Why we need carbs.

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  • tladame
    tladame Posts: 465 Member
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    Just came across this thread (late to the party as usual). Thought I'd add my 2 cents. :smile:

    A few years ago I found a book called "Good Carbs, Bad Carbs" by Johanna C. Burani. The book explained carbs in a way that made sense to me. It says there are no really "bad" carbs, just highly processed carbs. It also explains the difference between complex carbs and simple carbs.

    Complex cards (aka "trickler" carbs) take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals (oatmeal, whole grain breads, etc.). These are the carbs that give us lasting energy.

    Simple carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, and most contain refined sugars but very few essential vitamins and minerals (table sugar, fruit juice, etc.). These give us a quick rush of energy, which doesn't last long & makes us want more simple carbs.

    As for me, I am a fan of carbs. I would probably eat bread at every meal if it wasn't for that pesky balanced nutrition thing...anyway, I'll end my post with a pic of one of my favorite t-shirts:

    ry%3D400
  • jmeeej
    jmeeej Posts: 125 Member
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    What’s Wrong with Carbs Anyway?

    Carbohydrates aren’t bad in and of themselves, but they have the distinct, unique ability to really ravage a metabolically disturbed individual’s body. If you’re overweight, as most people in the United States are, it’s very likely that your carbohydrate metabolism is dysfunctional. You’re probably insulin resistant and even moderate amounts of carbs will do a real number on you, causing a dangerous hormonal cascade: insulin is released to deal with the influx of glucose, but your cells are resistant to it; your blood sugar spikes and the pancreas secretes even more insulin; all that insulin prevents the release of fat from adipose tissue, so you’re not burning any body fat; eventually, since fat cells are resistant and muscle cells are resistant and probably replete, that glucose has nowhere to go but to the liver for conversion into glycogen; the liver fills up pretty quickly, though, after which additional glucose is converted into fatty acids and packaged into lipoproteins; those lipoproteins are then ushered into adipose tissue for conversion to triglyceride, or nice healthy chunks of body fat. You’re probably somewhat sedentary (many jobs, for example, involve eight hours of sitting each day), meaning your muscle glycogen (glucose-derived energy) stores generally stay full, and more carbs means more glucose which will have no where to go but into fat cells. You’re probably exposed to processed food on a daily basis, most of which is carb-and-sugar-based. So, we have a perfect metabolic storm: people eat too much sugar, grain, and vegetable oil, thus destroying their metabolisms and making any amount of carbohydrate a potential problem; they don’t move around enough, so they’re not burning any of the glucose for muscle energy; and everywhere they turn, cheap, simple, and refined carbs wink suggestively, confident that the time-strapped and stressed individual will succumb.


    A portion of an article written by Mark Sisson

    Source: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dial-in-your-carb-count/
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    What’s Wrong with Carbs Anyway?

    Carbohydrates aren’t bad in and of themselves, but they have the distinct, unique ability to really ravage a metabolically disturbed individual’s body. If you’re overweight, as most people in the United States are, it’s very likely that your carbohydrate metabolism is dysfunctional. You’re probably insulin resistant and even moderate amounts of carbs will do a real number on you, causing a dangerous hormonal cascade: insulin is released to deal with the influx of glucose, but your cells are resistant to it; your blood sugar spikes and the pancreas secretes even more insulin; all that insulin prevents the release of fat from adipose tissue, so you’re not burning any body fat; eventually, since fat cells are resistant and muscle cells are resistant and probably replete, that glucose has nowhere to go but to the liver for conversion into glycogen; the liver fills up pretty quickly, though, after which additional glucose is converted into fatty acids and packaged into lipoproteins; those lipoproteins are then ushered into adipose tissue for conversion to triglyceride, or nice healthy chunks of body fat. You’re probably somewhat sedentary (many jobs, for example, involve eight hours of sitting each day), meaning your muscle glycogen (glucose-derived energy) stores generally stay full, and more carbs means more glucose which will have no where to go but into fat cells. You’re probably exposed to processed food on a daily basis, most of which is carb-and-sugar-based. So, we have a perfect metabolic storm: people eat too much sugar, grain, and vegetable oil, thus destroying their metabolisms and making any amount of carbohydrate a potential problem; they don’t move around enough, so they’re not burning any of the glucose for muscle energy; and everywhere they turn, cheap, simple, and refined carbs wink suggestively, confident that the time-strapped and stressed individual will succumb.


