A Panda Goes Low-Carb

Since the offseason began, bloated slugger Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval of the (World Champion!) San Francisco Giants has lost 20-30 pounds so far, and recently tweeted that the secret to his success is a "low carbohydrate and high protein diet." (Maybe he picked up "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It" over the holidays...)

Could it be that Sandoval has actually given up eating Colossal Brownie Sundaes at Buca di Beppo?

Sometimes, They Get It Right

Who says all the nutrition information in glossy magazines is total bullshit? (Okay, besides me.)

Fine. I'll concede that occasionally, the popular press hits the nail on the head. And maybe -- just maybe -- they're getting it right a little more often these days. The latest issue of Men's Journal features an article entitled "Everything You Know About Nutrition Is Wrong," and discusses Gary Taubes' well-supported argument that it's our intake of carbs, not calories, that makes us fat:

During the past several years, conventional dietary wisdom — skimp on fat, count calories — has started to crumble, thanks largely to a one-man wrecking crew named Gary Taubes. In his latest book, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, Taubes argues that calories and fat aren’t to blame for the world’s increasing girth and high incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. He contends that exercise, while a healthy habit, won’t help with weight loss, and that most Americans would benefit from eating more red meat and eggs because animal proteins and saturated fat don’t cause cardiovascular disease and weight gain: Simple sugars and carbohydrates do.

I told you so.

(Source: Men's Journal)

The Beast Weighs In

The Daily Beast just put up a review of both "Why We Get Fat" and "The New Evolution Diet." (Check it out here.)

But why is the article accompanied by a photo of the books' covers and a woman with a single piece of uncooked broccoli on her plate? I'm reading both books right now (along with a few others -- probably why I can't seem to finish any of 'em) -- and I'm fairly certain neither book advocates a raw vegetarian starvation diet. Quite the opposite, in fact.

On second thought, is she sneering at the broccoli? But that'd be weird, too. It's not like Art De Vany and Gary Taubes are anti-vegetables.

I'd have been happier with a stock photo of a woman cracking up over a bowl of salad. At least then, we could add it to this list.

Why We Get Fat

I know -- you tried, but couldn't get through all the dense science-y stuff crammed into Gary Taubes (excellent) "Good Calories, Bad Calories." But today, just in time for your New Year's Resolution-planning, Taubes has released his CliffsNotes version of GCBC: "Why We Get Fat - And What To Do About It." It's shorter, punchier, and aimed at a broader audience.

And even if you don't feel like springing for the book, check out Taubes' recent interview with WNYC:



If you haven't already noticed, I'm a bit of a Gary Taubes groupie.