Carbs are not the freaking enemy

If I had a nickel for every low-carb related post....

Low carb diets are UNHEALTHY. You can lose weight with 60% of your diet being carbs- I do, other people I know do too. The only "bad" thing about carbs is that the carbs from sugar and white flour tend to contain more calories and no nutritional value. If you cut carbs you cut these as well causing you to lose. Instead of looking for a low carb diet just switch your carbs to whole grains, fruits, and veggies.

It's just driving me crazy constantly seeing posts about "low carb" junk, it's all about balance. I'm sure some of it is b/c I'm vegetarian and a lot of times low carb means more meat.... But still, you don't *need* a low carb diet to lose! I promise! So instead of posting something like this on all those threads I thought I'd just put it here, surely there's someone else out there that agrees w/ me.

Sure there's someone that agrees with you - me! I've lost 40 lbs so far, and I like me some carbs :] Whole grains, fruit and veggies - where's harm in that? Someone said in another thread that eating fruit and veggies is not what made us fat. Good point, isn't it? I feel your pain. "Good" carb-lovers, unite!

I absolutely agree with you, and I like fat too.  If you look up Mediterannean diet, that sums up how I've learned to eat these past 3 1/2 years.  And my weight is not just lost, it's gone for good.

no, carbs are not the enemy.  but many of the things that often go along with carbs are.  let's face it, fried, salty carbs, preferably with some sort of sauce, spread, or dip, are damned yummy. 

i think the success of low-carb diets is mostly about the accoutrements.

Agree. I did Atkins a few years ago and it worked but hard to maintain long term. Now I changed my lifestyle and eat very healthy with a good mix of carbs. But good ones like you point out. Fruit and whole grain breads. Just had some wheat linguini at Olive Garden last night(its an option there). Have whole grain toast everyday. Easy to do. I lost 50lbs over the past year with exercise thrown in.

Original Post by sublimelmf:

Low carb diets are UNHEALTHY.

No they're not. 

Diets made up of fake processed foods are unhealthy, diets made up of real foods are healthy, the amount of carbs is irrelevant.

Well, you can eat a lot of carbs, if you have a highly active lifestyle to burn them. But in our civilisation with cars etc for most people that is not the case. Low activity and high intake of carbs can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

On a sidenote, there are essential amino acids, essential fat acid, but there is no essential carb.

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by sublimelmf:

Low carb diets are UNHEALTHY.

No they're not. 

Diets made up of fake processed foods are unhealthy, diets made up of real foods are healthy, the amount of carbs is irrelevant.

 

 I agree with this! I stay relatively low carb (100 or less a day) and I lose weight. But I'm sure it has more to do with the fact that because I do that I don't eat fake foods.  I mostly eat meats, veggies and beans, with the occasional fruit

Original Post by violetflower:

Well, you can eat a lot of carbs, if you have a highly active lifestyle to burn them. But in our civilisation with cars etc for most people that is not the case. Low activity and high intake of carbs can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

substitute "anything" for "carbs" and you're dead on.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by violetflower:

Well, you can eat a lot of carbs, if you have a highly active lifestyle to burn them. But in our civilisation with cars etc for most people that is not the case. Low activity and high intake of carbs can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

substitute "anything" for "carbs" and you're dead on.

That's what I was thinking.

I have to disagree with you. Some of our bodies do function at their best on a relatively low carb diet. If I get 60% of my calories from carbs (even good, unprocessed, low GI carbs) my body does not function optimally - I don't have good energy levels throughout the day, I am constantly hungry, and get constipated (TMI?). There is nothing inherently unhealthy about a relatively low carb diet as long as you are getting enough fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about a zero carb diet, but I can't see anything wrong with a 30 or 40% carb diet.

No, you don't need to be on a low carb diet to lose weight. But everyone's body is different, and if low carb works for some people, or is necessary for others (like people with PCOS, insulin resistance, diabetes, or on certain medications), why would you tell them to eat differently?

What I am tired of is everyone demonizing fat, because healthy fats are awesome. Go fat!

Original Post by theholla:

What I am tired of is everyone demonizing fat, because healthy fats are awesome. Go fat!

 yay for avocados, nuts and olive oil!!!

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by violetflower:

Well, you can eat a lot of carbs, if you have a highly active lifestyle to burn them. But in our civilisation with cars etc for most people that is not the case. Low activity and high intake of carbs can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

substitute "anything" for "carbs" and you're dead on.

of course, you're right. I was talking about the metabolic syndrome.  A longtime high intake of carbs can lead to insulin resistance, that can lead to diabetes, and that can lead to heart disease. If you already have insulin restistance, a low carb-diet is necessary.

But it's not the carbs, per se, that are the problem - at least not initially.  It's the *type* of carbs.  Refined flour and sugar.  Those'll give some people metabolic syndrome.  Beans, pulses, vegetables - even fruit and whole grains - are not going to give someone metabolic syndrome (though the fruit and whole grains may aggravate it once it's there).  And those are all 'carbs'.