    A portion of an article written by Mark Sisson

    Source: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dial-in-your-carb-count/

    If you are insulin resistant you should limit carbs (duh!). That's hardly news. Many factors can cause insulin resistance, but for obesity the opposite is usually true. You likely did not get fat because you are insulin resistant. More likely you are insulin resistant because you got fat.
  • martinah4
    martinah4 Posts: 583 Member
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    What’s Wrong with Carbs Anyway?

    Carbohydrates aren’t bad in and of themselves, but they have the distinct, unique ability to really ravage a metabolically disturbed individual’s body. If you’re overweight, as most people in the United States are, it’s very likely that your carbohydrate metabolism is dysfunctional. You’re probably insulin resistant and even moderate amounts of carbs will do a real number on you, causing a dangerous hormonal cascade: insulin is released to deal with the influx of glucose, but your cells are resistant to it; your blood sugar spikes and the pancreas secretes even more insulin; all that insulin prevents the release of fat from adipose tissue, so you’re not burning any body fat; eventually, since fat cells are resistant and muscle cells are resistant and probably replete, that glucose has nowhere to go but to the liver for conversion into glycogen; the liver fills up pretty quickly, though, after which additional glucose is converted into fatty acids and packaged into lipoproteins; those lipoproteins are then ushered into adipose tissue for conversion to triglyceride, or nice healthy chunks of body fat. You’re probably somewhat sedentary (many jobs, for example, involve eight hours of sitting each day), meaning your muscle glycogen (glucose-derived energy) stores generally stay full, and more carbs means more glucose which will have no where to go but into fat cells. You’re probably exposed to processed food on a daily basis, most of which is carb-and-sugar-based. So, we have a perfect metabolic storm: people eat too much sugar, grain, and vegetable oil, thus destroying their metabolisms and making any amount of carbohydrate a potential problem; they don’t move around enough, so they’re not burning any of the glucose for muscle energy; and everywhere they turn, cheap, simple, and refined carbs wink suggestively, confident that the time-strapped and stressed individual will succumb.


    A portion of an article written by Mark Sisson

    Source: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dial-in-your-carb-count/

    If you are insulin resistant you should limit carbs (duh!). That's hardly news. Many factors can cause insulin resistance, but for obesity the opposite is usually true. You likely did not get fat because you are insulin resistant. More likely you are insulin resistant because you got fat.

    Actually, I understand the opposite to be true: the insulin resistance causes your body to store fat. I've got my insulin under control with my low-carb diet, and so my body is burning all that stored fat for fuel, and now I'm losing bunches of weight!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    If you are insulin resistant you should limit carbs (duh!). That's hardly news. Many factors can cause insulin resistance, but for obesity the opposite is usually true. You likely did not get fat because you are insulin resistant. More likely you are insulin resistant because you got fat.

    Actually, I understand the opposite to be true: the insulin resistance causes your body to store fat. I've got my insulin under control with my low-carb diet, and so my body is burning all that stored fat for fuel, and now I'm losing bunches of weight!

    What you say is true, but not the opposite of what I said. Being obese can cause insulin resistance, especially if you ate a lot of refined carbs while becoming obese. Once you have the insulin resistance, limiting carbs can control it and help with weight loss. That would not negate the fact that the obesity may have caused it in the first place. But there are other causes of insulin resistance besides obesity. Sometimes it's simply luck of the draw genetics.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    If you are insulin resistant you should limit carbs (duh!). That's hardly news. Many factors can cause insulin resistance, but for obesity the opposite is usually true. You likely did not get fat because you are insulin resistant. More likely you are insulin resistant because you got fat.

    Actually, I understand the opposite to be true: the insulin resistance causes your body to store fat. I've got my insulin under control with my low-carb diet, and so my body is burning all that stored fat for fuel, and now I'm losing bunches of weight!

    What you say is true, but not the opposite of what I said. Being obese can cause insulin resistance, especially if you ate a lot of refined carbs while becoming obese. Once you have the insulin resistance, limiting carbs can control it and help with weight loss. That would not negate the fact that the obesity may have caused it in the first place. But there are other causes of insulin resistance besides obesity. Sometimes it's simply luck of the draw genetics.

    More and more genetics does not play that much of a factor when discussing obesity. There is a "ROOT" cause of obesity and insulin resistance and most times the excess insulin is causing the accumulation of body fat, therefore resulting in obesity.

    Then what you have is a vicious cycle that is very hard to break and properly heal the body.

    I don't think you clearly understand the HUGE role that insulin plays in our bodies.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    I will respectfully have to agree to disagree on the meaning of the word "need". But using your definition, the human body doesn't need protein either.
    no that is not true at all. your body is made of protien, there for needs it, it does NOT however need animal protein, and could probably survive on labratory derived protien source but then isnt much more pleasing to tear in to a nice juicy rare steak???

