On Good Calories, Bad Calories: Your questions answered Part I

Editor's note: Gary Taubes, the famous writer of Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control and Disease, answers the first round of your questions. Check out the original posts here. Gary is still working on more of your questions, so check back in the coming weeks for more responses!

What is your choice as a recommended sweetener for diabetics?

I'm afraid to say this question I can't answer. I will say that my research suggests that fructose is particularly noxious -- even if it has no immediate effect on blood sugar levels and insulin -- and so fructose alone or sucrose, which is half fructose, would be particularly bad choices.

As for the non-caloric sweeteners, I simply haven't done enough research to make any informed statement. I do believe on a fundamental level that the single healthiest thing to do might be to lose the sweet tooth entirely. In other words, treat the cravings for sweets like cravings for any other addictive substance and try to break it, even if it takes years of effort and many, many, many, many attempts before you succeed.

First, I would like to thank you for writing your book... To clarify my own position, I have been a lowish-carb diet to control my diabetes for about 9 years, and I support that viewpoint. But I'm also open to new ideas.Your goal was, I think, to show how the currently accepted low-fat dogma came to be accepted, and how the evidence used to promote that dogma was weak. You then present evidence suggesting that limiting carbohydrates, especially high glycemic index carbohydrates, may be healthier. I think your book is aimed at the overall American population, not people with diabetes.

In general, I agree with you. But I also support what we on the diabetes lists call YMMV, or "your mileage may vary," meaning that metabolism is very complex and we all have different genetic makeups. So a diet that works the best for me might not work the best for someone else. Some people find that fat has a bad effect on their blood glucose levels and they do better on low-fat diets. Others find that any carbohydrate makes their blood glucose levels soar, and they do better on low-carb diets that include a lot of fat.

Most people who go on low-carb diets find that their fasting lipid profiles improve, despite eating a lot of saturated fat. Others find that their lipid profiles get worse unless they limit the saturated fat and eat more monounsaturated fat instead.

We all know people who can eat whatever they want and remain rail thin. Others just look at a carbohydrate and put on pounds. I think that perhaps people fortunate enough to be born very insulin sensitive can eat very high carbohydrate diets without causing harm. Those born with a lot of insulin resistance will quickly put on weight when their carbohydrate intake is high, especially when their activity level is low.