Have you tried GLP1 medications and found it didn't work for you? We'd like to hear about your experiences, what you tried, why it didn't work and how you're doing now. Click here to tell us your story
Carbs are bad. Yes or no?
Replies
-
kingrat2014 wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »kingrat2014 wrote: »With the term “essential” meaning the body needs it, there are essential vitamins, essential minerals, essential protein and essential fats. Name one essential carbohydrate.
But carbohydrates are important.
Carbohydrates are a tool, but they are not essential. Google essential carbohydrates.
The topic of the thread is "carbs are bad, yes or no?" How does the fact that they are a nonessential nutrient address that question?4 -
kingrat2014 wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »kingrat2014 wrote: »With the term “essential” meaning the body needs it, there are essential vitamins, essential minerals, essential protein and essential fats. Name one essential carbohydrate.
But carbohydrates are important.
Carbohydrates are a tool, but they are not essential. Google essential carbohydrates.
I see it differently. If carbs (sugar) weren't so essential to survival, the body wouldn't have developed a mechanism to make them. In that sense, they're more essential than any nutrient to survival. I don't want to survive, I want to thrive.16 -
Vegetables are important. Our bodies can make carbs out of basically anything because we run on carbs, but the nutrients in carb based foods are still important.
Also, most junk foods dismissed as "carbs" are as much fat as carbs.9 -
Glucose is the preferred energy source of the body. Glucose gets broken down in our bodies from carbs so I'd say it's more than likely pretty important. If there are not enough carbs, our bodies turn to fat and protein to make glucose, (IMO a survival mechanism). If you don't want to eat carbs don't eat carbs, but don't be silly and say they are unimportant because they are "non-essential".6
-
Carbs are not bad, or as Tony the Tiger would say "They're Great Without them, I could never do my 2hrs on the bike...need that gas so to speak1
-
Carbs are only bad if your intake of them is too high and you’re taking in the wrong types. So much info out there on the internet to educate oneself about carbs and make your own choices & opinions.
One thing that seems to jump out from every article I’ve read is that without carbs, you feel fatigued because there is nothing left in the ‘fuel tank’ of our bodies to provide the energy we need to function.16 -
Carbs are good for you and are necessary. They are a source of "fast energy" in that the body uses energy from carbs before it uses energy from fat and if there are any excess carbs in your body that aren't used, they get turned into fat for "long term storage".
Most people aren't really concerned with how much they weigh unless it is affecting them medically and even then, many don't take heed and either end up with diabetes or even dead! Most people are concerned with how they look and if their clothes still fit them or if they are too tight and show up all the rolls of fat that are hanging over.
The ONLY way to lose weight is to burn off more energy than you put into your body through your mouth. The way of looking at energy in food is using the "calorific value" of foods.
Now, the definition of a "calorie" is "the amount of heat require to raise the temperature of one gram of water through one degree Celsius". The calorific value of food is measured using what is called a Bomb Calorimeter and it does this by burning the food in pure oxygen and measuring the amount of heat produced compared to the amount of energy required to burn it.
Different foods/drinks have different calorific values. Water has no calories at all, as it cannot be burnt; that's why it put out fires quickly. Sugar has a high calorific value; throw a teaspoon of sugar onto an open fire and see what happens. Fat is also VERY high in calories; remember the chip fires of the old days when the pan caught fire and was virtually impossible to put out and sometimes even burnt the house down?
So, it all comes down to these two very simple equations:
Energy Out < Energy In = Weight Loss
Energy In > Energy Out = Weight Gain
Therefore if you want to lose weight, there are only two options; eat/drink less or exercise more, although a combination of both is a good idea.
Finally, it is IMPOSSIBLE to put on weight without putting drink/food in your mouth. You can prove it by doing this simple confirmatory test: Stand on a set of scales and weigh yourself. While you are on the scales, drink exactly one pint of water. I will GUARANTEE that you will put on exactly 20oz in weight! Why? . . . because that is how much a pint of water weighs!
Apologies for "prattling" on but there are so many myths about oversize/overweight people that I thought I'd bring a bit of physics and chemistry into the discussion.
Only if it's an imperial pint. A US pint weighs just a smidge over 16 ounces.1 -
Carbs are only bad if your intake of them is too high and you’re taking in the wrong types. So much info out there on the internet to educate oneself about carbs and make your own choices & opinions.
One thing that seems to jump out from every article I’ve read is that without carbs, you feel fatigued because there is nothing left in the ‘fuel tank’ of our bodies to provide the energy we need to function.
What constitutes too high of an intake of carbs?
What are the wrong types? Why are they wrong?6 -
willwhitelaw wrote: »I don't like em. Do you?
@willwhitelaw keep in mind not all carbs even count because there are carbs that humans can not even turn into energy. Those that we can not gain weight from eating but some of the good gut microbiome needs those same carbs to help keep us healthy because of the metabolites they can excrete that we require for health.
To like carbs or not like carbs is more of an emotional issue in one sense.
Now personally when I eat high carb AND high levels of fat it causes me more pain and other health issues.
19 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »willwhitelaw wrote: »I don't like em. Do you?
@willwhitelaw keep in mind not all carbs even count because there are carbs that humans can not even turn into energy. Those that we can not gain weight from eating but some of the good gut microbiome needs those same carbs to help keep us healthy because of the metabolites they can excrete that we require for health.
Examples please?1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »willwhitelaw wrote: »I don't like em. Do you?
@willwhitelaw keep in mind not all carbs even count because there are carbs that humans can not even turn into energy. Those that we can not gain weight from eating but some of the good gut microbiome needs those same carbs to help keep us healthy because of the metabolites they can excrete that we require for health.
