Good Calories, Bad Calories: A Review

I can't believe I read the whole thing.

First, let me say that science journalist Gary Taubes's lengthy tome (460 pages of really fine print plus 113 pages of notes and bibliography!) is not a diet book. Good Calories, Bad Calories is a ginormous review of the scientific literature relating to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other "diseases of civilization (cancer and Alzheimer's, etc.)." It's also a bit of a diatribe against the public health establishment for recommending to the nation a low fat/low cholesterol/high fiber diet given the controversial, and since refuted, evidence that such a diet would prevent heart disease and obesity.

It's a fascinating, and difficult, read. Given the exhaustive nature of GCBC, I couldn't possibly summarize it for you. As a student of science, however, I do want to share with you what I learned about fat metabolism, obesity and hunger. Stay with me.

There is only one hormone in the body that is responsible for causing fat to be stored in fat (adipose) tissue: insulin. Guess which nutrient class is responsible for stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreas: carbohydrate, and ONLY carbohydrate.

Hmm.

When we eat a meal rich in carbohydrate, the pancreas releases insulin (the more carb., the more insulin). Insulin promotes the conversion of some of the carb. into fat, and triggers the incorporation of fat into our fatty tissues. Insulin also signals the fat cells to "hang on" to that fat for dear life, disrupting the release of fatty acids into the blood stream for fuel.

It goes like this (the simple version):

1. We eat carbohydrates.
2. Insulin is secreted from the pancreas.
3. Glucose from our meal is either converted into fat and stored, or used by cells throughout the body for fuel.
4. When blood glucose levels drop, cells throughout the body require a different source of fuel: free fatty acids released from fat cells.
5. Unfortunately for our thighs, insulin inhibits the release of free fatty acids.
   
6. No fuel is available to the cells, and hunger is stimulated.
7. We eat more carbohydrates.
8. It's a vicious cycle.

Although Taubes definitely has an agenda, he avoids the critical error of saying that what he believes to be true, IS true. In fact, he argues convincingly that this is what the establishment has done: taking flimsy evidence, deciding to act on it in the interest of public health, then sweeping any evidence under the rug that contradicted the low fat/low cholesterol disease prevention hypothesis.

It's an eye-opening read.

Now I need to re-read and take notes!

This Week's Menu

Dear Friends,

I don't know how to break this to you. I've been searching for the right words. But, as "they" say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Last night, I became...



























a carnivore. Don't get too excited, Mom. This is an experiment.

Basically, this book that I'm reading, makes a very compelling case in favor of a carbohydrate-restricted (no sugar, or refined carbohydrates), high protein, high fat diet. I'll blog about it later.

I shared a steak with Tony (cooked as recommended by the lovely Alton Brown). I'm still alive. It wasn't even gross. Keep in mind, I don't think I've eaten any meat in the last 15 years.

Shopping for cow was quite an adventure. Who knew there was so much meat in the world? Not I. The nice man at Target was very helpful, and even wished me good luck (I had shared my personal eating journey with him...we bonded).

Here's what we're having for the rest of this week:

• Tuesday: yummy Jaime Oliver salad
• Wednesday: tofu/bok choy stir fry (I LOVE this stuff)
• Thursday: spinach salad with sugared walnuts, feta, dried cherries, and balsamic vinaigrette (we had something like this at Pizza Lucé and I'm trying to re-create it)
• Friday: lentils with roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions from this cookbook
• Weekend: ? we're off to a concert on Saturday night.

What are you having?

Leave me a comment or send an e-mail to request a recipe.

Geek of the Week: Jott

My husband introduced me to a new service called Jott. Jott is a call-in service that converts your voice to e-mail, text messages, notes to self, lists, and appointments. It's pretty sweet, especially for someone who hates texting like me.

How does it work? After setting up an account, you add people to your contacts (e-mail and phone). Then you can call Jott, leave a recording for someone, and it sends them a text and an e-mail. You can also send yourself reminders for specific times (like a wake-up call), and make lists.

Even cooler? You can use it with Twitter, Blogger, and all sorts of other cool things I'm going to blog about later.

The only downside, it doesn't always perfectly transcribe your voice. However, you can spell things out for it to cut down on errors.

For example, I Jotted Tony, "Please pick up YoBaby."

He received, "Please pick up your baby."

All in all, it's pretty cool. It's perfect for someone like Tony who is out and about all of the time.

Mother's Day Weekend

My mom and dad took us all on a trip to Duluth (Hi, Mrs. Kwitty!) for Mother's Day weekend. For a fun surprise, my brother, Patrick, came too!!!! We stayed at a waterpark/theme hotel, ate yummy food, and saw Iron Man. It was a GREAT time. Thanks, Mom!

Picks of the Week

1. Lovely post by Dooce on blogging and motherhood.
2. I loved the Brazen Careerist. Check out this post from author Penelope Trunk's blog on starting a blog.
3. Finally, check out this clip from the Today show on Blogging Mama. It features some great and successful women bloggers.
   

Geek of the Week*: Kindle

After I get my fabulous new career going, and my husband is finally, "living the life to which he would like to become accustomed," I would love one of these:


It's the new Amazon Kindle, and boy is it pretty snazzy. It's also pricey.

Essentially, it's a portable reading device, with a Blackberry-like interface, a fancy new screen that reads just like paper (i.e. you can read in direct sunlight), and cellular wireless connectivity.

You purchase virtual books (about $9.99 for NY Times bestsellers) from Amazon, and they are sent to you wire-lessly in about one minute. Amazon also stores your purchases, protecting you from loss should your Kindle die.

Not enough? You also receive instant RSS feeds of top blogs, newspapers, and can subscribe to magazines via Kindle.

Amazon, are you listening? I have a cool idea! Partner with public libraries to make available all Kindle titles for rent ($1.00?) from your local public library. When the designated rental period is up, the file is removed from your Kindle file. Amazon gets a tax write-off, and libraries get a bit of needed revenue.

You can thank me later, Amazon. Or you can thank me now by sending me one of those fancy devices!

*Geek of the Week is an hommage to my high school days. I'll be featuring a new cool techie thing every week, now that Guy Kawasaki is my new BFF (second to you Heather!).

This Week's Menu

I got this wonderful idea from City Mama. Enjoy this new weekly feature! Please shoot me an e-mail if you'd like any of the recipes.




What are you having this week?

P.S. How do you spell portobello? portabello? I think it's portObello. Sorry I spelled it wrong.