New “Eat More Fat” Infographic: Gary Taubes’ “Why We Get Fat” in a Nutshell

There are some awesome infographics about nutrition coming out now. Check out this one from Massive Health.  It does a really good job of summarizing Gary Taubes theories as explained in his opus, Good Calories, Bad Calories, and later in his simplified Why We Get Fat.

Gary Taubes is a friend. He introduced me to his publishing agent, who became my publishing agent. He spoke to a packed house at svhi.com, the non-profit I run. And in all honesty, Good Calories, Bad Calories is one of the best nutrition and science books I’ve ever read, not just for the content, but for the way he never wasted even one sentence. It takes a master to pack as much information into 500 pages as Gary did, without making it into a boring list of references. If you still believe the calorie myth, read that book. You will walk away knowing what the science said vs what the media said, and you will be angry.

Gary’s research led him to point the “fat” finger at insulin. There are other theories about what causes obesity, including leptin, mitochondrial dysfunction, and one of my favorites, xenoestrogens. In all honesty, it’s likely a combination of those factors for most people, and there are some pieces we just haven’t discovered. That’s why the Bulletproof Diet methodology is to keep evaluating new research in order to update the infographics as new research becomes available.

Why We Get Fat focuses on insulin’s role in obesity. There are other competing – and compelling – theories like the food reward hypothesis of obesity, being written about by Stephan Guyenet.  He also posted an excellent article about the carbohydrate hypothesis.  Still, it’s a great book worth the read. Real biohackers and enthusiasts will want to read Good Calories, Bad Calories too.

That said, here’s Why We Get Fat in a nutshell. But read the book too – there’s a lot more to it.