Comments on: Carbohydrates, What Do They Do for You?

By: cyn_texas

cyn_texas — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:03:59 +0000

Carbs aren’t "bad" – excess is bad. ALL carbohydrates (even vegetables) are converted to glucose (sugar). Simple carbs are converted fast & quickly and cause a dramatic rise in blood sugar which triggers a spike in insulin. Complex carbs are converted slowly & slowly raise blood sugar. The body can easily handle rises in blood sugar but long term high levels of blood sugar creates high levels of insulin which creates many health problems.

The body can use the fuel calories for energy from carbs OR fats or both. Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel (if you want to get technical, it actually burns alcohol most efficiently, but that doesn’t make it any healthier for the body than carbs), the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose. The body can also be fueled by fat (dietary fat & fat cells) but only in the absence of carbs. Your brain actually prefers (* reference info) to be fueled by ketones (part of the fat burning process), only the heart requires glucose, but glucose can be easily converted from fat stores or excess protein if needed or dietary fat.

Eating carbohydrates while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) & exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.

Simple carbohydrates (sugar, flour, bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes, rice) triggers insulin which can store the calories you eat into fat. The more protein you eat the more the fat burning hormone glucagon is released.

High insulin levels unbalance other hormones. Controlling your insulin level will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so you will gain lean muscle even without exercise.

How do persons specifically educated in nutrition promote sugar as a food essential to health? I now know that anyone that goes against the current regulations can lose their license & be sued for malpractice (even though what they are doing IS malpractice).

*
The brain gets its energy from ketone bodies when insufficient glucose is available. After blood glucose is lowered for 3 days, the brain gets 30% of its energy from ketone bodies. After 40 days, this goes up to 70% (during the initial stages the brain does not burn ketones, since they are an important substrate for lipid synthesis in the brain). In time the brain reduces its glucose requirements from 120g to 40g per day.

new evidence demonstrating several amazingly positive benefits of a very low-carb, high-fat diet including in the treatment of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease, epilepsy and even brain cancer.

Lead researcher Dr. Theodore B. VanItallie, from the St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, believed that a "hyperketogenic" diet would serve as an excellent natural remedy for Parkinson’s disease because the excess ketones in such a diet consisting almost entirely of fat would trick the body into healing itself without the use of drug therapy.
References :

By: Bodyvanatge

Bodyvanatge — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:01:59 +0000

Carbohydrates are typically the body’s preferred source of energy and are primarily derived from non-animal sources like breads, cereals, fruits and so on. All carbohydrates are digested and converted into blood sugar/ glycogen. This glycogen is primarily stored in the muscle and the liver with the leftover packed away into fat cells and stored to be used at a later date.
Carbohydrates (or Carbs; for short) are easily split into 2 categories –Simple Carbs and Complex Carbs. The difference between the 2 types of carbs is that Complex carbs take longer to digest therefore giving the body a sustained release of energy whilst Simple carbs on the other hand, are quickly broken down and streamed into the blood stream rapidly, therefore not offering a sustained release of energy. Because of this Complex Carbohydrates also known as Low Glycemic carbohydrates are more favourable than their Simple Carbohydrate counterparts’ also known as High Glycemic carbs.
Blood sugar levels and the Insulin Response
Upon consumption, the gut breaks down carbohydrates into glucose. This is absorbed from the gut into the blood stream where it is shuttled down a pathway to be burnt for energy or to be stored for later use. If the carbohydrates you eat require little digestion (i.e. simple/ high glycemic carbs), blood glucose (glycogen) becomes rapidly available in the gut and is absorbed quickly into the blood stream. The level of glucose in the blood stream is controlled by the hormone Insulin (secreted by the pancreas). Insulin acts to ensure that blood glucose levels do not rise above the normal range by moving the glucose from the blood into storage. The body’s storage compartments include our muscles, vital organs and fat cells with the latter being the least favourable for most people. The higher blood glucose rises, the more insulin the pancreas releases.
*Ours bodies perform best when these glycogen levels are kept relatively constant. If our blood glycogen drops too low, we become lethargic and/or experience increased hunger. And if it goes too high, our brain signals your pancreas to secrete more insulin. Insulin brings your blood sugar back down, but primarily by converting the excess sugar to stored fat. In addition to this, the greater the rate of increase in your blood sugar, the more chance that the body will release an excess amount of insulin, and drive your blood sugar back down too low. As a result, when we eat foods that cause a large and rapid “glycemic response” (insulin response), we may feel an initial elevation in energy and mood as your blood sugar rises, but this is followed by a cycle of increased fat storage, lethargy, and more hunger!
Although increased fat storage may sound bad enough, people with diabetes have an even worse problem; their body’s inability to secrete or process insulin causes their blood sugar to rise too steeply, leading to a host of additional medical problems.

go to http://www.bodyvantage.co.uk for more interesting info on diet and fitness
References :
http://www.bodyvantage.co.uk

By: mattpiloto

mattpiloto — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:59:59 +0000

Hi Rob, When people talk about "good" and "bad" carbohydrates, they usually mean things like whole grains for good (whole wheat/multigrain breads) and things like sugar for "bad" (fructose, sucrose, etc)
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By: pokamon master!

pokamon master! — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:57:59 +0000

THERE ARE NO GOOD OR BAD CARBOHYDRATES. YOU NEED ALL TYPES OF CARBS TO LIVE HEALTHILY, ITS JUST THAT YOU SHOULD BE MODERATE IN YOUR EATING HABITS. SIMPLY PUT, COMPLEX CARBS ARE LONG CHAINS OF SUGAR THAT TAKE QUITE A WHILE TO DIGEST, WHEN SIMPLE CARBS ARE SMALLER MOLECULES OF SUGAR THAT ARE DIGESTED QUICKLY.
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By: thisisonlyatest

thisisonlyatest — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:55:59 +0000

here’s an esy way to remember:

If it’s white (like whitebread or anything mande with white flour like cakes,) don’t bite.

if it’s white, don’t bite.

It’s simplistic, but if you eleminated all stuff with bleached flour from your diet it would be great start. white carbs aren’t good carbs. (but brown ones, like whole wheat are very good carbs.)
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By: Voice of Truth

Voice of Truth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:53:59 +0000

Not all foods contain sugar. Natural sugars are not bad for you, but processed are.

Start looking on the labels of whatever food your buying, their all different.

Look at Total carbs, then compare that to how many simple carbs (sugar) are in it.

Sometimes they dont list complex carbs so u have to subtract.

There are TONS of food that doesnt contain sugar, just stay away from junk food, sweets, processed foods, cookies, most premade stuff…
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By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:51:27 +0000

What are good carbohydrates and what are bad carbohydrates ?
Do all foods have sugar ? And what foods have more sugar ?

Quote the body uses carbohydrates to get energy. there are 2 main types of carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates . Quote

What is simple carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates ?

Does Hamburgers , Hot dogs ,Pizza ,white bread ,fries ,buns have alot of sugar ? I know it has alot of fat but what about sugar? What foods should one eat with low sugar?