In 1963, when Robert Kemp discussed his clinical experience with carbohydrate-restricted diets and the apparent problem of carbohydrate addiction, he made the point that the necessary step was to establish beyond reasonable doubt whether carbohydrates indeed were the cause of obesity and overweight. By doing so, we could then make informed decisions about the risks and benefits of our cravings. Many former cigarette smokers would likely still be smoking today without the certain knowledge that tobacco causes lung cancer. “At least half of our patients, win or lose, cannot be persuaded that they must permanently alter their eating habits to save their lives,” Kemp wrote. “This is undoubtedly a battle for the mind where unfortunately the patient is completely unsettled by the confusion of advice offered from both professional and lay sources.” This statement is still true today. Carbohydrate-restricted diets will always be tempting, if for no other reason than their efficacy at inducing weight loss. But to make a permanent change in diet requires the confidence that we will be healthier for doing so. For that, we need the support of physicians, nutritionists, and the public-health authorities, and we need advice that is based on rigorous science, not century-old preconceptions about the penalties of gluttony and sloth.

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The community of science thus provides for the social validation of scientific work. In this respect, it amplifies that famous opening line of Aristotle’s Metaphysics: “All men by nature desire to know.” Perhaps, but men of science by culture desire to know that what they know is really so.

ROBERT MERTON, Behavior Patterns of Scientists, 1968

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.

RICHARD FEYNMAN, in his Commencement Address at Caltech, 1974