    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    As to whether a steak is pleasing, well that is personal preference. I assume someone who would have an anaphylactic reaction from it t would not find it pleasing.

    http://theprimalparent.com/2011/07/07/an-unconventional-approach-to-pcos-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    If you are insulin resistant you should limit carbs (duh!). That's hardly news. Many factors can cause insulin resistance, but for obesity the opposite is usually true. You likely did not get fat because you are insulin resistant. More likely you are insulin resistant because you got fat.

    Actually, I understand the opposite to be true: the insulin resistance causes your body to store fat. I've got my insulin under control with my low-carb diet, and so my body is burning all that stored fat for fuel, and now I'm losing bunches of weight!

    What you say is true, but not the opposite of what I said. Being obese can cause insulin resistance, especially if you ate a lot of refined carbs while becoming obese. Once you have the insulin resistance, limiting carbs can control it and help with weight loss. That would not negate the fact that the obesity may have caused it in the first place. But there are other causes of insulin resistance besides obesity. Sometimes it's simply luck of the draw genetics.

    More and more genetics does not play that much of a factor when discussing obesity. There is a "ROOT" cause of obesity and insulin resistance and most times the excess insulin is causing the accumulation of body fat, therefore resulting in obesity.

    Then what you have is a vicious cycle that is very hard to break and properly heal the body.

    I don't think you clearly understand the HUGE role that insulin plays in our bodies.

    The insulin resistance starts with the muscles as the fat tissue becomes more sensitive to it. If the muscles can't get the glucose (or glycogen or whatever the term is) then it heads off to fat storage. So the insulin resistance can start before the weight gain. Then you start packing it on.

    And I recently heard the statistics: 366 million people in the US are diabetic - that's not genetics anymore. It costs the health care system $4.6billion a year fighting it.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    As to whether a steak is pleasing, well that is personal preference. I assume someone who would have an anaphylactic reaction from it t would not find it pleasing.

    http://theprimalparent.com/2011/07/07/an-unconventional-approach-to-pcos-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/

    I've heard of PCOS. Nasty stuff from what I gather. Not sure what it has to do with the post you quoted though.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Just came across this thread (late to the party as usual). Thought I'd add my 2 cents. :smile:

    A few years ago I found a book called "Good Carbs, Bad Carbs" by Johanna C. Burani. The book explained carbs in a way that made sense to me. It says there are no really "bad" carbs, just highly processed carbs. It also explains the difference between complex carbs and simple carbs.

    Complex cards (aka "trickler" carbs) take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals (oatmeal, whole grain breads, etc.). These are the carbs that give us lasting energy.

    Simple carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, and most contain refined sugars but very few essential vitamins and minerals (table sugar, fruit juice, etc.). These give us a quick rush of energy, which doesn't last long & makes us want more simple carbs.

    As for me, I am a fan of carbs. I would probably eat bread at every meal if it wasn't for that pesky balanced nutrition thing...anyway, I'll end my post with a pic of one of my favorite t-shirts:

    ry%3D400

    Crap.

    "Technically, carbohydrates include everything from wood to grass to apples to bread. Depending on how you link carbohydrates together, you can have anything from a plate of pasta to a sequoia, but it all starts simply, with what are called "monosaccharides." Mono, of course means "single." 'Sacchar' means "sugar". So, monosaccharide literally means "one sugar." The two monosaccharides, or sugars, we will follow most closely are glucose (the main sugar used for envergy in our bodies) and fructose (a relative of glucose). Think about fructose like a drunk aunt at a family reunion: She seems nice enough, but wreaks havoc wherever she goes.
    Next we have "disaccharides," which means "two sugars." You are all familiar with sucrose (table sugar) - this is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose.
    Finally, we have "polysaccharides," which literally means "many sugars."" (Robb Wolf, The Paleo Solution)

    Complex carbs are polysaccharides. Just many sugar molecules stuck together

    "The bottom line is that carbohydrates must be reduced to single molecules to be absorbed through the intestinal wall and transported into the circulations. So folks, this is an opportunity to see "complex carbohydrates" for exactly what they are: Lots of sugar. No matter what type of carbohydrate we absorb, it all goes into the system as either glucose or fructose, aka sugar. (Robb Wolf, The Paleo Solution)

    It didn't matter how complex my carbs were. I was hungry again (and weak and shaky) in less than two hours.

