It's the Carbs that make you Fat?

[Angel-of-Death]

I'd like you all to read this article posted by some guy and then comment with your opinions on what he's saying. I'm not sure, it's so crazy and completely upside down from everything else people are saying that it just might work...

It's the Carbs that make you Fat!

Actually, I personally think he's a quack.

[m.artist]

actually it's tru...carbs are energy, and if not used they get stored up as fat cells or reserve energy. that's what happens if u don't use it. use it then it goes away. it's not quite that simple but it's the jist of it

[KONY]

Angel,

Very interesting piece. While I share some of your pessimism, I have to say he did make some sense. However, without scientific investigation/validation (he did cite a study on eggs though), his opinions are just that ... opinions. Still makes a good case so I wouldn't call him a quack. Besides, a portion of what he is saying has long been said by Atkins. Atkins also was accused of advocating a low-carb diet without scientific proof. But studies are starting to emerge that support his stance so we may be witnessing a new paradigm shift in nutritional science.

[Jude3085]

It's true if you do not use the carbs that you consume they are mainly stored in your mid section (abdominal). If you want to lose the fat in that section eat less carbs or use the ones you eat.

[eXcessiveForce]

Actually atkins type diets have been used since the early 40's in the US. they were often perscribed for epileptics for seizure control. There was quite a bit of documentation on them but Atkins is the one who started using it for weigth loss.

Also Atkins says his diet is only for those overweight as you get to keep increasing carbs until you stop losing weight after you reach your goal weight. He also says competitive athletes should not need to use the atkins diet unless they start gaining weight they do not want.

[Angel-of-Death]

Well yeah, he makes some sense I guess, but on the other hand a lot of what he says is immesely absurd. The egg thing for instance, it’s true that there is a chemical in eggs that lowers the absorption rate of cholesterol, but that does not mean dietary cholesterol has NO effect on your blood levels.

From what I read in some Reader’s Digest health book is that about 80% of the cholesterol in your blood your body naturally produces. If your diet is too high in saturated fats your system absorbs some of the cholesterol, and your body desperately tries to maintain the balance by lowering its own production of cholesterol. In the end it all gets screwed up and you’re left with high blood levels.

So even though eating an egg or two, or three, probably won’t kill you, eating other foods that are very high in saturated fats probably will... in the long run. That quack, and no I don’t think I’m using that term in jest, says that saturated fat is good for you.

So how in the hell is it that he advises you to eat lean meats and saturated fats at the same time? Seriously, how does that work? Since when was food high in saturated fats also consider lean? If anything, our bodies evolved over the thousands of years to us eating just the right amount of saturated fat, but in recent years Americans have begun to consume far more then our body can endure (remember, our bodies only evolved to deal with tolerable amounts) and so we suffer from all kinds of diseases for it.

Then he says that it is the carbohydrates that make you fat, whether coming from refined sugars or not. I do not agree with him saying that complex carbohydrates are bad. The carbs in soda and lollipops have been stripped of all their nutritional value in the refining process, so basically they are empty calories. Not true with complex carbs you get from foods such as whole wheat bread.

Hasn’t it already been proven that the typical Bolivian diet is high in carbohydrates and yet obesity amongst their people is almost unheard of? The reason is because their foods, the same ones that are high in carbs, are also high in fiber. Potatoes are high in complex carbohydrates, also known as starch, but so are most vegetables, beans and other foods usually considered healthy. And it’s not true that potatoes have almost no nutritional value, he has some serious homework to do. Potatoes only become fattening when you put stuff on them, like butter. Then the calories add up.

He continues his rant and says that eating fat will not lead to weight gain. I honestly don’t know how that is true. If you eat more calories (a unit of energy) then you spend you’ll store the excess as fat, right? Well then, it’s a fact that there are only four calories per gram in both complex carbs (starch) and protein, but nine calories in a gram of fat. So how will eating fat help you lose weight? In my opinion, that guys brain works backwards. Talk about being counterproductive.

Then he goes on to say bananas are bad, but you should eat more fruit! What the hell, but more importantly, how dare he! I absolutely love them, probably more then jungle monkeys. It’s true that bananas are high in carbs, but actually the energy you get from a banana is similar to that of a peach, but yet he never mentioned peaches as being evil, did he? Obviously the only reason he started picking on bananas is from all those stupid myths surrounding them.

He also says that saturated fats are only bad when they are modified by heat. He then says that when you need to fry use butter. Hmm, jeez, wouldn’t the high heat modify that butter and in the end you’ll end up consuming exactly what he said you should be avoiding?

- AoD

[KONY]

AoD,

All very good points there. And until someone scientifically proves otherwise, weight gain/loss is still simple mathematics ... that is, it is equal to the number of calories consumed in a day minus the number of calories burned in a day. If the result is positive or negative, you're gaining or losing weight, respectively.

[eXcessiveForce]

It's not all that simple math.

To say lower caloric intake and lose weight is all you need doesn't really work well.

If you lower the caloric intake to much the body goes into starvation mode and tries to turn everything to fat. It burns muscle to provide energy and thus uses less energy thoughout the day with can lead to weight gain. Also once the caloric intake goes back to normal it takes awhile for the metabolism to catch up. And that is why people who diet often lose weight for awhile then stop. Then when the diet stops they put on more weight than they had orignally.

