First off this article is for people that want to lose weight and have a problem with carbohydrates and spiking blood sugars. This article is not complete but I will finish later as it is a long read.
What about grains? Well, 8000 years ago, there were no grains, bread or pasta.
Agriculture is a very recent (by evolutionary standards) invention.
We regularly eat large quantities of dense, highly processed carbohydrates such as grains and grain based products like pasta. Because we haven’t evolved to a stage where we can eat excessive amounts of these high density carbohydrates without adverse biochemical consequences, our bodies aren’t able to operate properly. We gain excess weight, suffer from diabetes, heard disease and a host of other ills, feel sluggish, and generally perform at a sub-par level.
Much of the information we received over the years about losing weight is simply wrong.
Over the past 20 years, this misinformation has been responsible for making us fat-phobic. We consume only foods low in fat in a attempt to remain or get thin.
What has been the payoff for our fat obsession? Has our dedication to low fat lifestyle turned us into a nation of lean healthy people?
NO! In fact the exact opposite has resulted. Over the past 20 years the US population (as well as most countries that eat a western diet) has experienced a consistent increase in excess body fat. Obesity over the last ten years has reached widespread levels in the U.S. despite the public actually consuming less fat than before.
In November of 1998, the U.S. Surgeon General declared an epidemic on obesity in America.
THE FOOD PYRAMID………..I don’t think you guys in the UK have this but I am sure there are similar things judging by your diets.
The food pyramid was not designed by the medical establishment. It was designed by the US Agricultural Department. Now the Agricultural Department job is to sell agricultural products.
The current “Healthy” diet consists of about sixty-five percent carbohydrates, fifteen percent fat, and twenty percent protein. These numbers are shown in this pyramid. As you see, we have been told to eat almost eleven servings a day of breads, cereal, rice, and pasta. They are at the basis of the pyramid. These products are refined carbohydrates. They are manmade carbohydrates.
Was this diet ever tested in the human population prior to being recommended by the US government? Surprisingly, the answer is no. This diet came out in the late sixties in response to the rising epidemic of heart disease. For some reason people still think this is healthy eating habits.
The American Heart Association decided that since fat is a key component for one of the risk factors for heart disease, then Americans should start eating less saturated fat. The problem is that there are more types of fat than just saturated fat. The government assumed we were not smart enough to just cut out saturated fats, so it urged us to cut out all fat. Fat was labeled as the enemy.
Fat is a source of calories. When you cut out fat, you have to replace those calories with something else. The replacement was carbohydrates, because carbohydrates often don't have any fat. The vacuum formed by reducing all the fat in our diets was taken up by carbohydrates.
When this diet was created in the late sixties, twenty-five percent of the adult population was obese. We have now hit the fifty percent mark.
Dietary Fat Does Not Make You Fat!
The solution to this apparent riddle might surprise you, but the explanation is simple. Eating fat in the proper amounts does not make you fat. I will take this one step farther. Eating fat does not make you fat. This sounds like nutritional heresy, but there’s scientific proof. In the 1950’s, Kekwick and Pawan at the University of London in England published a landmark study. They put patients on a diet that was low in calories (1000) but high in fat. In fact, fat supplied 90 percent of the total calories. What happened? Those patients lost significant amounts of weight. When the same patients were put on a high-carbohydrate diet (90% of the calories form carbs) with the same number of calories, there was virtually no weight loss.
There is one industry that has devoted a lot of money to the understanding what fattens animals up. The cattle and hog industry. They know the fastest way to fatten animals up to get the most profit. How do they do this? By not allowing the cattle to roam and graze and feed them lots and lots of low fat, complex carbohydrates, in the form of grain.
What is the fastest way to fatten us up just like cows? Eat lots of low-fat processed carbohydrates.
I am not against carbohydrates just the processed man made ones. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better than breads and pasta’s any day.
Eating carbohydrates stimulates insulin secretion. Since your body has a limited capacity to store carbohydrates, doesn't know when its next meal might be, and has an unlimited ability to store food as fat, insulin does just that. Insulin turns the excess carbohydrates into fat! Dietary fat, on the other hand, does not stimulate insulin secretion. By eating the proper ratio of low-density carbohydrates, dietary fat, and protein, you can control your insulin production.
