Open Letter to Tara Parker-Pope

[and....I have a dream.....happy birthday to MLK, the man with dreams.]

This leptin reset thingy is turning me into a  kinder, gentler, yet still very exceptional person.  Is it me or did you also think Gary Taubes' letter/petition in response to Tara Parker-Pope was a little harsh? I didn't sign the petition, but here's my response.

Dear Ms. Parker-Pope

I applaud you, Ms. Parker-Pope, for laying it all out there for people to criticize in a recent blog post on resistant obesity.  But, instead of calling out all the flaws of the article, I realize that you were really just banging the despair gong, and I want to help.  Go read this really great article I saw last year, about sugar, featuring Gary Taubes.  Oh!  Wait a minute!  You wrote that, so of course you read it.  I read this week that eating lots of fat rots your brain, but now I wonder if it is the other way around?  Anyway, I hope you continue to search, and then find, what works for you, even if it seems outlandish and goes against every dietary guideline that you have ever written about.

See, I think you have the balls to do a complete public 180.  Does the ADA?  No.  Those Heart people?  No.  Hey, why not you?  You don't even have to believe in any of Taubes' theories in order for it to work.  How cool is that?  Seriously, wouldn't it also be really cool to prove him wrong?  In order to do that, you have to try it.  I hope you'll join us.

Sincerely, EB"

After writing the letter I fell asleep and had another big dream.


"I am walking in a dense forest.  The path is so thick with fallen leaves that I can't hear my own footsteps.  Now I fear I am lost.  I see a light ahead, so I go towards it.  It is a gathering.  When I enter the tent, I realize that I have been here before.  Other people motion me to my seat that has been saved for me while I was away.  It is almost time for dinner.


Daphne Oz is sitting next to the fire.  Next to her is a blood-stained atlatl.  Robb Wolf is explaining hunting physics to her.  She looks both intrigued and confused.  I realize that Daphne has ditched vegetarianism to get rid of that last bit of fat that she tries to hide under the stylish salwar she wears on her TV show.  She and Robb talk about how TV makes vegetarians look fat.


Gary Taubes is sitting on the other side, immersed in his field notes.  He brought a giant salami to the dinner.  Reminded of Robb Wolf's podcast where he mentioned that he felt somewhat violated by a fan crush, I try to look away.


Tara Parker-Pope pokes her head in.  She looks exhausted, hungry and thirsty, having been all around the dense forest and getting nowhere.  Betty White, dressed in a Native American blanket, welcomes her.


"Come, we must give thanks!"  and Tara sits down at the circle right between her and Gary.


I am still trying to look away, and to reason with myself.  "Strange dream!  What could it be?  Sometimes a salami is just a salami.  But, shouldn't it be bread with Argentinian Malbec?  Gary offers a piece of the salami to Tara,


"Here, this is for you......"