Comments on: Israel Ramirez on Gary Taubes

by: SciLibby

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:35:44 +0000

I wonder if genes that make certain people or populations sensitive to large intakes of carbs would make Taubes’ theory true *in those people*. It seems that moderation is a good rule of thumb for most people, but for some, much less carbs might be the ticket, and this could be a result of their genes that control how their bodies respond to carbs.

by: Lancaster

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:34:59 +0000

By “seasoning,” I was thinking in terms of mashed potatoes, where the whole bowl of carbohydrates is heavily buttered and seasoned, so that every bite tastes the same. Like a big bag of potato chips. The only comparison I can think of is the common faux pas foreigners commit by dumping soy sauce directly on white rice (treating it like mashed potatoes). One exception might be onigiri, where the rice can be very lightly seasoned. Emphasis on “very lightly.” Onigiri is actually a good case in point, where a lot of rice (practically unflavored) is interrupted by small, concentrated bits of unique flavor.

by: Pearl

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:29:45 +0000

Actually, they do sometimes season white rice with “furikake”; toppings made with seaweed, sesame, salt, pickled plum, beefsteak leaf, dried fish, or dried vegetables, so it’s not exactly “unthinkable” to season rice, but it is far more common to see it served plain. You wouldn’t get furikake on rice in a restaurant, for example.

It also depends on what your definition of seasoning is. Spices are generally not found in foods other than curry, which itself is considered a food borrowed from foreign countries. A lot of traditional food is mostly a balance between salty and sweet, or salty, sweet, and sour.

by: Lancaster

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:07:22 +0000

Pearl has a good point. Compare mashed potatoes (as served in the U.S.) and rice as served in Japan. Rice served with a meal in Japan is white and unflavored. The idea of “seasoning” white rice in Japan is as unthinkable as eating mashed potatoes plain in the U.S. But when looking at a country like Japan, another obvious variable has to be taken into consideration: price. The retail cost of rice in Japan is 2-3 times that in the U.S. Interestingly, though, a Big Mac is not. And neither are tremendous variety of “traditional fast food” meals served at the ubiquitous mom & pop shops that compete directly with McDonalds (and deliver!). Taubes is quite right that sugar (HFCS)-based junk food in Japan is considerably more expensive and is served in smaller portions.

by: Pearl

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:36:25 +0000

Unfortunately I don’t agree with Taubes’ response to the Japanese diet. He’s right; they don’t eat a lot of sugar. But if what’s he’s saying is true, then most of us English teachers, who usually eat a bowl of rice with school lunch, would all be getting obese because we’re not used to digesting the sugars.

This is quite the contrary. All of the teachers in my city had their weight fluctuate, but it went up or down depending on the person. The most often cited case for weight loss was not being used to the food and feeling lack of hunger and pleasure from eating. For weight gain, it was increased snack and fast food or increased alcohol consumption that seemed to cause it.

It was actually considering the Japanese diet that caused me to really have faith in the flavor-calorie association theory; Japanese food is traditionally very low in flavor and with the exception of rice, slowly digestible. When I sit down to bowl of rice, some pickles, and a bowl of miso soup, I feel full far faster than on western food, with far fewer calories. Processed foods usually vary in flavor as well, even sodas come in flavors like wasabi, banana, or cucumber, that change every season. And there are very few “secret sauces” to get addicted to.

Seth’s explanation makes sense in the context of the Asian diet. The low carbohydrate diet leaves a huge loophole when you consider the diets of the some of the healthiest nations on the planet.

by: Laura Ramirez

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:43:47 +0000

The effect of insulin on hunger is only part of Taubes’ premise. Another part, is how insulin contributes to obesity by impairing the body’s ability to utilize stored fat for energy. Taubes’ survey is a critique of the culture of science and research, and the weakness of evidence for the current recommendations to the public about how to lose weight, avoid cancer, heart disease and stay healthy.

by: Dave Lull

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:37:48 +0000

Gary Taubes comments on the Chinese diet here:

[scroll down to the bottom:]
http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2007/10/gary-taubes-continues-his-dietary-truth.html#1207525350668233528

And he comments on the Japanese diet here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23Taubes.html?_r=1&fta=y&oref=slogin