A round-up of health news I discovered this week. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and Stuart Miles.

I read a lot on health, fitness and diet. Here are some articles you might want to take a look at if, like me, are focused healthy living.

First up, two pieces this week from the man himself, Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat?

First up: Are You A Carbaholic? There is science behind why giving up carbs is difficult for people.

The second is an article about sugar and nutrition research that he wrote for the New York Times in January (how did I miss this?). I’m reading his The Case Against Sugar now and hope to have a review up soon.

Also from the Times, an article critical of doctors and researchers calling for more invasive procedures (bariatric surgery, implanting tubes in the stomach) to fight obesity and diabetes rather the low carb diet.

Next up, exercise. I know I knock the whole exercise to lose weight (you burn more calories resting than exercising!) but it is important when it comes to hormone balance and building strength, especially as we age. And now it’s looking like it may boost brain metabolism in fight against dementia. It’s an observational study not clinical trial (the gold standard of research), still it’s good advice. Hopefully more research in this area is forthcoming.

This piece that is a shot across the bow of Big Pharma (in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society publication no less!): The Cholesterol & Calorie Hypotheses Are Both Dead. Yep, cholesterol and calories were big, fat red herrings for nearly 50 years. The real villain causing chronic heart disease, obesity and diabetes is insulin resistance.

A local story from Phoenix about an extremity nerve surgeon who is sounding the alarm on the nerve damage caused by sugar. My guess is we’re going to see more doctors go against the Big Food, Pharma, and their own medical establishment. And that is a good thing!

Finally, The Lie That’s Killing Us, an article first published in 2013 but still timely. It’s making the rounds on Twitter again. I missed it the first time, but it a must read. If we actually classified diabetes this way, then people might take prevention more seriously.