Good Calories, Bad Calories Summary

These are the ‘inescapable conclusions’ stemming from the research completed by Gary Taubes in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories:

1. Dietary fat does not cause obesity, heart disease or other chronic diseases.

2. Refined carbohydrates, through insulin secretion, do.

3. Sugars, especially those including fructose, are particularly harmful.

4. Refined carbohydrates are the dietary cause of heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely (but not only) dietary cases of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic diseases.

5. Obesity is not caused by overeating or sedentary behavior.

6. Calorie restriction does not cause long-term weight loss, it causes hunger.

7. Fattening and obesity are caused by a hormonal imbalance, which can be driven by diet (e.g. insulin secretion).

8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage.

9. Carbohydrate intake drives insulin, and is therefore proportional to our body composition.

10. Carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease energy.