INSULIN-STIMULATING CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT
Since a carbohydrate restricting Diet is about insulin control, you have to realize that not all carbohydrates affect insulin equally. Every complex carbohydrate must be broken down into simple sugars and will eventually enter the bloodstream as glucose, which in turn will have a stimulatory effect on insulin secretion. Fiber (both soluble and insoluble) cannot be broken down into simple sugars, and therefore it will have no impact on insulin. Taking this into account
If a carbohydrate source (such as pasta) has very little fiber content, then virtually all of its listed carbohydrate content will be insulin-stimulating carbohydrate. On the other hand, if a carbohydrate source is rich in fiber (such as broccoli), then its insulin-stimulating carbohydrate content will be significantly reduced. This means that more volume of fiber-rich carbohydrate source must be consumed to have the same impact on insulin secretion as a much smaller volume of low-fiber content carbohydrate.
You can quickly see that you would have to eat a tremendous volume of broccoli (approximately 12 cups) to have the same impact on insulin as eating a relatively small amount of cooked pasta. This is why starches and grains are considered high-density carbohydrates, whereas fruits are medium-density carbohydrates, and vegetables are low-density carbohydrates. The Atkins and Zone Diets relies heavily on low-density carbohydrates, so large volumes of food must be consumed in order to have an appreciable impact on insulin. This is also why high-density carbohydrates are used in moderation on the Zone Diet because very small volumes can stimulate excess insulin production
The glycemic index is a measure of the entry rates of various carbohydrate sources into the bloodstream. The faster their rate of entry, the greater the effect on insulin secretion. There are three factors that affect the glycemic index of a particular carbohydrate. The first is the amount of fiber (and especially soluble fiber) a carbohydrate contains; the second is the amount of fat found in the carbohydrate source (the more fat consumed with the carbohydrate, the slower the rate of entry into the bloodstream); the third is the composition of the complex carbohydrate itself. The greater the amount of glucose it contains, the higher the glycemic index; whereas the more fructose a carbohydrate contains, the lower the glycemic index. This is because fructose cannot enter into the bloodstream without first being converted into glucose, a relatively slow process that takes place in the liver.
With time the glycemic index soon became the new fashionable guideline to determine which carbohydrates to eat. However, the glycemic index had significant experimental problems in dealing with low-density carbohydrates, such as vegetables.
The difficulties arose because determination of the glycemic index requires that a sufficient intake of carbohydrate (usually 50 grams) be consumed. But it is simply too difficult to consume this amount of carbohydrate from most vegetables at a sitting. For instance this would require consuming about 16 cups of steamed broccoli. As a result, nearly all the glycemic index work has been done with grains, starches, and some fruits, and virtually nothing is known about the glycemic index of low-density vegetables that are the backbone of the Zone and Atkins Diets.
Ultimately, a healthy diet is obtained through insulin moderation, which can best be achieved by primarily consuming low-density carbohydrates that also have a low-glycemic index. That means eating a lot of vegetables.
Even though the glycemic index of each of these carbohydrates (1 cup pasta and 1 cup broccoli) are about the same, 1 cup of pasta generates 20 times the insulin response as 1 cup of broccoli. And a single apple generates about 6 times the insulin response as the 1 cup of broccoli.
And you can also understand why many of the carbohydrates found in traditional grain-based vegetarian diets are likely to dramatically increase insulin levels. For example, white rice generates a tremendous amount of insulin response compared to the same volume of oatmeal or barley because rice has a greater glycemic load. Likewise, most breakfast cereals will have the same impact on insulin as a Snickers bar, since their glycemic loads are approximately the same. Meanwhile cooked vegetables represent a very low glycemic load, which is why they are a critical component of the Zone and Atkins Diets.
But remember that the more processed a food, the higher the glycemic load. This is why boiled beans have a much lower glycemic load than the same volume of canned beans. And when you make any bean (like black beans) into a soup, the glycemic load skyrockets because the prolonged cooking breaks down the cell walls of the bean making it easier for the body to digest it into simple sugars for absorption.
Carbs before bed?
If you eat a carbohydrate rich snack before bed, you’ve done everything in your power to inhibit growth hormone release. Why? Because you raised insulin levels, and insulin retards the secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary gland.
At this point this article is incomplete and am going to post anyway but I will add to it later when I get a chance. I wanted to go into carbohydrate addictions but will have to add that later.
