Michelle’s Review:
Gary Taubes argues we’ve mishandled diabetes by centering treatment on insulin and medications while sidelining carbohydrate restriction and the book’s older, diet-first roots. He traces the history from pre-insulin meat/fasting regimens to modern high-carb guidelines, reframing Type 2 diabetes as largely a problem of carbohydrate intolerance driven by insulin resistance in modern times.
Marshalling research, case histories and clinician experience, he makes a rigorous—sometimes controversial—case that low-carb/ketogenic approaches can normalise blood glucose, reduce medications and improve metabolic markers, while critiquing weak nutrition science. Whether you agree or not, it’s a clear, provocative rethink that equips patients and clinicians with sharper questions and a practical framework to test in the real world.
Cover: Author page and Penguin Random House page.
Summary: A historical and scientific critique of diabetes care, arguing that diet-first, carbohydrate-restricted approaches have been under-used relative to drug-centred regimens, and may better control disease for many. (The thesis is debated.)
