As always, Taubes makes his case well. It has always seemed like an extreme, slightly unhinged, and potentially dangerous way to eat. The evidence he lays out against that is compelling and presented logically and with support..

I would recommend this for anyone interested in nutrition and curious about ketogenic/low carb diet. There is a lot of scientific discussion regarding the influence of carbs/sugar on our health, discussion of previous studies and the evolution of these studies over the time.

This is in incredible researched book. It is full of great information, but it was too much for me, I couldn't go on more than 20%.

Still, it is SUPER interesting! I just wasn't in the right mindset to read it.

If you like this subject, read it. You'll love it.

Many thanks to the publisher for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Gary Taubes is a strong proponent of low carb and keto eating, however in general his books are hard going due to all the scientific references he includes. His first book was a large tome of scientific references, and his books since then have appeared to be an attempt to make the information available to the lay audience. This book is his best effort yet in that direction. He also includes a few chapters at the end going over specific foods to eat (however this is not the book for you if you are looking for a detailed plan!).

This was a very dense book, which made it hard to read and understand. I have a biology degree, and I had a hard time understanding the science. That being said, it made a great case for following a keto diet.

I’m a fan of Gary Taubes previous works. This book, specifically about Keto, continues that trend of highly researched information for those looking for factual evidence on Keto. Definitely worth a read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. If you read 1 book this year about how to live a healthier life and literally want to change the pathway that your current way of eating is taking you down, read this book. Gary has a way of making a low carb high fat lifestyle make so much sense without getting caught up in the "fanatical" retoric that makes some people shy away from considering this to be a lifestyle worth considering and reading more about. He explains the science and reasoning behind why lchf is the best way to eat, not only for weightloss but to put yourself into the healthiest position you can be in. He talks about the whys and how's it all works and explains things in a very simplistic manner that even the most novice of LCHF people can understand. He also delves into some of the misinformation surrounding this way of eating again whilst remaining factual. I would highly recommend this book for anyone considering a LCHF lifestyle, anyone currently following this lifestyle and even for the eye rollers/nay sayers of this lifestyle. Such an informative read #garytaubes #thecaseforketo #netgalley #lchf #keto #litsy #goodreads #theystorygraph #bookqueen #bookstagram

I was expecting more of a kind of diet book, but I was in some shape pleasantly surprised by its content. The work, that was put into this book is remarkable, the research was - must have been - exhaustive. The interviews with physicians, Keto-dieters, his own experience all accumulated into a book, that offers practical, detailed advice, suggests ways of "ketoing" in a healthy manner, without pressurizing the reader.
Would recommend!

As usual Gary Taubes did not let me down. Although sometimes the information can get a bit heavy it is never enough to turn me off his writing. This book is great for those just getting into the keto/low carb lifestyle as well as those already following it. It includes proven evidence of how this lifestyle can change your life and health positively as well as great information on how to get the most out of it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gary Taubes adds to his previous work that has focused on the correlation between obesity/weight gain and sugars & starches. This is a primer about how the science behind low-carb ways of eating makes these approaches appropriate for many obese or overweight individuals who have not seen success with focusing on things like eating less and moving more. This is a good starting point, and I personally appreciate the focus on foundational science rather than a prescriptive diet plan.

In my eyes, Gary Taubes can do no wrong when it comes to giving solid, evidence based information on diets and eating the right way. I've been wanting to try Keto for a while but I've been so confused by all the varying opinions out there but I can always say sincerely that Taubes does his homework, makes understanding concepts easy and lights a fire in me. So thank you for your hard work Gary!!

This book gave some compelling information about keto but ultimately I've decided that it isn't the eating plan for me.

The blurb for this book is very accurate: this is a journalist, not a nutritionist or physician, who researched the topic thoroughly, laying out clearly where there wasn't or was evidence in support of theories for and against a keto/low carb diet. Because he is a journalist and not a medical professional, he didn't have a proverbial 'skin in the game' - he was free to explore and really think in a neutral fashion about the topic of diets. He also battled weight gain and was frustrated with dieting and lack of success.