Examples please?Teh Ebil Carbs.10 -
mojavemtbr wrote: »Well carbs have only been "bad" over the last few decades.
Nobody ever seemed to have an issue with them before that.
Carbs were the main macos that fueled people who built the Great Pyramids, or the Roman Legions who conqured most of the known world at that time. Carbs fueled the workers who laid the railroads crossing north America. Carbs fueled the message runners of Native North American tribes while they ran 20..30...40 miles in a day delivering important information to other tribes. Carbs are the primary fuel for riders in the Tour De France who ride for three weeks at racing speeds covering hundereds of kilometers over tall mountain passes. Were any of these groups known to struggle with weight issues or lack of energy to accomplish these feats ???
No Carbs are just another thing we in our modern "knowledge" have made out to be a boogyman because it supposedly is the primary cause of so many fat people. When in reality its laziness, a sedentary lifestyle, the overall ease of modern life that are the culprits. But hey....it so much easier to blame it on carbohydrates now isn't it ?
Its true that they have taken the blame for general overeating. But its not true to say that its a modern thing, way back in the 17 and 1800s, people who wanted to lose weight were advised to cut out the bread and potatoes.2 -
-
The ones in my house are bad.
If I eat too many of thier friends they sew my clothes up tighter13 -
The question was are carbs bad. My answer... no, they are not. They're a macro, you're body needs them. Too many of them, on the other hand, is just like too much of any good thing. Not so good.1
-
mojavemtbr wrote: »Well carbs have only been "bad" over the last few decades.
Nobody ever seemed to have an issue with them before that.
Carbs were the main macos that fueled people who built the Great Pyramids, or the Roman Legions who conqured most of the known world at that time. Carbs fueled the workers who laid the railroads crossing north America. Carbs fueled the message runners of Native North American tribes while they ran 20..30...40 miles in a day delivering important information to other tribes. Carbs are the primary fuel for riders in the Tour De France who ride for three weeks at racing speeds covering hundereds of kilometers over tall mountain passes. Were any of these groups known to struggle with weight issues or lack of energy to accomplish these feats ???
No Carbs are just another thing we in our modern "knowledge" have made out to be a boogyman because it supposedly is the primary cause of so many fat people. When in reality its laziness, a sedentary lifestyle, the overall ease of modern life that are the culprits. But hey....it so much easier to blame it on carbohydrates now isn't it ?
Its true that they have taken the blame for general overeating. But its not true to say that its a modern thing, way back in the 17 and 1800s, people who wanted to lose weight were advised to cut out the bread and potatoes.
They were also advised to cut out butter. They were basically advised to cut out things they overate and eat things they didn't overeat, some of which are plenty high in carbs, like fruits (even dried ones) and biscuits. Although I'm sure glad I didn't have to diet in the ancinet Greece times.2 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »mojavemtbr wrote: »Well carbs have only been "bad" over the last few decades.
Nobody ever seemed to have an issue with them before that.
Carbs were the main macos that fueled people who built the Great Pyramids, or the Roman Legions who conqured most of the known world at that time. Carbs fueled the workers who laid the railroads crossing north America. Carbs fueled the message runners of Native North American tribes while they ran 20..30...40 miles in a day delivering important information to other tribes. Carbs are the primary fuel for riders in the Tour De France who ride for three weeks at racing speeds covering hundereds of kilometers over tall mountain passes. Were any of these groups known to struggle with weight issues or lack of energy to accomplish these feats ???
No Carbs are just another thing we in our modern "knowledge" have made out to be a boogyman because it supposedly is the primary cause of so many fat people. When in reality its laziness, a sedentary lifestyle, the overall ease of modern life that are the culprits. But hey....it so much easier to blame it on carbohydrates now isn't it ?
Its true that they have taken the blame for general overeating. But its not true to say that its a modern thing, way back in the 17 and 1800s, people who wanted to lose weight were advised to cut out the bread and potatoes.
They were also advised to cut out butter. They were basically advised to cut out things they overate and eat things they didn't overeat, some of which are plenty high in carbs, like fruits (even dried ones) and biscuits. Although I'm sure glad I didn't have to diet in the ancinet Greece times.
I wasnt just referring to the article I posted (I found that after I posted), I was writing from memory of various bits and bobs Ive read over the years ( I love history and read an awful lot about social history). My point wasnt that 'low carb' was the only method of diet ever suggested from those days but that 'lower or low carb' has been espoused for a lot longer than we think.1 -
kingrat2014 wrote: »With the term “essential” meaning the body needs it, there are essential vitamins, essential minerals, essential protein and essential fats. Name one essential carbohydrate.
None of the saturated fats are essential either, so what is your point, and do you treated saturated fat the same as carbohydrates by the same reasoning?7 -
kingrat2014 wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »kingrat2014 wrote: »With the term “essential” meaning the body needs it, there are essential vitamins, essential minerals, essential protein and essential fats. Name one essential carbohydrate.
But carbohydrates are important.
Carbohydrates are a tool, but they are not essential. Google essential carbohydrates.
Googling "essential carbohydrates" did yield the below hit that may be of interest to some and not to others. I do not read how one can have the most healthy gut microbiome without some types of complex carbs that are not digested in the stomach but feed certain helpful microbiota in the colon region.
Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition?
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/75/5/951/4689417
11 -
"Non-essential" only means that the body can make it on it's own. Carbs are "non-essential" because the body can make it's own glucose if it has to. IMO, this is a survival mechanism. Do we want to survive or thrive? Do not let the word non-essential confuse you to think they are not important and or beneficial...16
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 413 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions