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The most common objection I get when recommending a no-grain diet is: “What about the healthy whole grains? Don’t I need the fiber?” I covered this in depth in my grains post, but it seemed that a more thorough explanation of the role of carbohydrates in the body would be a good idea.
What are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates exist in varying levels in a lot of foods including grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, etc. Typically, foods containing grains have a higher carbohydrate content than, say, an equal amount of spinach. In general, the more processed the food, the higher the carbohydrate content. Any food that you eat: protein, fat, or carbohydrate, is broken down by the body. What you don’t immediately use is stored for later use.
Any form of carbohydrate is eventually broken down by the body into glucose, a simple form of sugar. While the body can use glucose for fuel, levels that exceed what is needed are toxic to the body. In the long run, that whole wheat muffin, cup of millet, or bowl of oatmeal turns into the exact same thing as a cup of soda, a donut, or a handful of candy. The fructose in fruit and the carbohydrates in vegetables are recognized the same way.
The Problem of Carbs…
The problem is, glucose is actually toxic if it is just floating around in your bloodstream, so the body has a defense mechanism. Any glucose that is not immediately used is stored as glycogen in the liver and the muscles. This would be all well and good except that your body has a limited number of glycogen receptors. When these are full, as they almost always are in inactive people, the body only has one option left: to store all the excess glucose as saturated fat within the body.
To make matters worse for the inactive, carb addict, when the body senses glucose in the bloodstream, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) to signal the body to store the glucose as glycogen. If the glycogen receptors are full and it can’t do this, the body thinks that the cells didn’t get the message and releases even more insulin.
When this happens for a period of time, the cells start to become resistant to the presence of insulin, causing a vicious cycle. The body then releases even more insulin, trying desperately to get the cells to uptake the toxic glucose. The presence of excess insulin in the bloodstream is also toxic and further damages the receptors on these cells. Eventually, the insulin allows the glucose access to your fat cells to get it out of the bloodstream. In other words- Fat isn’t stored as fat in the body- Sugar (from carbohydrates) is stored as fat!
Now that we understand that, it is easy to see why the Insulin/Diabetes/Fat equation can be so confusing. It is the glucose from Carbohydrates that causes the rise in insulin, the insulin resistance and the excess fat, but since this commonly manifests itself as excess weight (fat) in the body, researchers once assumed that fat caused diabetes.
Interestingly, high fat diets are also blamed for heart disease, but fat got this reputation falsely as well. Excess glucose in the bloodstream is toxic, and a gross, sticky sludge. Combine this with the sticky glucose molecules that leech through the small intestines of people who consume grains, and you have a chemical structure similar to wall-paper glue. Which do you think has a higher possibility of clogging arteries: slippery lipids or sticky wall paper glue?
Excess glucose can also cause a rise in triglycerides (it has to be stored somewhere!) and cause joint inflammation. The body keeps storing excess glucose as fat, and the extra insulin that is excreted blocks the action of fat burning enzymes, reducing the body’s ability to burn stored fat. Soon, even the fat cells become resistant, so all the glucose and resulting insulin are free to circulate the bloodstream wreaking havoc and increasing cancer risk.
As if that weren’t enough, the resistance of your cells eventually keeps them from absorbing amino acids (proteins) either, making it difficult or impossible to build or maintain muscle. Since the cells are resistant and the body can’t access them for stored energy, it has no choice but to start cannibalizing muscle tissue and converting it into sugar for energy. Since the excess insulin is blocking fat burning enzymes from functioning, the body can’t burn fat and is forced to burn muscle. (This, by the way, is the real cause of muscle wasting, not skipping meals, as some would suggest)
The ending to this sad story? Eventually, the liver is damaged by excess insulin and stops converting thyroid hormone T4 to T3, causing low thyroid function and excess weight gain. Nerve damage and loss of eyesight can follow. Finally, an exhausted pancreas throws in the towel and refuses to make insulin anymore. This lovely condition is called Diabetes, and comes with the added bonus of getting to inject high levels of insulin… until you die! Sound exciting? I didn’t think so!
