I have little patience with Fumento. His prickly way of responding to people who don't agree with him gives me a bad feeling about the man.

Note that his article dismisses Atkins's use of the word "revolutionary" by saying that William Banting wrote about the same kind of diet in the 19th century. (Fumento doesn't challenges Banting's claim of success.) That's a petty criticism. Banting's ideas were not well known when Atkins came along. Atkins revived them, spelled out the rationale, and provided the specifics that enable many people to adopt that way of eating. It's childish to make the criticism that Fumento makes.

Of course, Taubes need not sink to Fumento's level to sink Fumento's case.

What I am interested in seeing addressed are the claims that carbs don't raise insulin more than fat does; that they do not raise insulin enough to cause a big storing of fat; and that all calories are created equal. Fumento raises these issues, which fly in the face of Atkins, Schwarzbein, Eades & Eades, and the rest of our crowd. We need a learned response.

Sheldon