The theory behind the Shangri-La Diet was inspired by research of Israel Ramirez, which I describe in an appendix (”The Science Behind the Theory Behind the Diet”) to the book. I recently asked Ramirez what he thought of Gary Taubes’ idea in Good Calories, Bad Calories that we are fat because carbohydrate consumption pushes our insulin levels too high. He is especially well-qualified to judge because he has done experiments in which insulin injections induced obesity in rats. His reply:
As I understand Gary Taubes, he has resurrected Atkins’ idea that carbohydrates stimulate insulin which lowers blood glucose and thereby induces more eating. The evidence for this is not very compelling. You can induce overeating with insulin in lab rats but you have to give so much insulin that the animal is in danger of dying. I am not aware of any experiments of this sort in people but diabetics don’t often report being hungry after accidentally giving themselves too much insulin. There are exceptions to this pattern; for people and lab rats, glucose levels tend to fall shortly before eating.
There are clinical trials in people and lab rats showing that high protein, low carbohydrate, diets suppress intake. For people, the effects are modest in the long term, amounting to a few pounds greater loss than for people given a low fat diet at the end of a one year trial. There is some evidence that this weight loss might not be maintained after the first year. Trials showing weight loss on low carbohydrate diets required eating less carbohydrate than that consumed by 99% of lean people.
Cross national and historic data don’t strongly support Taubes. People in countries where traditional high carbohydrate diets are still consumed are often lean, i.e. Japan and China. In recent times, as people in these countries have shifted away from traditional starch diets, frequency of obesity has increased. Intake of soft drinks, on the other hand, does roughly parallel incidence of obesity. I interpret the beverage correlation as a psychological phenomenon but it is also consistent with Taubes.
Even if Taubes were entirely correct about carbohydrates, it would not contradict the idea that learning influences the amount of food you eat. Nor would it mean that extremely low carbohydrate diets are best or easiest way to lose weight; Seth Roberts’ method may still be easier for many people.
Gary Taubes comments on the Chinese diet here:
[scroll down to the bottom:]
https://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2007/10/gary-taubes-continues-his-dietary-truth.html#1207525350668233528
And he comments on the Japanese diet here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23Taubes.html?_r=1&fta=y&oref=slogin
The effect of insulin on hunger is only part of Taubes’ premise. Another part, is how insulin contributes to obesity by impairing the body’s ability to utilize stored fat for energy. Taubes’ survey is a critique of the culture of science and research, and the weakness of evidence for the current recommendations to the public about how to lose weight, avoid cancer, heart disease and stay healthy.
Unfortunately I don’t agree with Taubes’ response to the Japanese diet. He’s right; they don’t eat a lot of sugar. But if what’s he’s saying is true, then most of us English teachers, who usually eat a bowl of rice with school lunch, would all be getting obese because we’re not used to digesting the sugars.
This is quite the contrary. All of the teachers in my city had their weight fluctuate, but it went up or down depending on the person. The most often cited case for weight loss was not being used to the food and feeling lack of hunger and pleasure from eating. For weight gain, it was increased snack and fast food or increased alcohol consumption that seemed to cause it.
It was actually considering the Japanese diet that caused me to really have faith in the flavor-calorie association theory; Japanese food is traditionally very low in flavor and with the exception of rice, slowly digestible. When I sit down to bowl of rice, some pickles, and a bowl of miso soup, I feel full far faster than on western food, with far fewer calories. Processed foods usually vary in flavor as well, even sodas come in flavors like wasabi, banana, or cucumber, that change every season. And there are very few “secret sauces” to get addicted to.
Seth’s explanation makes sense in the context of the Asian diet. The low carbohydrate diet leaves a huge loophole when you consider the diets of the some of the healthiest nations on the planet.
Pearl has a good point. Compare mashed potatoes (as served in the U.S.) and rice as served in Japan. Rice served with a meal in Japan is white and unflavored. The idea of “seasoning” white rice in Japan is as unthinkable as eating mashed potatoes plain in the U.S. But when looking at a country like Japan, another obvious variable has to be taken into consideration: price. The retail cost of rice in Japan is 2-3 times that in the U.S. Interestingly, though, a Big Mac is not. And neither are tremendous variety of “traditional fast food” meals served at the ubiquitous mom & pop shops that compete directly with McDonalds (and deliver!). Taubes is quite right that sugar (HFCS)-based junk food in Japan is considerably more expensive and is served in smaller portions.
Actually, they do sometimes season white rice with “furikake”; toppings made with seaweed, sesame, salt, pickled plum, beefsteak leaf, dried fish, or dried vegetables, so it’s not exactly “unthinkable” to season rice, but it is far more common to see it served plain. You wouldn’t get furikake on rice in a restaurant, for example.
It also depends on what your definition of seasoning is. Spices are generally not found in foods other than curry, which itself is considered a food borrowed from foreign countries. A lot of traditional food is mostly a balance between salty and sweet, or salty, sweet, and sour.
By “seasoning,” I was thinking in terms of mashed potatoes, where the whole bowl of carbohydrates is heavily buttered and seasoned, so that every bite tastes the same. Like a big bag of potato chips. The only comparison I can think of is the common faux pas foreigners commit by dumping soy sauce directly on white rice (treating it like mashed potatoes). One exception might be onigiri, where the rice can be very lightly seasoned. Emphasis on “very lightly.” Onigiri is actually a good case in point, where a lot of rice (practically unflavored) is interrupted by small, concentrated bits of unique flavor.
I wonder if genes that make certain people or populations sensitive to large intakes of carbs would make Taubes’ theory true *in those people*. It seems that moderation is a good rule of thumb for most people, but for some, much less carbs might be the ticket, and this could be a result of their genes that control how their bodies respond to carbs.