#25 Gary Taubes: Is Sugar Slowly Killing Us

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Farnam Street

Business, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2017

⏱️ 104 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It seems that nowadays, aside from religion and politics, one of the most hotly debated topics is that of nutrition.

Should we eat high carb diets? Low carb? High fat? High protein? What about wheat or gluten? Should we eat meat or adopt a vegan diet?

There are as many opinions as there are people — and books, magazines and websites are overflowing with information showing you the “right” way to eat and exercise to lose weight.

But if “eating less and moving more” is all it takes to lose weight and enjoy a healthy lifestyle, why are so many of us fat and getting fatter?

In this episode, I chat with Gary Taubes, bestselling author of three books, The Case Against Sugar (2016), Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It (2011) and Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007).

We talk about the sharp rise of obesity and diabetes in America, the structural hurdles to effective nutrition research, and explore the common myth that a calorie is just a calorie.

Here are a few other things you’ll learn in this interview:

How diets shifted in the last century, and what impact it’s having on our bodies today.
Why a carb isn’t just a carb — and why you should know the difference
Is the sugar industry the new Big Tobacco?
What role genetics play in our health, and how much is under our control
Why humans are so attracted to sugar and how to break the habit
Gary’s suggestions to improve your health, drop body fat and feel terrific
The benefits of fasting and how you can try it out yourself

And a bunch more.

If you think at all about your health, give this podcast a listen.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Knowledge Project. I'm your host, Shane Parish, the curator behind the
0:13.0	Fernham Street blog, which is an online community focused on mastering the best of what
0:17.5	other people have already figured out. The Knowledge Project is a podcast where we look
0:22.0	at interesting people and uncover the frameworks they use to make better decisions, live
0:26.6	life and make an impact. On this episode, I have the fascinating Gary Tubbs. Gary is an
0:32.3	award-winning science journalist who has written good calories, bad calories, and why we get fat.
0:36.9	You're going to learn about the role of sugar, carbohydrates, and fiber, how breakfast became
0:42.8	the most important meal of the day. What science is and the state of nutritional science,
0:48.6	why he says wine is okay, his next book project, and so much more. I hope you enjoy this
0:54.2	conversation as much as I did. Before I get started, here's a quick word for
1:09.3	my sponsor. This episode is brought to you by InkTel. Every business needs great customer
1:15.0	service in order to stand out and gain a competitive advantage. Yet many businesses struggle
1:20.1	with how to provide their customers with world-class customer service. InkTel Contact
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1:30.3	their customer service reps to know your business almost as well as you do and help you build
1:34.6	your brand. Managing a call center can be a complicated, expensive, and time-consuming
1:39.6	task. And you still might not be able to do it well. So do what many leading companies
1:44.5	do and outsource your customer service needs to a partner who specializes in taking care
1:49.0	of your contact center needs. InkTel can provide your company with every touch point,
1:53.4	including telephone, email, chat, and social media. As a listener of this podcast, you
1:58.5	can get up to $10,000 off if you go to inktel.com slash Shane. That's iNKTEL.com slash
2:07.0	Shane. Gary, I'm so happy to have you on the knowledge project. I hate how I'm happy
	...

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