by Gary Taubes
First published 2024
Gary Taubes examines the troubled history of diabetes research and treatment in this medical investigation. Before insulin's discovery, doctors treated diabetes almost entirely through dietary approaches, from meat-only diets to fat-heavy regimens to extended fasting protocols. After two centuries of contradictory medical guidance, today's medical establishment believes diabetics can eat the same foods as everyone else, relying on insulin therapy and blood sugar medications instead of dietary restrictions. Patients are told they can enjoy ice cream cake, french fries, and soda while leaving disease management to pharmaceutical interventions. Yet this approach has coincided with an explosive growth in diabetes cases over fifty years, especially among underserved communities. Taubes traces how decades of flawed research continues to shape physician recommendations, often harming patients' long-term health. He makes a case for returning diet to the center of diabetes care, specifically reducing carbohydrates while increasing fat intake rather than depending on insulin. The author calls on doctors and researchers to question established medical wisdom that may have fueled current diabetes and obesity epidemics.
Genres: science, medical, non-fiction, health, history-of-medicine, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: medical-controversy, questioning-established-wisdom
512 pages · Hardcover · Knopf