carbs or fat

[greenghost]

In case you haven't been keeping up with the current rethinking of fat and downgrading of carbs, here is a nice article. (Ignore the HuffPost sourcing, its a good article.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/healthy-eating_b_629422.html

[tuffshot]

The Adkins diet and others addressed the carb vs fat issue years ago.

[K31Scout]

Yes, ole Dr Atkins preached this back in the late 80's and the medical community thought he was nuts. Most still do. Fact is carbs, whether from wholesome carrots or white flour, are sugar molecules identical to cane sugar etc. What sugar does to the body is very destructive. Look where the low fat diet of the last 30 years has gotten us...obesity on an epidemic scale. Carb=sugar under the microscope, no difference.

Fat on the other hand is part of a primate diet our ancestors ate back when there was no diabetes or obesity or many sugars. Diabetes and heart disease are 20th century maladies directly associated with high carb low fat diets of the industrial age when refined suagrs and white flours were developed.

I did Atkins in 2002 and lost 50lbs and have kept it off. My cholesterol profile improved BIG time even with all the eggs, fat and meat. It changed my wife's average 300> blood sugar to <100 in 3 months after she was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. No pills or insulin, just diet.

I eat more vegetables now than I ever did...just low carb ones. My doctor was very skeptical and scoffed at my choice of diet but has changed his tune with all the studies published on the low carb diets of which all are Atkins rip offs.

I agree greenghost, good article. :)

[Sam Dunham]

Refined foods are the culprit, along with sedentary life styles.

[DanaC]

Everything you need to know about food -

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Drink-Be-Healthy-Harvard/dp/0743266420

Explains the difference between simple and complex carbs, saturated, unsaturated and trans-fats, etc. etc. No radical diets, just how to eat healthy.

[Sam Dunham]

I stopped in Estes Park at an overlook in the early 90's. Those 90's chipmunks would not eat wheat bread, but throw a piece of white bread and they ran for it. It is refined more than wheat, therefore it had taste qualities that the Chippies preferred. Much the same as us! We eat peanut butter laced with lard and sugar, Soda with corn syrup, and pancakes with white flower and syrup.We have been programmed on taste.

[DanaC]

Sam, you forgot "...and too much salt in everything!" ;-)

[Sam Dunham]

Salt tastes good, but not from the Hypertension perspective! Yes, you are right! It's bad for ya.:)

[DanaC]

I know, my doctor says cut salt or die! And take these pills...

On the bright side, I've gotten better about low-sodium cooking, and intelligent shopping. Reading labels is an education all by itself. Scary stuff.

[Jeff Roark]

I've went through the gamut of diets and I have honestly came to realize that it has nothing to do with what type of foods you eat, it the amount that counts in the end. Carbs are not evil, nor is fat. There is no bad food, just too much of any of it.

Eat under your maintenance caloric levels and you will lose fat and weight, even if you are eating snickers.

[greenghost]

I've went through the gamut of diets and I have honestly came to realize that it has nothing to do with what type of foods you eat, it the amount that counts in the end. Carbs are not evil, nor is fat. There is no bad food, just too much of any of it.

Eat under your maintenance caloric levels and you will lose fat and weight, even if you are eating snickers.

Hey Jeff, I guess I disagree in detail. I do think that grains are generally pretty unhealthy and implicated in heart disease due to low grade, non-acute inflamation. But, unless one is really turning the screws on maximal health, that is pretty nit picky.

If I had to list good nutrition facts it would go as follows:

1. Eat whole foods
2. Eat a balanced diet
3. Avoid or limit grains

[Jeff Roark]

GG,
I agree with you to a point. I eat sprouted whole grains. I think this totally changes the nutritional value of these grains. If you want to eat grains I fully suggest you try Ezekiel breads. I absolutely love them.

Also, when I eat oats or quinoa I always soak them for 10-12 hours before cooking. This gets rid of some bad type of acid that causes all kinds of nutrient absorbtion issues. I also do this with pinto and black beans.

[greenghost]

GG,
I agree with you to a point. I eat sprouted whole grains. I think this totally changes the nutritional value of these grains. If you want to eat grains I fully suggest you try Ezekiel breads. I absolutely love them.

Also, when I eat oats or quinoa I always soak them for 10-12 hours before cooking. This gets rid of some bad type of acid that causes all kinds of nutrient absorbtion issues. I also do this with pinto and black beans.

Good points, esp. sprouted grains. But I am not nearly on the ball enough to remember to soak my morning oats the night before!