    Meanwhile all of that wonderful fiber that leaves you full for hours is scraping the lining of your gut and creating mucus and inflammation. I had my wonderful high fiber whole oat oatmeal (not rolled oats) and a big apple for breakfast and would be shaking and "starving" in less than two hours. And whole grain bread is PROCESSED CARBS. It is mostly flour with some grain thrown in there. And as far as lasting energy? Why does eating high-carb make you sleepy? Since I cut out the grains and sugar and eat fat and protein for breakfast I'm bouncing off the walls all day. I have never been like this. I no longer get that daytime sleepy.

    Now I have eggs and bacon and I'm full ALL DAY.
    Fat and protein are filling. Neither simple nor complex carbs are filling.


    The whole fiber thing is bogus. There was never any studies done to prove all that fiber is good for us. It's not based on anything. The "experts" couldn't prove what they were trying to prove (I can't remember what this was) so they said it must be the "the absence of fiber". It was just thrown out there and it became gospel.
    I'm eating less fiber (no grain fiber) and I'm more regular than I have been in a long, long time.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    As to whether a steak is pleasing, well that is personal preference. I assume someone who would have an anaphylactic reaction from it t would not find it pleasing.

    http://theprimalparent.com/2011/07/07/an-unconventional-approach-to-pcos-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/

    I've heard of PCOS. Nasty stuff from what I gather. Not sure what it has to do with the post you quoted though.

    Maybe I accidentally erased this part of the quote:

    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    Peggy lives without carbohydrates because her body won't tolerate any of them - including veggies and fruit.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    As to whether a steak is pleasing, well that is personal preference. I assume someone who would have an anaphylactic reaction from it t would not find it pleasing.

    http://theprimalparent.com/2011/07/07/an-unconventional-approach-to-pcos-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/

    I've heard of PCOS. Nasty stuff from what I gather. Not sure what it has to do with the post you quoted though.

    Maybe I accidentally erased this part of the quote:

    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    Peggy lives without carbohydrates because her body won't tolerate any of them - including veggies and fruit.

    OIC. I thought meat had some carbs, but it's probably so low as to be considered "no carb". Well, now I have heard of one person eating no carbs. And I personally know one eating no protein (born with true protein allergy). The human body is a crazy thing. BTW, I probably erased the quote, I was trying to shorten the post.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    As to whether a steak is pleasing, well that is personal preference. I assume someone who would have an anaphylactic reaction from it t would not find it pleasing.

    http://theprimalparent.com/2011/07/07/an-unconventional-approach-to-pcos-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/

    I've heard of PCOS. Nasty stuff from what I gather. Not sure what it has to do with the post you quoted though.

    Maybe I accidentally erased this part of the quote:

    No, you need the amino acids from protein. There are people living without consuming protein, but honestly I've never heard of anyone living without carbohydrates. I'll have to look into that.

    Peggy lives without carbohydrates because her body won't tolerate any of them - including veggies and fruit.

    OIC. I thought meat had some carbs, but it's probably so low as to be considered "no carb". Well, now I have heard of one person eating no carbs. And I personally know one eating no protein (born with true protein allergy). The human body is a crazy thing. BTW, I probably erased the quote, I was trying to shorten the post.

    There is a whole forum website dedicated to people that eat 0 carbs. It is called Zeroing in on health. The pretty much eat Fat, protein and drink water.

    Too boring for me, but my issues are not as bad as some peoples.
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
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    Carbs, protein, fat don't make you fat. Your eating habits make you fat or not fat. Insulin causes some weight gain, but there is no insulin in asphalt, so go at it.

    Figure out what works for you and do it, don't just talk about it. I lost 60 pounds eating nothing but carbs and I got off all my medication. I am now in my ideal BMI and I am 6 pounds away from my weight from high school (current 151, was 145 in high school).

    Now, I don't care what some guy has to say about carbs being bad for you. I don't care what some guy has to say about how protein or fat is bad for you.

    Lose the weight, live your life and be happy. Lets close this thread!
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    wow this is till here?????
  • 8rules
    8rules Posts: 169
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    Eat carbs all you like.

    Enjoy their taste.

    Enjoy how they make you feel.

    But to claim the body needs carbs, as in, we will die without them, is medically false.

    Carbs are a non-essential macro nutrient, non-essential nutrients are not called that because they are not needed, but rather the body can produce its own if the diet does not supply it. Gluconeogenesis will produce blood sugar from fat.

    Eskimos with NO CARBS AT ALL in their diet for 9 months of the year, tested positive for blood sugar, in the NORMAL range.