I appreciated the candor and also that the author did not go 'all in', looking for reasons to support a low carb/keto diet's justifications that just weren't there. It is a very thought provoking read for that reason. His conclusion throughout is that diets just don't work because we are trying to do a one-size fits all model. The keto diet might be an answer to those who have not had success in other diets - and that it might be in their own physiology that is causing the obesity.

The basis of the book is trying to find why diets just don't work. I.e., it's not about eating less, cutting fats, cutting meats; it isn't just a mental health issue, a racial issue, a problem of willpower, or the other reasons that are non-food related. The evidence Taubes finds relates to each person having different resistances to insulin (caused by carbs) and so what one man can eat in excess another can have just a little and gain weight while experiencing crippling cravings. It is not surprising that most nutritionists are indeed thin but were also born that way - and therefore don't have a perspective on those whose obesity resist diets or longevity. The thin never had to fight the long battle to lose weight.

This isn't a diet book and there are no recipes etc. (you can find plenty of keto recipes on the net or in bookstores). It's just the author laying out what his research has gleaned from the various medical professional and historical figures who have tries to combat or address the obesity issue.

The crux of the book is to knock out carbs/sugars altogether - everything from breads, to pastas, fruits, to even beans. In doing so, the body resets, insulin isn't overloaded, and the cravings begin to wane. It is a hard ask in this modern society but the reason this can work is that it is a lifestyle change (so you can keep the weight off/stay healthy a lifetime), there is no starving, and you can enjoy the things like bacon, eggs, meats, without dealing with constant cravings.

There are so good discussions and points about other diets and also why keto/low carb isn't a fad (anyone remember the grapefruit diet?) misfire. It's also a great way to understand why so many diets are likely failing. I found a lot of the information fascinating and it was a both a reality check and a new perspective on the obesity issue. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

3 stars = Good/solid/fine

Fascinating, technical read focused on the history of ketogenic eating (low carb/high fat) and reasons why it could be the solution to obesity, diabetes, etc. for those whose bodies don't respond to "eat less, move more" techniques. The best audience for this would be medical professionals, dietitians, etc. This would not be a great resource for a newcomer looking to explore keto for the first time, unless they specifically wanted the scientific and historical background. I did a lot of skimming in the early chapters only because this was more technical at times than I was expecting. That said, I found the final chapters - with more information on what to eat and how and why - engaging and interesting. I learned a lot from this whole resource, even if it was targeted to a different sort of reader.

Since 2002, when The New York Times Magazine published a cover story by the journalist Gary Taubes titled “What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?,” Taubes has been our leading diet journalist. In book after book he has explained to anyone who would listen, doctors and lay people alike, why mainstream medical advice meant to prevent and control obesity has perversely caused an explosion in obesity and related chronic diseases like type two diabetes. No journalist thinks and writes more clearly or is more forthright about his biases than Taubes. But underneath the clarity, he seethes, angry and frustrated that the medical establishment continues to dole out the same incorrect deadly advice about diet. Diabetics are still perversely counseled to eat loads of supposedly healthy carbohydrates, when, as Taubes keeps pointing out, it is excessive carb intake that makes type two diabetes an incurable, progressive disease. It is not incurable or progressive, Taubes argues, unless one persists in the generally prescribed (wrong) way of eating.

Taubes' new book, The Case for Keto, is not a keto cookbook. Rather it is a manifesto for the low-carb, high fat (LCHF) revolution and an instruction guide about how to think about how to eat. These were not new ideas even in 2002 when Taubes entered the fray. Taubes notes that the great French gastronome Brillat-Savarin advised obese people to more or less rigidly abstain from eating grains and starches, nearly 200 years ago. Telling us, again and again, clearly and patiently, how that wisdom was lost and how to get it back, informed by current science, is Taubes' apparently lifelong project. It is a project gaining momentum by the day, although it is still disparaged by the medical establishment, and its ultimate victory over obesity and related metabolic diseases is by no means assured.

This book is for everyone with type two diabetes, especially those on insulin, everyone with prediabetes, everyone still being told that diabetes is incurable and progressive and requires insulin, everyone struggling with their weight, everyone still being told that weight gain is their own fault and to eat less and move more. That advice is wrong. That formula doesn't work. Taubes tells you why it doesn't, and what does.

