If you are planning on running the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon on 7 April, you might want to reconsider whether or not carbo-loading is the right way to go. Professor Tim Noakes’ new theories suggest that carbohydrates are the root of many weight and health problems like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In proof of his new convictions, he has cut carbohydrates out of his diet almost completely and says, “I am at my lightest weight in 20 years and am running faster than I have in 20 years.” 

He admits that you should ignore anything he has said or written in the past. In his famous running bible the Lore of Running, he advocates the benefits of carbo-loading and a high-carbohydrate diet. It takes a lot of conviction to contradict yourself, which is why many people are listening to what Noakes has to say.

He asserts that many people (including himself) have been suffering unknowingly from a condition which renders them resistant to metabolizing carbohydrates. Since adopting a new diet, high in protein and fat, he has lost 15kg. His anti-carbohydrate arguments are based on theories put forward by Gary Taubes in Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It.

He purports that for decades we have been given completely wrong information about healthy eating. It is the unrestricted intake of carbohydrates – in particular refined (and hence addictive) carbohydrates like sugar, soft drinks, fruit juices, confectionary, etc, that fuel an overconsumption of calories.

 In interviews on Cape Talk, Noakes says that he has added a chapter to his memoir, Challenging Beliefs to reflect these latest findings and a reissue of the book is scheduled for later in 2012.