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Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#161
post #137
post #46

I've posted these numbers before, but I'll post them again because they are so low as to be totally unintuitive: Normal human blood sugar [1]: 70-100 milligrams per deciliter of blood. Blood volume of average human [2]: 5.5 liters Thus, total blood sugar in non-diabetic human: 3.85 to 5.5 grams Density of glucose: 1.54 grams per cubic centimeter Thus, total volume of sugar in average human: 2.5 to 3.6 milliliters Vol…

That's interesting. I regularly drink soft drinks, and written on the can is the government-mandated notice of how much of my "daily recommended intake" is in the can. For sugar, it says 40%. How does that figure relate to your one-half teaspoon metric? Does it mean that one of the figures is wrong?

its a huge fallacy that the amount of food you ingest = the amount of food you absorb. we pee and poop out a lot of what we don't need. some of the stuff we sweat and even breath out (like alcohol). I wouldn't give much credence to someone putting up mathematical figures up like that.

going to the first point, when I decide i want to loose weight, i start with increasing my daily fiber. that alone is often enough for me to loose a few pounds

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#162
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [...] living with my wife who adores pasta And who can blame her? I suppose you could live without pasta, but would you call that living? :)

If a life without pasta isn't worth living, then I'd rather die than get back on the blood sugar roller coaster that pasta puts me on. This is like telling an alcoholic that life isn't worth living without tequila. You know what? Turns out you can live a meaningful life without it if you have to.

I'd recommend Miracle Noodles (aka Shirataki noodles), and I'd recommend to prepare them this way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7b5DITgHCQ

They are low carb, quite healthy, and don't make you miss Pasta.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#163
post #51

Preface: Over the past 12+ years I have spent a fair amount of time learning about foods/diets, at first to try to get rid of my acne (which I was successful at), but then later to stay lean and stop any diet-related dips in my mood (which I was also successful at). What I want to say: Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-gly…

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day This is factually wrong. The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy. The minimal amount of glucose required for brain function can be synthesized from protein intake. And carb deficiency is not associated with any impairment or disease.

No, Sir, _YOU_ are factually wrong. The long term effects of Keto are FAR from being understood. OTOH, All of our ancestors ate carbs, and our bodies evolved to support diets that included carbs from various sources. You should make it absolutely clear that you're advocating a position based on your personal opinion, and not scientific consensus. This is far from being settled. Our understanding of human metabolism is woefully inadequate.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She may be correct. The 70% ratio that many Americans eat may not be great, but 30% or 40% carbs seems about right for me. I see the no carb movement much like the no fat movement of the 80s.

Except for the fact that carbs are the only macronutrient that are not essential and can be completely synthesized by the body via gluconeogenesis. There are essential amino acids that need to be sourced via food (protein). There are essential fatty acids that need to be sourced via food (fat). There are no essential carbs.

Which is how we reclaim energy from Fat yes, but the biproducts of that process can lead to A) Gout B) Kidney stones C) Appendicitis and a number of other wonderful issues. Look at morbidity among various arctic cultures (Eskimos, Siberian Reindeer cultures) for more details.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#165
post #46

I've posted these numbers before, but I'll post them again because they are so low as to be totally unintuitive: Normal human blood sugar [1]: 70-100 milligrams per deciliter of blood. Blood volume of average human [2]: 5.5 liters Thus, total blood sugar in non-diabetic human: 3.85 to 5.5 grams Density of glucose: 1.54 grams per cubic centimeter Thus, total volume of sugar in average human: 2.5 to 3.6 milliliters Vol…

This is hilariously wrong. This is like saying the average human body contains twenty to thirty pounds of fat so you should eat 10,000 times more fat than sugar.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#166
There's a lot of people here who are really into this, but this is really the opinion of a minority of nutrionists, without a large body of scientific evidence supporting them. Low-carb diets are being sold to the public on a ridiculous premise: the quality of foods can be identified based on their major macronutrients, and "carbs" consists of a coherent group of foods. This is ridiculous because it lumps refined sugars in the same category as nutritious vegetables.

When my brother-in-law tried a low-carb diet, he would come over to dinner and say that he couldn't eat lettuce, because lettuce is a carb. Well, it is, but it has few calories, it's mostly water, and it has relatively a lot of micronutrients. Avoiding high-satiety foods rich in micronutrients and antioxidants—such as cabbages, apples, and greens—because you're categorizing them with commercial soda seems insane to me.

People have psychological models of what a meal should consist of, and for most Americans it consists of a large piece of meat as the star, some refined starches on the side, and maybe a small amount of (probably overcooked) vegetables. This is not very healthy: a healthier diet would put vegetables as the base and star of the meal. There is plenty of good evidence that:

vegetable-centered diet > refined starch-centered diet

But where does meat-centered diet fit in there? What negative health consequences are there from these diets? There are individuals who advocate for this kind of diet, but is it really something that can be recommended to the mass public? There is virtually no major culinary traditions built around this style of eating, except maybe for people who subsist upon marine mammals. My brother-in-law ended up eating grilled chicken thighs by himself until he couldn't stand it anymore.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#167
post #51

Preface: Over the past 12+ years I have spent a fair amount of time learning about foods/diets, at first to try to get rid of my acne (which I was successful at), but then later to stay lean and stop any diet-related dips in my mood (which I was also successful at). What I want to say: Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-gly…

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day This is factually wrong. The human body ~100 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and zero carbs to stay healthy. The minimal amount of glucose required for brain function can be synthesized from protein intake. And carb deficiency is not associated with any impairment or disease.

100g protein * 4 = 400 calories + 10g fat * 9 = 490 calories to stay healthy? Maybe if you are 3ft tall and sedentary.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-glycemic-load food (like bagels / pasta), and 2) your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day Research the ketogenic diet which is Starting with a low carb diet and transitioning to keto can be done without a lot of pain and I've eaten less than ~30 carbs a day for 6 months with no los…

Staying off them is hard if you have an abundant source of temptations around you. The hardest part of following the keto diet, for me, was to avoid so many things I love to eat - when they are present around me. If I came across a freshly baked baguette, the temptation to buy it and gobble down the whole thing was immense. Likewise for many other things. Ultimatley, what kept me on track was the improvements I was s…

I like almost zero keto-friendly foods (on their own—most are great if you put them in rice or pasta, or on some flatbread) that aren't one or both of very expensive and time-consuming to prepare, and even those I usually stop liking much after the first few bites.

Going keto would mean hating eating forever. Which would be very effective for weight loss, I guess.

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She may be correct. The 70% ratio that many Americans eat may not be great, but 30% or 40% carbs seems about right for me. I see the no carb movement much like the no fat movement of the 80s.

Except for the fact that carbs are the only macronutrient that are not essential and can be completely synthesized by the body via gluconeogenesis. There are essential amino acids that need to be sourced via food (protein). There are essential fatty acids that need to be sourced via food (fat). There are no essential carbs.

Why avoid carbs?

Re: Why Cutting Carbs Is So Tough

#170
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cutting carbs is difficult for most people because of two things: 1) withdrawal from the sugar-high that you get from eating high-glycemic-load food (like bagels / pasta), and 2) your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day Research the ketogenic diet which is Starting with a low carb diet and transitioning to keto can be done without a lot of pain and I've eaten less than ~30 carbs a day for 6 months with no los…

Would this diet be suitable for a person who does a significant amount of endurance exercise? (E.g. ~1 hour of running per day)

I've known many marathon runners that eat keto specifically because shifting to fat burning gave them incredible, and consistent, stamina.

On the other hard, weight lifters have complained that being keto has diminished their peak capacity. (They don't seem to care that it increases their stamina.)

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