Countering the 'meatless' weight loss theory

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Obesity is a North American obsession and Oprah Winfrey spinoff Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the popular self-help show of the same name, suggests that people reduce their weight by going meatless at lunch, according to pork industry guru Bob Hunsberger at the recent London Swine Conference. 

"Generally accepted medical opinions are that we eat too much red meat," Hunsberger says."

Award-winning science journalist Gary Taubes offers an opposing point of view. After meticulous research, he disagrees with the "'calories in, calories out' model of dieting" and has stated so on the Dr. Oz show. "There's nothing particularly controversial about the science involved," he wrote in his blog later. In a summary of his latest book Why We Get Fat, Taubes points a finger at consumption of carbohydrates and says the medical community went off track on diet issues years ago.

Taubes writes that "any good biochemistry or endocrinology textbook" explains that "insulin puts fat into cells. That's what it does." BP