Gary Taubes - WHY WE GET FAT - What to Eat

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Usage Notes

• Carbohydrate, sugar (measured in grams) and calories are calculated per 100g of food.
• This sugar and carb content of foods database contains approximately 7,000 most common food items.
• Click on column header to sort foods by name or by carb, sugar, or calories.
• Pie chart shows relative contributions to total calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat (and alcohol, if exists).

Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat and What to Do about It

If you want to stay lean or lose excess fat, then Gary Taubes's one-sentence answer is: "Stay away from carbohydrate-rich foods." In particular, the sweeter the food (high sugar content), the more likely it will make you fat.
This is why we provide not only the carb content but also the sugar content of foods in our searchable, sortable database above. In addition, if you click on the Chart button of a food item, a (visually appropriate) doughnut chart shows the percentages of calorie contribution from carb, fat, protein (and alcohol if exists) of this food.
Our database is an enormously convenient and useful tool to help you select the optimal foods according the the principles described in Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat.

The Nature of a Healthy Diet

Some principles and arguments presented in Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat:

• Carbohydrates will make you fat.
• The fewer carbs we eat, the leaner we'll be.
• Restrict carb = weight loss, in particular, FAT loss.
• The carbs to avoid are the fattening carbs (sugars, starches, refined flour, pasta and bread unless fortified), not leafy green vegetables and salads.
• You can eat all you want of protein and fat: eat when you are hungry and until full. If you are not eating carb-rich foods, you won't get fat or any fatter.
• Cutting back calories in diet to lose weight won't work if you do not cut back carb calories because you'll be constantly hungry.
• Carbohydrates are not required for healthy nutrition.
• Easily digestible carb and sugars are likely causes of heart disease.
• Obsession with fat and saturated fat in diets is misconceived.
• The evidence that saturated fat clogs arteries is poor. It's the carb we eat that raises triglycerides (a risk factor for heart disease). Fat, even saturated fat, has nothing to do with this.

Companion publications to Gary Taubes's Low Carb Principles

• Low Carb Diet Handbook
• Carb Ratings of Foods

No Sugar, No Starch Low Carb Diet

• For most effective weight loss, consume fewer than 20 grams of carb a day.
• To be eaten daily: 2 cups salad greens, 1 cup vegetables, 2 cups bouillon.
• When hungry, eat: meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, eggs. No need to avoid fat but stop eating when full.
• The key restriction: carbs! Eat no sugars and no starches. The only good carbs are nutrition dense, fiber rich vegetables. Avoid sugar, bread, cereal, fruits, juices, honey, milk, yogurt. Cheese and cream are allowed in limited quantities.
• Fats, butter and oils are allowed. They taste good and make you feel full. Avoid trans fat.

High-Carb Starchy Food List

List of 100 foods having highest starch and carb contents. Starch and carb are in grams per 100 grams of food weight.