Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamblooms  Controversy abounds. "Low fat but I'm counting my carbs." "MY nutritionist says..." (but many nutritionists disagree with each other...)
The biochemistry of what gets eaten is this: Consider first metabolism’s bottom line: EVERYTHING you eat breaks down to just one of three things: protein, fat, or sugar. And...*fat & sugar become the same in the body.*
Really? Naw! No way!
Yep. Here's the big picture: Lose the sugar -- even the “innocent natural sweeteners ” (honey, molasses, agave, dried fruit etc.) -- it's all still sugar; and all carbs (even "good carbs") metabolize into sugar, even if some take an hour longer; good to avoid spikes, but they'll still become sugar.
Next the liver, our metabolism's Houston Control, uses only x amount of sugar for fuel, depending on your activities. Excess sugar is converted...into...fat. That pouch over the belly ("belly fat"), is the worst place to have fat because the liver *mainlines* the fat right back through your hepatic vein into your bloodstream...as sugar & bad fats. Round and round. Carbs become sugar which becomes fat which re-enters the bloodstream as sugary-fatty yuck.
A bit more complicated than that, but within 24 hours, that's what it amounts to. So keep it simple. Consider fat & sugar the same. For health & weight loss you want as little as possible of both in your diet.  |
Well, you need to break that down into good fats and bad fats as good fats can promote weight loss as well, and you don't want to eliminate as much of those as you can. Regarding carbs, not all carbs are the same, as better carbs such as whole grain breads will keep you feeling fuller longer than white breads.
Also another plus for whole grains, soluble fiber, found in oats and barley, has been linked to lower levels of insulin and bad cholesterol (think: diabetes and heart disease), and insoluble fiber in whole wheat reduces risk of gastrointestinal maladies like diverticulosis
In a 10-year Harvard study completed in 1994, men and women who ate high-fiber breads had fewer heart attacks and strokes than those whose tastes ran to bagels and baguettes.
Simply switching from white to whole wheat bread can lower heart disease risk by 20 percent, according to research from the University of Washington reported in the April 2, 2003 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
The list goes on and on, but you get the idea
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