1) low carb can be done on a vegetarian diet

2) low carb isn't unhealthy and blanket statements with no supporting evidence like 'Low carb diets are UNHEALTHY' only serve to promote misinformation rather than allowing people to make their own informed decision on how to eat

3) no one is saying it's the only way to lose weight, it's a option that people should be able to make an informed decision on

4) metabolic syndrome is a real problem for more people than we think, our standard food pyramid will create metabolic syndrome in the majority of the population if followed.

5) foods that are marketed as healthy, like whole grain cereals, whole wheat breads, contribute to metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in general ... this can lead to diabeties.

6) just because a person is not obese does NOT mean they are home free for avoiding metabolic syndrome if they eat a diet that causes high insuilin responses (aka, high carb)

7) after reviewing the evidence, many people decide to eat low carb not only to lose weight but because we believe it's better for our health and do not intend on going back to eating carbs ever.

Like others have said "low carb diets are unhealthy" is an extremely vague and broad statement which makes it incorrect since it implies that all low-carb diets are unhealthy.

I think low-carb diets have gotten a bad rep because many people that go on them do things like eat eggs/bacon/sausage for breakfast.  Then proceed to eat like that for the rest of the day with hamburger, steak, etc...  Of course if you eat like this your not going to be healthy, that's just common sense.  This however does not mean the theory behind the low-carb diet is incorrect nor does it mean that there are no healthy low-carb diets.

I'm quite certain the only downside to eliminating carbs from your diet is possible ketosis, which I wouldn't even say is "bad" in that it can simply lead to a lack of energy and bad breath (from what I remember).  Protein is much more useful for your body, in tissue (bones, muscle, cartilage, skin, and blood) growth and repair and enzyme and hormone creation.

As far as I know carbohydrates are not "needed" by the body they are simply "convenient" because of how quickly and easily they are processed.

I TOTALLY agree! My dad goes on and off the Atkins diet and I've told him numerous times that it isn't good for him and he's not going to ever be able to maintain it. Not only is it unhealthy to completely take a food group (especially the one at the BOTTOM of the food pyramid) out of your diet, but it isn't sustainable and just leads to yo-yo dieting and more weight gain. Ugghh..I'm getting all frustrated just thinking about it. There's no getting through to him...

Original Post by sybil878:

2) low carb isn't unhealthy and blanket statements with no supporting evidence like 'Low carb diets are UNHEALTHY' only serve to promote misinformation rather than allowing people to make their own informed decision on how to eat

It makes your body go into ketosis that can lead to muscle and bone loss, a lot of times you nearly cut out an entire food group, usually they're higher in fat and cholesterol because the dieter eats a lot of meat, increased risk of heart attack, calcium is pulled from bones because of an excess of protein, and this is kinda besides the point of nutrition but when things are labeled "low-carb" a lot of times they drive the prices up so some things will be more expensive.

I wrote a paper on the dangers of low carb diets for a nutrition class, I just don't think people know how dangerous they can be.

Original Post by violetflower:

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by violetflower:

Well, you can eat a lot of carbs, if you have a highly active lifestyle to burn them. But in our civilisation with cars etc for most people that is not the case. Low activity and high intake of carbs can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

substitute "anything" for "carbs" and you're dead on.

of course, you're right. I was talking about the metabolic syndrome.  A longtime high intake of carbs can lead to insulin resistance, that can lead to diabetes, and that can lead to heart disease. If you already have insulin restistance, a low carb-diet is necessary.

 Sorry violetflower, but you are absolutely wrong on that statement. Long term intake of "high % carb diets" do not cause insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is strongly linked to obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Excessive body fat happens as a result consuming excessive calories above and beyond what your body requires. Calories (units of heat energy) come from 3 sources, carbs, proteins and fats. The % of calories that one gets via carbohydrates vs proteins and fats is not independantly linked to insulin resistance.

And, in case you were wondering, I do have the credentials to back that up...Oh, and pgeorgian is right on.

Original Post by das1988:

As far as I know carbohydrates are not "needed" by the body they are simply "convenient" because of how quickly and easily they are processed.

It's not so much that the carbohydrates themselves are necessary - but that the vitamins and minerals contained in those foods are.  A diet that does not include vegetables cannot possibly be healthy.  I realise that when most people say "low carb" diet that they really mean "low/no starch", but that's not what they're actually saying.  And it leads the casual dieter to think that a low-carb diet shouldn't include any kind of carbs - including vegetables.

Even on a good low carb diet, while most of the calories will be coming from fat and protein, the bulk of the food (by volume if not by weight) should still be from vegetables - which are carbs.

Original Post by sublimelmf:

It makes your body go into ketosis that can lead to muscle and bone loss, a lot of times you nearly cut out an entire food group, usually they're higher in fat and cholesterol because the dieter eats a lot of meat, increased risk of heart attack, calcium is pulled from bones because of an excess of protein, and this is kinda besides the point of nutrition but when things are labeled "low-carb" a lot of times they drive the prices up so some things will be more expensive.

I see this site has a site about myths of low-carb dieting.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a /lowcarbmyths.htm

lot of protein intake causeing bone loss is a myth.