Horizon- sugar v fat BBC2

I watched it all and was skeptical that it wasn't going to reveal anything groundbreaking, but it was actually very interesting, particularly the experiments with the cheesecake (fat and sugar) and the rats. And who doesn't like cheesecake?

We all know fat doesn't make us fat and we all know the body NEEDS carbs in order to simply function. I found it ironic that these so called bodybuilding ridiculously low carb diets, that they are actually burning muscle mass as well as fat!

Yes, the body needs carbs to survive, however it needs the "correct" carbs to really get adequate nutrition. Carbs exist in all veggies, and these are much better options that what most of us reach for. Bread, pasta, chips, crackers, cookies, snack packs, etc. Sure, carbs from breads, pasta, rice etc are fine in the short term. But the vast majority of us choose to eat those products consisting of refined carbs. The germ is stripped off the wheat before being ground into flour, thus stripping off the fiber and other nutrients. Most times you see vitamin additives on the label, it signals that the carbs have been processed and nutrients stripped out. Those processed carbs are easily digested, spiking blood sugar and causing an insulin reaction. The insulin will cause the body to dump all that sugar into fat stores quickly to keep the blood sugar level down. Once the blood sugar crashes due to overproduction of insulin, the brain will signal that it's hungry and needs more energy, which then causes the person to look for more snack containing carbs. It ends up being a downward spiral. Over time, insulin over-production will eventually cause the person to become insulin resistant, and may end up causing pre-diabetes or even full blown diabetes if left unchecked.

So, in the end, the statement, "Carbs are bad!" is over generalized. It should read, "Refined carbs are bad!"

I'm new to myfitnesspal. Does that graph under your comment mean you've lost 138lb - if so - well done (major hats off to you)!!!!

Thanks! It sure does mean I've lost that much. I'm 5'9 and I've gone from 340 to 201.8. I had hypertension and sleep apnea. Both were gone after the first 6 months. I went from a men's size 48 pants, and XXXL shirts, down to a 34 pants and L shirts.

How did I lose it you ask? I cut bread, rice, and pasta out of my diet and gradually increased my exercise. Well, okay, I'll be honest. I've cut rice and pasta completely out of my diet. Haven't had them in about 1.5 years now. I've cut 95% of bread out of my diet. I'll eat a mini pita, or a single slice of bread once every week or two. Yes, I do eat some processed carbs now, but for the first 6 months, I ate none. I don't get cravings now like I used to and I can control myself around them again.

I don't think anyone is suggesting eating purely refined sugar.
In some cases the differences between original and 'white' versions can be pretty minimal as far as micro-nutrients goes - such as rice, for example, I believe.
If you're already getting enough micro-nutrients, you don't get benefit from having more.
As my link mentions - you don't get "healthy +1" if you're already healthy and just eat more 'healthy' food.

Citation, please.

Here's an article with links to a variety of articles showing that if you are a healthy individual, the type of carbs you eat don't make any difference.
http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-science-of-nutrition-is-a-carb-a-carb.html
However, likely will make a difference if you ARE obese.

I've looked into fibre and what not having it causes. I don't worry so much these days if I do or don't get it.

Fiber helps to keep you feel fuller longer. It takes longer to digest, and helps with water retention and regularity. As for sources here are a few about sugar itself. Insulin production has vast amounts of data, and is well documented. It's not hard to see how continued over production can lead to insulin resistances and type 2 diabetes.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2013/10/16/research-shows-cocaine-and-heroin-are-less-addictive-than-oreos/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/in-food-cravings-sugar-trumps-fat/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24132980

Here is information on carbohydrates and fiber:

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/carbohydrates

Every study should be taken with a grain of salt. Nowadays there is a study for everything. If you tried to find a study that says water is bad I'm sure you could. Regardless, I combine information like this with my personal experiences, and I truly believe that it's the over-consumption of processed carbs that turned me into a jelly belly.

I don't think anyone is suggesting eating purely refined sugar.
In some cases the differences between original and 'white' versions can be pretty minimal as far as micro-nutrients goes - such as rice, for example, I believe.
If you're already getting enough micro-nutrients, you don't get benefit from having more.
As my link mentions - you don't get "healthy +1" if you're already healthy and just eat more 'healthy' food.

Agreed, sounds like you're on a sensible diet.

Most people who are over weight (and I suppose to a degree these are the people the documentary was aimed at) are not on a sensible diet and continue to over-eat carbs (both refined sugar and grain based) that at the end of the day will add to their bad health as opposed to improve it.

Consuming grain based carbs have only one function as far as I can see. They are a cheap source of calories - That's it; apart from that (and it's not a very good reason), they have no benefit what-so-ever.

I do like the article you referenced earlier. It's true if your already healthy some bad carbs won't hurt, but if you're already healthy you're starting from a good foundation anyway.

If you're unhealthy those bad carbs are just going to compound your problems.

If the bolded part were actually true, then please explain how human civilization has survived, when the entire history of human civilization is based on grain.