Taubes book is not a diet, but an extremely thorough review of the last 100 years of research into obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc. I think easily 1/3 of t

Taubes book is not a diet, but an extremely thorough review of the last 100 years of research into obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc. I think easily 1/3 of the book consists of references to the scientific literature. Contrary to popular belief there is lots of research backing up the low carb theory, but they are mainly found in the fields of endocrinology and physiological psychology. The picture coming out of it as outlined by Taubes is of an extremely complex system. The endocrinologists have shown that the primary hormone governing obesity is insulin which isn't controversial anymore. It isn't that simple though to avoid foods that physiologically spike insulin. The Physiological psychologists have shown that insulin can see short spikes in preparation for a meal due to smells and tastes, which is why artificial sweeteners can be problematic sometimes.