[pa_dweller]

Read these books:

Why we get fat, and what to do about it - Gary Taubes

Good Calories, bad calories - Gary Taubes

Sweet but dangerous - John Yudkin (oft-quoted/cited by Taubes)

[Mase]

Taubes seems to think there is a metabolic advantage to a low carb diet. For some reason he doesn't realize that the total number of calories is more important than the ratio of macronutrients.

Demonizing one macronutrient over another is a common trait of diet fads and is exactly what Taubes engages in. Taubes understands that it's easier to sell diet advice if you claim that fats or carbs are the problem while ignoring the fact that it's really all about calories consumed vs. calories burned. Of course, a simple explanation like total calories consumed being the problem isn't the kind of information that people will pay for.

There are all sorts of pitfalls with Taubes' view of nutrition. You'd think a guy selling books about dieting would have learned the laws of thermodynamics before trying to defy them.