Tuesday, April 24, 2012

on carbohydrates

There are a few things that ALL camps can agree on:
  • carbohydrate foods, even the most "complex," cause a rise in blood glucose;
  • a rise in blood glucose triggers secretion of insulin in people with a functioning pancreas;
  • until blood levels of insulin lower again, your body will not release stored fat to be burned as fuel.
 There are a few things that will be argued, no matter how clear the science is:
  • the properly-functioning human body has no need of exogenous carbohydrate, unlike fats and amino acids -- it can make all the glucose it needs, from dietary proteins and fats, and from stored proteins and fats;
  • frequent small carbohydrate-based meals cause insulin to be constantly elevated, thereby inhibiting the burning of stored fat;
  • hyperglycemia and/or hyperinsulinemia, which cannot happen in an otherwise healthy individual without high carbohydrate intake, are responsible for a wide variety of deleterious effects in all kinds of tissues;
  • although insulin's actions in the brain include a satiating signal, in the rest of the body it promotes fat storage;
  • all of the "good" qualities of insulin can be invoked through protein ingestion, which causes a small rise of the hormone compared to carbohydrate consumption;
  • carbohydrate consumption promotes appetite through numerous pathways, including opioid receptors, gut signalling, and insulin-induced hypoglycemia;
  • the body does not require fiber for intestinal health;
  • certain types of carbohydrate promote intestinal woes such as bloating, gas, gut permeability, candida overgrowth, and more.
Conclusions i draw from the above, driving me to prefer a very-low-carb diet:
  • as my body doesn't require them, and i get more pleasure out of eating meat*, i'll stick with the latter;
  • those that make my joints stiff and achy, and my gut "unhappy," i'll actively avoid;
  • fatty meat is the most efficient food for promoting satiation and satiety;
  • fatty meat is the most efficient food for weight loss;
  • fatty meat requires minimal fuss to procure and prepare;
  • as i feel my best on a very-low-carb diet -- no brain-fog, better energy and agility, reduced pain and allergies, good sleep -- i see NO reason to override my instincts and kowtow to "conventional wisdom."
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*  much carbohydrate-eating seems to be pleasure-based.  not being anti-hedonistic, i have no problem with that -- i just prefer home-made, high-fat, sugar-free ice cream over conventional sweets, sashimi over tempura, nuts over chips, wine over cola, ad infinitum.

6 comments:

  1. This is a really excellent post, totally sums up my thinking about these issues.

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  2. thank you! :-) it occurred to me that my reasons for doing low-carb are so SIMPLE (and mostly incontrovertible), i'd share them with any "seekers" who happened to drop in....

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  3. Thanks for this summary. I love it when things are simplified! Just wondering if you struggle with sticking to the low carb thing? I've been eating low carb since last May. I lost 70 pounds between then and November. Can't seem to budge anymore. Was happy just to maintain through the winter. Not sure I can lose anymore. I am 54 years old. Yo yo dieter ... Blah blah blah...anyway the last few weeks I have been slowly adding in more carbs. Once I get started its hard to stop. Yep I've managed to gain 4 or 5 pounds.... Yay. I do have some other medical issues creating some worry but mostly it's just they taste pretty damn good and I want what I want! I think too that I m pretty pissed that I fell for the whole idea that low carb is the magic formula for perfect health... Ummm not so much. Maybe if I was 20 or 30 and was not hypothyroid etc. Ahhh shit! I am just whining again! Sorry! Thanx again for laying it out straight!

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  4. 70 pounds -- well done! maintaining since November and only gaining 4 or 5 is pretty darned good! it's SO easy to gain when adding in carbs. have you tried a "fat fast" to get past your plateau?

    when i'm at home by myself, it's easy to be "good," but then my husband comes home from a business trip, and we start going out to restaurants and THEN it gets difficult. :-) i just do my best to avoid things i KNOW disagree with me, like most grains, omega-6 fats, and sweet things. i "maintain" during these times, and then work on weight loss when he leaves town again.

    as a fellow hypothyroid, i'm convinced that avoiding goitrogens, making sure to get excellent nutrition and plenty of sleep, and minimizing stress are especially important to our well-being!

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  5. Thanx for such a quick response! I was really feeling sorry for myself wasn't I? All u say is true and how silly was I to think that one year of "correct" eating was going to undo a lifetime of damage. Lol! Just wondering if you could speak to the "fat fast"? If you have written about this before I apologize. I am hoping to spend some serious time reading your past posts in the near future.

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  6. plateaus are frustrating! we live in a toxic world, too, literally and figuratively.... even starting on a good position, when we reach this age, we have to make an effort if we don't want to lose health. thanks for the topic suggestion -- i usually just write about what strikes my fancy from one day to the next. :-)

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