Fat good, carbs bad

Dr. Andrew Weil is probably a very nice man, but his views on health and medicine tend not to attract me.  Indeed, I tend to veer away from New Agey, Old Hippie kinds of things as much as possible (too much emotionalism, too much "true believer").  A recent Weil blog on the Huffington Post did, however, attract my attention for its discussion of fat versus carbs.  In it Weil draws on recent research and a recent book by Gary Taubes to highlight these points (made by Taubes in his book):

1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease of civilization.
2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis -- the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight and well-being.
3. Sugars -- sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically -- are particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.
4. Through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic diseases of modern civilization.

Weil does recommend, for environmental reasons, to reduce the amount of meat in the diet, but not to fear to give it its proper place.   As for me, Taubes has a whole chapter on fiber!  I am so getting this book.

RIP Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Dean loomed larger in my life as a singer than as a maker of sausages.  His passing is another one of those sad milestones that seem to be zooming by these days.

When we lost Paul Newman, Big Kid Cousin and I both picked up bottles of Newman's Own salad dressing--our small remembrance of a wonderful actor and fine human being.  Looks like I'll be tasting some of Jimmy Dean's sausage soon and thinking about what he has meant to this country.