What about grains? Well, 8000 years ago, there were no grains, bread or pasta.
Agriculture is a very recent (by evolutionary standards) invention.
We regularly eat large quantities of dense, highly processed carbohydrates such as grains and grain based products like pasta. Because we haven’t evolved to a stage where we can eat excessive amounts of these high density carbohydrates without adverse biochemical consequences, our bodies aren’t able to operate properly. We gain excess weight, suffer from diabetes, heard disease and a host of other ills, feel sluggish, and generally perform at a sub-par level.
Much of the information we received over the years about losing weight is simply wrong.
Over the past 20 years, this misinformation has been responsible for making us fat-phobic. We consume only foods low in fat in a attempt to remain or get thin.
What has been the payoff for our fat obsession? Has our dedication to low fat lifestyle turned us into a nation of lean healthy people?
NO! In fact the exact opposite has resulted. Over the past 20 years the US population (as well as most countries that eat a western diet) has experienced a consistent increase in excess body fat. Obesity over the last ten years has reached widespread levels in the U.S. despite the public actually consuming less fat than before.
In November of 1998, the U.S. Surgeon General declared an epidemic on obesity in America.
THE FOOD PYRAMID………..I don’t think you guys in the UK have this but I am sure there are similar things judging by your diets.
The food pyramid was not designed by the medical establishment. It was designed by the US Agricultural Department. Now the Agricultural Department job is to sell agricultural products.
The current “Healthy” diet consists of about sixty-five percent carbohydrates, fifteen percent fat, and twenty percent protein. These numbers are shown in this pyramid. As you see, we have been told to eat almost eleven servings a day of breads, cereal, rice, and pasta. They are at the basis of the pyramid. These products are refined carbohydrates. They are manmade carbohydrates.
Was this diet ever tested in the human population prior to being recommended by the US government? Surprisingly, the answer is no. This diet came out in the late sixties in response to the rising epidemic of heart disease. For some reason people still think this is healthy eating habits.
The American Heart Association decided that since fat is a key component for one of the risk factors for heart disease, then Americans should start eating less saturated fat. The problem is that there are more types of fat than just saturated fat. The government assumed we were not smart enough to just cut out saturated fats, so it urged us to cut out all fat. Fat was labeled as the enemy.
Fat is a source of calories. When you cut out fat, you have to replace those calories with something else. The replacement was carbohydrates, because carbohydrates often don't have any fat. The vacuum formed by reducing all the fat in our diets was taken up by carbohydrates.
When this diet was created in the late sixties, twenty-five percent of the adult population was obese. We have now hit the fifty percent mark.
Dietary Fat Does Not Make You Fat!
The solution to this apparent riddle might surprise you, but the explanation is simple. Eating fat in the proper amounts does not make you fat. I will take this one step farther. Eating fat does not make you fat. This sounds like nutritional heresy, but there’s scientific proof. In the 1950’s, Kekwick and Pawan at the University of London in England published a landmark study. They put patients on a diet that was low in calories (1000) but high in fat. In fact, fat supplied 90 percent of the total calories. What happened? Those patients lost significant amounts of weight. When the same patients were put on a high-carbohydrate diet (90% of the calories form carbs) with the same number of calories, there was virtually no weight loss.
There is one industry that has devoted a lot of money to the understanding what fattens animals up. The cattle and hog industry. They know the fastest way to fatten animals up to get the most profit. How do they do this? By not allowing the cattle to roam and graze and feed them lots and lots of low fat, complex carbohydrates, in the form of grain.
What is the fastest way to fatten us up just like cows? Eat lots of low-fat processed carbohydrates.
I am not against carbohydrates just the processed man made ones. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better than breads and pasta’s any day.
Eating carbohydrates stimulates insulin secretion. Since your body has a limited capacity to store carbohydrates, doesn't know when its next meal might be, and has an unlimited ability to store food as fat, insulin does just that. Insulin turns the excess carbohydrates into fat! Dietary fat, on the other hand, does not stimulate insulin secretion. By eating the proper ratio of low-density carbohydrates, dietary fat, and protein, you can control your insulin production.
