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Gary Taubes

Journalist, author, co-founder Nutrition Science Initiative

Gary Taubes is an American journalist, writer, and advocate for low-carbohydrate/high-fat (LCHF) diets.1 Born on April 30, 1956, he has written extensively challenging conventional wisdom on diet, weight control, and disease.1 Taubes is also the co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI).310

Education and Career::

  • He earned a B.S. degree in applied physics from Harvard College in 1977.234
  • He received an M.S. degree in engineering from Stanford University in 1978.34
  • In 1981, he obtained a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.14
  • He joined Discover magazine as a staff reporter in 1982 and has since written for various magazines, including Science.1
  • Taubes is the co-founder of the non-profit Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI).3

Books::

  • Nobel Dreams (1987)1
  • Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion (1993)1
  • Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007), also published as The Diet Delusion in the UK13
  • Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It (2010)1
  • The Case Against Sugar (2016)1
  • The Case for Keto: Rethinking Weight Control and the Science and Practice of Low-Carb/High-Fat Eating (2020)1

Scientific Controversies and Stance::

  • Taubes's books often address scientific controversies, challenging accepted beliefs.1
  • He argues that carbohydrates, especially sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, lead to the body storing fat and contribute to obesity and metabolic syndrome.15
  • Taubes supports the carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis, which posits that excess insulin drives energy into fat stores, thus carbs make people fat.7

Awards and Recognition::

  • He has won the Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers three times.13
  • He was awarded an MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship for 1996–97.1
  • He is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation independent investigator in health policy.13

Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI)::

  • Taubes co-founded NuSI with Peter Attia to investigate the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis of obesity.368
  • NuSI aimed to determine unambiguously what constitutes a healthy diet and to organize new experiments.6
  • The organization intended to streamline research and provide experimental independence to shield results from bias.7
  • NuSI faced challenges with funding and impacting the mainstream scientific community.9
  • The initiative struggled to prove that all calories are not created equal.7

Highlights

Mar 22 · twitter

The @American_Heart is setting ever-lower LDL cholesterol limits and advocates testing at ever-lower ages.
If LDL is going up, diet is the first line of defense. And what kind of diet? A diet that restricts saturated fat, of course.

60+ years into the diet-heart hypothesis, we're still living in an LDL-centric, SFA-restricted universe.

My skepticism is not about the nuances of the clinical trials but the history of the hypothesis and its competition.

LDL, Saturated Fat, and Heart Disease: Should We Worry? https://t.co/nmUhEpNDCr

The @American_Heart is setting ever-lower LDL cholesterol limits and advocates testing at ever-lower
Feb 25 · twitter

RFK Jr's new Food Guide Pyramid doesn't just flip the old one on its head--promoting red meat and dairy like they're, well, healthy 😬 -- but it embraces a different paradigm of nutrition.

No longer are saturated fats and cholesterol the focus, but refined carbohydrates, sugars, and blood sugar.

Larry Rifkin and I had fun discussing this.

Sep 13 · STAT
How a 'tragically flawed' paradigm has derailed the science of obesity - STAT
Aug 3 · Psychology Today
Is Your Fitness App Making You Fat? - Psychology Today

Related Questions

What is the Nutrition Science Initiative?
How did Gary Taubes' background in physics influence his work in nutrition?
What are the main arguments in Gary Taubes' book "Good Calories, Bad Calories"?
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What are some of the controversies surrounding Gary Taubes' theories on diet and health?
Gary Taubes
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