Overview

"An eye-opening investigation into the history of diabetes research and treatment by the award-winning journalist and best-selling author of Why We Get Fat • ""[Gary] Taubes’s meticulous, science-based work makes him the Bryan Stevenson of nutrition, an early voice in the wilderness for an unorthodox view that is increasingly becoming accepted.""—Niel Barsky, The Guardian Before the discovery of insulin, diabetes was treated almost exclusively through diet, from subsistence on meat, to reliance on fats, to repeated fasting and near-starvation regimens. After two centuries of conflicting medical advice, most authorities today believe that those with diabetes can have the same dietary freedom enjoyed by the rest of us, leaving the job of controlling their disease to insulin therapy and other blood-sugar-lowering medications. Rather than embark on “futile” efforts to restrict sugar or carbohydrate intake, people with diabetes can lead a normal life, complete with the occasional ice-cream cake, side of fries, or soda. These guiding principles, however, have been accompanied by an explosive rise in diabetes over the last fifty years, particularly among underserved populations. And the health of those with diabetes is expected to continue to deteriorate inexorably over time, with ever-increasing financial, physical, and psychological burdens. In Rethinking Diabetes, Gary Taubes explores the history underpinning the treatment of diabetes, types 1 and 2, elucidating how decades-old research that is rife with misconceptions has continued to influence the guidance physicians offer—at the expense of their patients’ long-term well-being. The result of Taubes’s work is a reimagining of diabetes care that argues for a recentering of diet—particularly, fewer carbohydrates and more fat—over a reliance on insulin. Taubes argues critically and passionately that doctors and medical researchers should question the established wisdom that may have enabled the current epidemic of diabetes and obesity, and renew their focus on clinical trials to resolve controversies that are now a century in the making."

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Reviews

“In Rethinking Diabetes, one of our finest science writers tackles one of our most persistent and perplexing health issues. In re-examining how we came to believe what we do about diabetes, he suggests where we have gone astray and where successful treatment lies. This is an essential, vital contribution to the ongoing debate about an ongoing scourge.”—Marty Makary, author of The Price We Pay “Gary Taubes has once again done a masterful job exposing the bias of those who promoted and entrenched high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets as part of the management of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the lack of evidence supporting this dietary approach. Rethinking Diabetes is an outstanding book, a must read for all people with diabetes and those who treat them.”—Martin Abrahamson, former chief medical officer, Joslin Diabetes Center “A fascinating deep dive into the history of diabetes and how new treatment paradigms may be game- changing.”—Dr. Jason Fung, author of The Obesity Code “Gary Taubes embeds the story of diabetes in human context, illuminating the role of researchers, doctors, and establishment organizations in coming up with hypotheses and guidelines and then holding on to them long past their sell-by date. Rethinking Diabetes is a riveting tale of how the human impulse to confirm one’s beliefs rather than reexamine them, let alone change them, has impeded our understanding of diabetes—as well as a celebration of the brave souls, doctors and patients alike, who defied tradition and convention to come up with more effective treatments.”—Carol Tavris, coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)

“In Rethinking Diabetes, one of our finest science writers tackles one of our most persistent and perplexing health issues. In re-examining how we came to believe what we do about diabetes, he suggests where we have gone astray and where successful treatment lies. This is an essential, vital contribution to the ongoing debate about an ongoing scourge.”—Marty Makary, author of The Price We Pay “Gary Taubes has once again done a masterful job exposing the bias of those who promoted and entrenched high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets as part of the management of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the lack of evidence supporting this dietary approach. Rethinking Diabetes is an outstanding book, a must read for all diabetic people and those who treat them.”—Martin Abrahamson, former chief medical officer, Joslin Diabetes Center “Gary Taubes embeds the story of diabetes in human context, illuminating the role of researchers, doctors, and establishment organizations in coming up with hypotheses and guidelines and then holding on to them long past their sell-by date. Rethinking Diabetes is a riveting tale of how the human impulse to confirm one’s beliefs rather than reexamine them, let alone change them, has impeded our understanding of diabetes—as well as a celebration of the brave souls, doctors and patients alike, who defied tradition and convention to come up with more effective treatments.”—Carol Tavris, coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)

“In Rethinking Diabetes, one of our finest science writers tackles one of our most persistent and perplexing health issues. In re-examining how we came to believe what we do about diabetes, he suggests where we have gone astray and where successful treatment lies. This is an essential, vital contribution to the ongoing debate about an ongoing scourge.”—Marty Makary, author of The Price We Pay

Author Information

GARY TAUBES is the author of six books, including the best sellers Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat. He is a former staff writer for Discover and correspondent for Science, and his writing has appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine and in The Atlantic, Esquire, and numerous “best of” anthologies, including The Best of the Best American Science Writing. He has received three Science in Society awards from the National Association of Science Writers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research. He lives in Oakland, California.

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