What to do about it…
The good news is that the body has an amazing ability to heal and regenerate itself and that the reverse of the above horror story is also true. When we eliminate grains and other nutrient inferior sources of carbohydrates and get the carbs we do need from vegetables and fruits, our bodies start to become more sensitive to insulin again. Exercise helps too, as muscles that are being used need to access the stored energy (glycogen) inside them. This is the reason that type 2 diabetics often see improvement of symptoms when they adopt a consistent exercise routine.
Removal of bad carbohydrates and commitment to a regular exercise routine allow the body to become sensitive to insulin again. At this point, the body can burn body fat during the day because it is not busy trying to neutralize the toxic glucose in the bloodstream. Since the cells are not damaged, they can absorb amino acids from proteins again. At this point, the body is able to burn fat and build or maintain muscle with fairly little effort.
Unfortunately, this muscle building and fat burning won’t happen with the average American diet! It is estimated that the average American consumes between 350-500+ grams of carbohydrates a day from mostly processed grain and sugar sources. The body does need carbohydrates in some amount, so if grains and sugars aren’t the answer, where should we get them?
Vegetables (and some fruits) are the most nutrient dense sources of healthy carbohydrates. They also contain much higher nutrient levels than grains/sugars and have a cleansing effect on the body. The average person should consume around 100-140 grams of carbohydrates a day from mainly vegetable (and some fruit) sources for optimal health (and less if he/she is trying to lose weight). Consuming adequate levels of vegetables is also the answer to the “what about the fiber” question. Vegetables contain high levels of healthy fiber and are very helpful to the digestive system. Don’t believe me? Eat a bagel and drink a veggie smoothie and let me know which one cleans you out more!
While it is easy to buy into the argument that obesity and diabetes just come back to our genes, it just isn’t true. (I personally think the whole nature/nurture debate on genetic predisposition to health problems is less separated than we think. Families and those in the same culture tend to eat the same foods-causing the same problems!) We have much more ability to affect our gene expression than the mainstream media and the medical community would have us believe. For Moms, this means that the raising rates of childhood diabetes comes back to us…. kids don’t buy their own food!
This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Lauren Jefferis, board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor or work with a doctor at SteadyMD.
Agree? Totally disagree? Share below in the comments!
Great article!
One correction re excess glucose: it is not stored in the body as saturated fat, rather it is converted to triglycerides via the liver, then stored in adipose tissue, which has free fatty acids, including unsaturated fats.
CAREFUL WITH WHITE BASMATI RICE! I at white basmati rice EVERY DAY AROUND 5PM FOR A FEW MONTHS AND NOW I AM FAT! But going to the ABC Diet, which I did in the past and worked like a charm, thank goodness…then going up to just 1,000 cals per day. I made the mistake of getting depressed and eating huge amounts of basmati white rice EVERY DAY (even after rinsing it several times until the water was clear and not cloudy) with beans, and gain 30 pounds in 3 months even though my other meals were vegan. WHITE RICE = FAT!!!
As a biology student I completely understand everything you’re explaining here. Very reassuring to know that you’re info is accurate! Personally, Im a health freak in the sense I’ve taught myself to get used to the taste of not adding salt to anything, not adding sugar to tea (im british so this was a sacrifice!) adding as little oil to the pan as possible. However i have a sweet tooth, and the majority of my diet is carbs. Some of it good, a lot of it bad (far too much cereal and cookies), I actually know it’s doing bad to my body because i get inflammation. Sometimes in my knee, or my finger, or I get a random swelling near my elbow or hand. Some days I’ll just eat large amounts of sugary baked goods. Luckily Im 17 and not overweight (yet) so my body’s doing a good job of looking after itself, but I don’t want things to get worse so Im taking out most if the carbohydrates in my diet
What about quinoa?
