article in the New York Times' Magazine today: "Is Sugar Toxic?" (Thanks, shaun.) I just started reading it. I'll report back.
The New York Times' Well blog is accruing comments:
Talk To Gary Taubes About Sugar
Background
Taubes is a low-carb advocate. In his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, he said:
"Carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be."(I don't necessarily agree with him, I'm just offering a backdrop.)
"Refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes."
"Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior."
"Consuming excess calories does not cause [Taubes' emphasis] us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger."
Update, April 14 - Some thoughts:
Nothing in this article convinced me that sugar (or a component of it - fructose) is inherently toxic. However, since it is the dose that makes the poison, I think sugar is likely toxic at high doses. This is true about many nutrients: vitamin A, vitamin D, folic acid (as seen here), water. They are all toxic at high doses.
It is easier to ingest toxic amounts of these substances when they are provided in a processed - and so more concentrated - form. You would have to eat about 3 apples or 4 bananas or 10 cups of chopped carrots in one sitting to get the 29g of fructose in one medium (21 ounce) cola beverage. (From: High-Fructose Corn Syrup VS. Table Sugar)
I agree with a premise of the article, that the accumulation of fat in liver (but I'll add - also in muscle and other tissue) plays a role in insulin resistance, and that insulin resistance plays a role in diabetes and other diseases. However, there are a number of factors that lead to this kind of fat deposition.
- You could, for example, have a disturbance in beta-oxidation in the mitochondria. Say your carnitine gate was blocked or maybe you didn't have a lot of gates, or you had a diminished number of mitochondria. This could lead to accumulation of fat within the cell, and a subsequent decrease in insulin sensitivity. This is a contributing factor in insulin resistance.
- You could also, for example, feed a high-fat diet. This has been shown to increase fat deposition within the cell leading to a decrease in insulin sensitivity.1
- You could, for example, have to oxidize excess ethanol. The metabolism of ethanol from alcoholic beverages leads to an excess of NADH which promotes the synthesis of fatty acids, the deposition of fat, and increased insulin resistance.
- Speaking of alcohol, it, possibly by its affect on aromatase, along with other environmental endocrine disruptors have been shown to affect the production and activity of hormones (besides insulin) which also control lipogenesis.
It may be more illuminating to look at the diet as a whole, instead of an isolated component. I've seen a number of studies that implicate a "meat and potatoes" pattern (high fat plus high refined carbohydrates) in the development of metabolic disorders like diabetes. People don't eat just sugar. What other foods are they eating and how does this exacerbate metabolic problems? Taubes touched on this in his discussion of soldiers who died in the Korean War. Those who ate high-fat plus high-sugar diets (Americans) had more plaques in their arteries than those who ate low-fat (typically high-carb) plus low-sugar diets (Koreans).
Anyway, I don't see the harm in eating a peach, nor in putting 2 teaspoons of sugar (an equivalent amount of fructose) in a cup of tea. I don't think either of those meal items are toxic.
11 comments:
GCBC is one of the most informative and influential books I have read in a long time, though it's a long read at over 500 pages.
Taubes also wrote a shorter version, "Why we get fat", which is an easier read.
I have explained the books' premise to a skeptic whose reaction was that Taubes is "just a journalist". For people like that, I'm not convinced that the shorter version of the book is going to be sufficiently credible. FTR, the research that went into the books is meticulous; having read both, I think an outsider's opinion that its less credible just because he isn't a scientist himself makes no sense at all. Ironically, one of Taubes' criticisms is about the lack of good science in the field of obesity research.
I'm interested to hear what you think of the book.
I think this explains a bit for me. I'm not sedentary, I don't by any means overeat, yet I can't lose the weight. My diet *used* to be high in sugars (carbs, etc). Now, not so much, yet my metabolism still can't get that "kick start" to get going.
Philippa, I think Taubes is well-read and considered. I don't reach the same conclusions as he does but I respect his views.
Perovskia, You're on a meat-free diet plus a low-carb diet? I'm curious what your meals look like.
Taubes article not so much but the video of that medic in USC where he shows the fructose molecule and the ethanol molecule side-by-side as a real eye opener...
I must say he was compelling enough in order for me to make some changes in my diet. Guess what: I'm not that much of a consumer or meat products, or any meat at all for that matter, and I don't eat that much protein (70 grs a day for a 1,90m 86kg it's not much IMO) and yet I have my uric acid blood levels always around 6.5 - 7.0 mark, I am a HUGE fruit consumer and eating 4 apples, 3 bananas, 3 oranges, whatever else I can find in a day is not that rare for me... and I'm now convinced that this fructose consumption is related o my high uric acid and elevated BP. So I guess I'll eat even more sweet potatoes and rice .
Hey Bix what do you think is the best complex carb? some starchy root or beans?
I don't know what Bix will say Manu, but beans have my vote. Beans.
shaun
Ha. I knew shaun would say beans!
They're both good choices. But it's hard to beat the convenience and appeal of fruit. It's a single serving, no prep, portable, not too perishable, and a "healthy" aura. I've seen people replace it with cut-up raw vegetables but they're not as satisfying. I don't know ... I've replaced a banana with cut up sweet potato. I make sure to cook it long so the consistency is the same.
The best complex carb ... god, I don't know. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Of rice, sweet potato, and beans, well, I eat all 3 in a day, probably a hair more sweet potato. Vegetables are the food I have to work at getting in. I'm always making what I call boil-ups - lightly boiled vegetables, whatever's around, and a spoonful or two of mashed beans to thicken it. Last night I made diced onions/red pepper/mushroom/broccoli/cauliflower, simmered till tender (3 or 4 minutes) and a few big tablespoons of mushy white beans I'd had in the fridge (Great Northern beans), tamari, spices ... that's it. Fast. The fridge is full of leftovers like that.
Gab gab gab ...
I once met a spanish nutritionist who claimed that starchy roots should be a staple on everyone's diet and they were, bar none, the best complex carb there was. When I inquired if beans and legumes weren't better he replied that they should also be consumed but in moderation due to 'lentils' (don't know the english word) and some other phyto anti nutrients that were meant to protect the legume from being consumed. I wonder how right he was
Okinawans spent an awful lot of their calories on sweet potatoes. And they were quite long-lived and hearty.
http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2010/07/traditional-okinawan-diet-sweet.html
Manu,
Was the doctor referring to "lectin" maybe?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectin#Toxicity
shaun
"I have explained the books' premise to a skeptic whose reaction was that Taubes is "just a journalist". For people like that, I'm not convinced that the shorter version of the book is going to be sufficiently credible. FTR, the research that went into the books is meticulous; having read both, I think an outsider's opinion that its less credible just because he isn't a scientist himself makes no sense at all. Ironically, one of Taubes' criticisms is about the lack of good science in the field of obesity research."
I'm not sure what you have to do to be "a scientist." Taubes has a degree in physics, and is an award-winning science writer.
True enough, he isn't a lab researcher in the field of nutrition. But from what I've seen, most lab researchers are usually so far down in the weeds that they can't see any of the big picture.
(And I say that as someone with an undergrad in Physics and a PhD in Energy Systems.)
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