Gary Taubes is one of the most respected pro-keto journalists, and his book, The Case Against Sugar was truly life-changing for me. The Case for Keto is no different and is filled with so much information, BACKED BY SCIENCE, as to why we get fat, why traditional diets continuously fail us, and how we can be successful by implementing ketogenic principles into our lives and into our diet. I loved the historical research, the information taken from all of the interviews from physicians, and the actual practical advice. It's always irritating to me when books give you a ton of scientific information but no actual advice, and thankfully, this book offers so much helpful advice and best of it, it's in a helpful, useful presentation.

4 out of 5 stars for The Case for Keto by Gary Taubes.

With his characteristic clarity and persuation, Gary Taubes extrapolates on his previous work that has focused on the correlation between obesity/weight gain and sugars & starches. This isn't a diet book; rather, it is a 101 on how the science behind LCHF ways of eating makes these approaches appropriate for many obese or overweight individuals who have not seen success with conventional wisdom (e.g. eat less, exercise more). I would definitely recommend this as a good place to start for folks who are dipping their toes into the world of keto, paleo, or LCHF, and I appreciate that this focuses on the foundational science concepts rather than a lot of specific praxis

As someone who is interested in keto diets, i have been so frustrated by the books I have read so far, which are long on formulas and short on the reasons why keto works for so many. That's why i loved this book. Instead of recipes and formulae, Taubes gives us science and physicans talking about what they have seen and discovered. i loved it and it's encouraging me to make changes immediately.

I've done keto in the past and lost a tremendous amount of weight doing it (and kept most of it off!) so I totally believe Taubes' ideas and thank him for putting this message out there. But it's more of the same stuff he's been saying for years now and the examples are repetitive. The writing is dry and uninteresting, and it's tough to get through despite being this slickly polished popular science book. Worth reading for those who haven't encountered Taubes before but I didn't find much here to justify slogging through an entire book for.

I read a lot of health and diet books from all sides and am generally skeptical of most of them. I've been familiar with the keto diet since before it was a weight loss "fad" and recommended it in my health and parenting columns years ago as something to look into for parents of children with uncontrolled epilepsy since that's what doctors at the Mayo Clinic designed it for originally, nearly a hundred years ago now. It was astonishingly effective for those children without the devastating side effects of the drugs they generally were prescribed instead. But I was just never convinced that it was a safe and practical diet for weight loss, especially long term -- until this book.

Taubes' depth of research is remarkable. He goes all the way back, sometimes to the 1800's or earlier, looking at what has worked and what hasn't, what doctors know and what they've just always assumed, and what studies have shown. He explains very succinctly why carbohydrates trigger the release of insulin and the message to quickly store food as fat, and that the threshold is different for different people. He tells the stories of countless formerly obese people who regained their health and got to healthy weights by eating LCHF/keto diets. He does what most keto diet books don't do too, by discussing murkier issues like cholesterol, the effects of this kind of eating on the planet, limits of the diet, what we don't know about long term effects, what further tweaks might be needed, what the studies say, and so on. With other keto books, I always found myself asking things like why the Mediterranean diet works so well for so many. Taubes answers that. He also interviewed over 140 physicians and others who use the diet to treat hundreds of thousands of patients, and he's used the diet himself for decades to stay healthy. He gives practical advice and focuses on doing keto in a healthy way.

My late mother had Cushing's Disease and a brain tumor that caused uncontrolled weight gain. I remember her eating nothing but lettuce with watered down mustard for salad dressing and still gaining weight. She spent hours jumping on a trampoline and doing aerobics, and still got more and more obese. I remember how people treated her and the assumptions they made about her, and the doctor who fired her because he told her "I don't like fat people." I also watched my disabled husband head to the gym every single day for nearly a year and carefully monitor his eating and still lose just token weight. He and I used to eat roughly the same amount of food, and he was well over 200 pounds while I was barely over 100 (though hitting my 40's helped even out things). The advice of eat less and move more just quite simply doesn't work for many people, and this book helps explain why.

Well recommended, especially for skeptics who need lots of research and science to back up the claims.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.