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Comment by tmcw | Hacker News Reader

Journalist who hasn't done any research on sugar agrees with doctor who hasn't done any research on sugar. And this happens to be great linkbait.

Tell me why I should pay for the New York Times, again?

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Dr. Lustig is a nationally-recognized authority in the field of neuroendocrinology, with a specific emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He is currently investigating the contribution of biochemical, neural, hormonal, and genetic influences in the expression of the current obesity epidemic both in children and adults. He has defined a syndrome of vagally-mediated beta-cell hyperactivity which leads to insulin hypersecretion and obesity, and which is treatable by insulin suppression. This phenomenon may occur in up to 20% of the obese population. He is interested in the hypothalamic signal transduction of insulin and leptin, and how these two systems interact. He is studying the cardiovascular morbidity associated with hyperinsulinemia, and developing methods to evaluate and prevent this phenomenon in children. He is also analyzing the contribution of the autonomic nervous system to insulin secretion and insulin resistance in obese children, and the utility of assessing insulin dynamics in targeting obesity therapy.

Which means?

That he really knows his stuff and you should watch his presentation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Why was I downvoted for asking for clarification?

Probably because the parent was a detailed, well-researched answer, and your request for clarification didn't explain what sort of clarification you were looking for.

The second one, on the other hand, was downvoted for asking why you were downvoted. ;)

This is pretty much the definition of an ad hominem argument. In the context of your post, calling Taubes a "journalist" is overly reductive and an attempt to discredit him without actually engaging his arguments. I would liken it to dismissing Bill Gates' thoughts on education by calling him a college dropout - it's a true statement but ignores the larger truth. According to his bio, Taubes studied applied physics at Harvard and has an MS in aerospace engineering from Stanford so I think he's capable of understanding scientific issues.

I’ve spent much of the last decade doing journalistic research on diet and chronic disease — some of the more contrarian findings, on dietary fat, appeared in this magazine

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I think thats compelling enough to make it worth the read.

Gary Taubes also wrote Good Calories, Bad Calories, which is probably the most thoroughly researched book on the issue of diet and health ever written.

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