What if you are someone who combines wheat and other “sort-of-defensible-bad-carbs” with a diet high in fiber, healthy animal protein, and nutrient dense fruits and veggies, and rarely eats the bad carbs alone? I can’t see how eating just sweet potatoes as my carb source would be healthy in the long run. Sourdough bread, rice, pasta, other cereal, and yes, the “good” carbs too, all help me with energy and going to the gym, but in my mind and from what I can tell, they all do pretty similar things in the right doses… Could be my “fast metabolism” though…
What I am curious about is the juice fast people have been going on lately. While they are getting nothing but good carbs from the juices, as I’ve calculated, they can be getting anywhere up to 400g! Isn’t that too much regardless of it being healthy carbs? Especially since it’s a low calorie diet. My friend takes in about 1300 calories a day, which is too little to exercise enough where his body could use all the carbs he’s getting. Or am I look at it all wrong?
Juice doesn’t have good or healthy carbs. It’s largely sugar. Fruit juices highly concentrate already sugar-filled fruit supplying the body with some vitamins, but drinking juice is mostly like drinking sugar water. Look up the sugar content of OJ. If your friend is drinking tomato juice mixed with stuff like spinach or celery (“V8”) it’s better, but it still ends up being a lot of sugar with little fiber.
If your friend is only getting 1300 cals a day, then theoretically he/she is utilizing all those calories. If you count calories, then your friend should be losing weight. But are they losing fat or muscle? How healthy is this 400 carb day, with carbs largely coming from sugar? I believe Gary Taubes addresses this quality of a calorie in his books.
I totally agree with this blog! I have eliminated grains from my diet as much as possible, and have lost 5kg without even trying! Most of this was belly fat! I have so much energy but do have to make sure I eat enough otherwise I get a low sugar slump. I eat 5 to 6 meals a day with a smoothie for breakfast. I am really grateful that you wrote this blog as nobody agrees with the way I eat, and now I have a little back up to defend myself with. Thanks so much!
I found the above article to be very informative. I have really enjoyed reading everything on here. it just makes sense. i just have one question……Is this part a type-o? ” lovely condition is called Type 1 Diabetes, and comes with the added bonus of ”
I thought it was type 2 diabetes that was brought on by poor diet and lifestyle choices? I was hoping you could clarify for me.
Yea I was going to post that that was a typo too. I’m pretty sure, it should say type 2.
I believe what she’s speaking of is those with Type 2 diabetes (where your body has trouble making enough insulin or managing your insulin don’t take responsibility for taking care of it and it gets worse until suddenly they have Type 1 diabetes (where you don’t make insulin at all) and must inject insulin for the rest of your life, because once you stop making insulin, you can’t re-start. This happened to my ex-husband, and now in his early ’50s he has lost all sight in one way and has numerous operations on the other. She is not speaking of juvenile diabetes (Type 1) which is different.
what about amaranth and quinoa being seeds would you consider them harmful?
I found an article that said quinoa and amaranth aren’t grains. I really wonder now because I love amaranth, especially popped amaranth 🙁
“Not all seeds are grains. Only members of the grass family can meet this criteria. Since quinoa and amaranth belong to non-grass plant species, their seeds can not be defined as “grains.” Neither can buckwheat or psyllium. But no matter how great or how small a seed, or any part of a plant, may be, all are important sources of energy for humans and other animals alike.”
NO! Seeds are WAY better for you than grains.
I have just started reading your blog, and I see many posts that say “and some fruit”. Is it not ok to eat fruit like one would eat vegetables? I just got the book Eat to Live and the author says that eating all the fruits and veggies available to us is nutritionally good for your body. What are you thoughts? Thanks!
I think that when fruit and vegetables are lumped together, a lot of people prefer fruit and eat more of it, even though vegetables are more nutritionally dense in most cases. To me, vegetables are a staple at every meal, fruit is more of a treat because of how sweet and naturally yummy it is 🙂