Atkins also does not count carbs the way people normal do. They take the total carbs minus the fiber. For a quick count. It really has to do with blood sugar levels. So some foods that have carbs can be eaten because they do not effect blood sugar.


Atkins has a diet for people who cannot lose weight called the Fat Fast. It is 1000 calories of almost pure fat for 1 week. People often lose up to 36lbs in that week.

Your body does not burn fat efficiently so it uses a lot of energy trying to get its energy from the fat. At the same time the metabolism has to speed up to accomplish this. So yes you can eat fat and lose weight. It just not health for the long term. That is why this is only used in extreme cases before induction so that their body will respond to the atkins program.

Even Atkins does not support the idea of eating excess saturated fats. But the real problem are triglycerids.

[Kilo5518]

This is all well and good, and I agree with a lot of what he said...if you are treating someone who is obese. Most of us are martial arts and some of us are extreme fighters and such a low carb plan will not get you good results when training.

I use a lot of what this guys says to cut weight when I needed to. A low carb diet combined with hard training will really rip you. When you get to where you want to be though, you need to put some good carbs into your system to fuel your body through grueling activity to reach peak performance.

Where I think he is mislead, is when he says all carbs are sugar and the body treats them the same. While they may all techniqically be considered sugar, the body treats them and also expends them in many differant ways and at differant speeds. An orange after a workout will be treated differant then a jelly donut. Most carbs in fruit are expended immediatley when needed and are seldom stored unless you are overloaded with carbs.

Certain refined carbs are used in as an energy reservoir, and become fat cells in your body. If they are not burnt up they will eventually become visible to the rest of the world in the version of beer guts and thunder thighs.

There are two kinds of carbs- ones that are used quickly and ones that your body banks away. I am not a dietician and don't really feel like typing for an hour on it. You can research it yourself to find out which are best for storing for the next day and which are best for quick workouts.

Most fruit, sports drinks- quickly expended
pasta, potatoes- good for next day energy
bananas- a little of both.

[Maxetai]

It's the complex carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoe, etc...) that store as fat if not used up and not the simple carbohydrates (fruits, raw green leaf vegetables like lettuce, spinach, etc...).
The simple carbohydrates are converted into glycogen (sugar for the body) almost immediately after ingestion.

More importantly, if one is to consume a raw foods diet containing 80 % simple carbohydrates (2-3 fruit meals and one green leaf salad per day), 10 % Protein, and 10% Fat (from plant sources) he/she would be one of the healthiest humans on the planet. All you would have to watch for are the analogies (80/10/10) and to cover your calarie needs during the day.

Click here for more info: http://www.foodnsport.com/

And here: www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/index.html

P.S. Bananas are a must for the serious athlete and Martial Artist. How many per day? Anywhere from 4 to even 40! And maybe a bit more! I kid you not! Check out the above links, read thoroughly the content and articles (first link) and ask all your questions at the forum (second link). Case closed for me. This is what I practice. All is said at the above links! Case closed (at least for me).

[eXcessiveForce]

A recent study of bananas vs. chocolate bars found there was more nutritional content in the Candy bar than in the banana. They have about the same effect on blood sugar and are similar in calorie content.

[Maxetai]

A recent study of bananas vs. chocolate bars found there was more nutritional content in the Candy bar than in the banana. They have about the same effect on blood sugar and are similar in calorie content.

The harm that chocolate does to the human body leaves a lot to be desired (weakness and eventually destruction of the intestinal walls, constipation, overstimulation and eventually the weakening of the Central Nervous System, on and on...)
I'm sorry dude, but comparing Bananas to Chocolate and not looking into the overall (long run) benefits and destrucion to the human body is not smart.
Bananas benefit you in the short run and long run.
Chocolate stimulates you in the short run (it's a drug in essense), and is nothing but destructive in the lon run.
Check out the links in my previous post.

[Waspe]

I didn't read everything, and am sorry, if I repeated something. However, Doesn't it also make sense to just use Carbohydrates. Like not have a lot of fat, but have everything else. The fat takes longer to burn, than carbohydrates so couldn't you burn the Carbs off faster, then the fat? Therefore lose weight?

[Maxetai]

I didn't read everything, and am sorry, if I repeated something. However, Doesn't it also make sense to just use Carbohydrates. Like not have a lot of fat, but have everything else. The fat takes longer to burn, than carbohydrates so couldn't you burn the Carbs off faster, then the fat? Therefore lose weight?

You are talking of the Simple Carbs (Fruits, raw Green Leaf Vegetables).
The Complex Carbs (Grains, Legumes, Potatoes, Rice, etc...) will store as fat if they are not burned up by the body (if you don't work out).
Check out the links I mentioned above. There is a lot of information here that must be posted, and the easiest way is for you to check out the above links I mentioned on my posts above.

[Angel-of-Death]

Actually, it does make sense. Perfect sense... at least to me. Why? Because there are far less calories in a gram of carbohydrates then there is in fat. So even though you will probably start to gain weight if you eat to much complex carbs its still better then eating fatty foods, because obviously you have less caloties to burn so it should be easier to keep your weight in check.