INSULIN-STIMULATING CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT
Since a carbohydrate restricting Diet is about insulin control, you have to realize that not all carbohydrates affect insulin equally. Every complex carbohydrate must be broken down into simple sugars and will eventually enter the bloodstream as glucose, which in turn will have a stimulatory effect on insulin secretion. Fiber (both soluble and insoluble) cannot be broken down into simple sugars, and therefore it will have no impact on insulin. Taking this into account
If a carbohydrate source (such as pasta) has very little fiber content, then virtually all of its listed carbohydrate content will be insulin-stimulating carbohydrate. On the other hand, if a carbohydrate source is rich in fiber (such as broccoli), then its insulin-stimulating carbohydrate content will be significantly reduced. This means that more volume of fiber-rich carbohydrate source must be consumed to have the same impact on insulin secretion as a much smaller volume of low-fiber content carbohydrate.
You can quickly see that you would have to eat a tremendous volume of broccoli (approximately 12 cups) to have the same impact on insulin as eating a relatively small amount of cooked pasta. This is why starches and grains are considered high-density carbohydrates, whereas fruits are medium-density carbohydrates, and vegetables are low-density carbohydrates. The Atkins and Zone Diets relies heavily on low-density carbohydrates, so large volumes of food must be consumed in order to have an appreciable impact on insulin. This is also why high-density carbohydrates are used in moderation on the Zone Diet because very small volumes can stimulate excess insulin production
The glycemic index is a measure of the entry rates of various carbohydrate sources into the bloodstream. The faster their rate of entry, the greater the effect on insulin secretion. There are three factors that affect the glycemic index of a particular carbohydrate. The first is the amount of fiber (and especially soluble fiber) a carbohydrate contains; the second is the amount of fat found in the carbohydrate source (the more fat consumed with the carbohydrate, the slower the rate of entry into the bloodstream); the third is the composition of the complex carbohydrate itself. The greater the amount of glucose it contains, the higher the glycemic index; whereas the more fructose a carbohydrate contains, the lower the glycemic index. This is because fructose cannot enter into the bloodstream without first being converted into glucose, a relatively slow process that takes place in the liver.
With time the glycemic index soon became the new fashionable guideline to determine which carbohydrates to eat. However, the glycemic index had significant experimental problems in dealing with low-density carbohydrates, such as vegetables.
The difficulties arose because determination of the glycemic index requires that a sufficient intake of carbohydrate (usually 50 grams) be consumed. But it is simply too difficult to consume this amount of carbohydrate from most vegetables at a sitting. For instance this would require consuming about 16 cups of steamed broccoli. As a result, nearly all the glycemic index work has been done with grains, starches, and some fruits, and virtually nothing is known about the glycemic index of low-density vegetables that are the backbone of the Zone and Atkins Diets.
Ultimately, a healthy diet is obtained through insulin moderation, which can best be achieved by primarily consuming low-density carbohydrates that also have a low-glycemic index. That means eating a lot of vegetables.
Even though the glycemic index of each of these carbohydrates (1 cup pasta and 1 cup broccoli) are about the same, 1 cup of pasta generates 20 times the insulin response as 1 cup of broccoli. And a single apple generates about 6 times the insulin response as the 1 cup of broccoli.
And you can also understand why many of the carbohydrates found in traditional grain-based vegetarian diets are likely to dramatically increase insulin levels. For example, white rice generates a tremendous amount of insulin response compared to the same volume of oatmeal or barley because rice has a greater glycemic load. Likewise, most breakfast cereals will have the same impact on insulin as a Snickers bar, since their glycemic loads are approximately the same. Meanwhile cooked vegetables represent a very low glycemic load, which is why they are a critical component of the Zone and Atkins Diets.
But remember that the more processed a food, the higher the glycemic load. This is why boiled beans have a much lower glycemic load than the same volume of canned beans. And when you make any bean (like black beans) into a soup, the glycemic load skyrockets because the prolonged cooking breaks down the cell walls of the bean making it easier for the body to digest it into simple sugars for absorption.
Carbs before bed?
If you eat a carbohydrate rich snack before bed, you’ve done everything in your power to inhibit growth hormone release. Why? Because you raised insulin levels, and insulin retards the secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary gland.
At this point this article is incomplete and am going to post anyway but I will add to it later when I get a chance. I wanted to go into carbohydrate addictions but will have to add that later.
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