[Jeff Roark]

GG,
I honestly don't eat alot of them anyway. If I eat grains its mainly Ezekiel Bread.

[Free Range]

Alright I have to ask, I thought grains were good for you, what's up with you two going against the,,,,,,,,,,,, grain. :)

[Jeff Roark]

Alright I have to ask, I thought grains were good for you, what's up with you two going against the,,,,,,,,,,,, grain. :)

I am not against grains. I love eating them and they make me feel good. Some people may be a little sensitive to them though. I love my Ezekiel Bread. Make some of the best dripping with real butter grilled cheese sandwiches ever.

[Bowjack]

Alright I have to ask, I thought grains were good for you, what's up with you two going against the,,,,,,,,,,,, grain. :)

Whole grains are good, and in lieu of refined flour are excellent. They don't raise your glucose levels like refined flours, sugars. I enjoy them and love them. I eat wheat berries all the time cooked with beans all the time.

Eating fat and protein and less carbs will will help to promote weight loss, but can be dangerous long term. Adkins was going to come out with a new diet before he died that modified the old one. The problem with Atkins is that you can't stay on it forever and maintain good health. Health hazards exist if you continuously eat saturated fats. In addition, his diet recommends low or no carbs which causes the body to go into ketosis, which is bad since it bathes your nerves in ketones. This can cause nerve damage in the long term if continued for extended periods. Ketones are similar to alcohol. Why do you think alcohol is a good antiseptic? If you want to know what alcohol does to your cells, take a glass of good moonshine or such and pour it in your eye.

DanaC's book recommendation is a good book and worth reading that will provide understanding of nutrition and eating for long term health, and is based upon 40 years of actual long term research from the Harvard Medical School.

Sam is right refined foods and a sedentary lifestyle are the leading culprit. If you labored on a farm all day, most everything would be fine.

Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day, but if he didn't swim and continued this eating as he ages, he would become enormous in short time. Obesity is probably the number one health risk in this country now.

[falconpro]

I have struggled with a low grade inflammation issue for nearing 30 years now. I am very aware how this malay can and does effect my over all health. I will definitely be reducing my intake or refined sugars, Not that I don't already watch them, however for me, it may be a factor that I have overlooked. No doctors seem to have a clue as to it's original cause, however I think it probably was lime disease, or a hog blood type thing, that never got diagnosed until it became something else.

[Bowjack]

Lyme who knows. I get bitten every year. I have been tested numerous times. All they can tell me is that I have been exposed to it, but I don't test positive. When I go to the dr. and tell them about Lyme, and my sore joints, they say you are just getting old. Who knows????

However, once you get off the refined sugars, you will feel much better. Besides your energy levels will be more consistent rather than fluctuating highs and lows. In addition, refined sugar does indeed inflame your cells and is a factor in the many medical issues. Believe it or not potatoes and white rice act similar to refined sugars. Again if you were a construction worker or a farm laborer they are fine foods. If not, avoid them.

I try and keep my diet as natural as possible.

This is just my opinion, and I am not trying to give medical advice.

[SandSquid]

I've been "above my ideal weight" since I was 17 years old. I've tried every "diet" you can imagine and while they all are effective more or less, while you are "on it", the problem is that eventually you "come off (or fall off) your diet" it and the weight comes right back on. In the past 20+ years I've see-sawed between 220 and 280 pounds countless times. Luckily, 3 years ago the Navy said "loose the weight and keep it off, or you are out of here, sign this!" So, I put myself on the Navy's "Ship Shape" program which is really nothing more than a re-branded weight watchers. The important thing is that it is a medically monitored program and you also visit with a registered licensed dietician. You learn to make wiser and calculated food choices and learn there is a balance between your intake and output. Over the past three years I have very slowly (and quite deliberately slowly) shed 46 pounds and kept them off. The most important thing is that I have learned the stark reality is calories are calories, regardless of where they come from. And if you take in more calories than you burn you gain weight, and if you burn more than you take in you lose weight. I'm not saying it's easy, let's be honest - if it was easy 60% of Americans would not be overweight. Be patient - be committed - be positive. And take it slow!!! For most people, the weight did not come on overnight and you are not going to lose it overnight. If you think about it in terms of "I need to lose 50 pounds in a year" you are not going to make it. But if you think about it as "I want to lose 1 pound per week" it's easy! Sure, I still fluctuate up and down a bit, especially over the holidays and while on vacation, but the gradual trend stil remains downward.

Oh yeah, that USDA Food Pyramid, is spot on.

This is a useful tool for monitoring your intake and output and making smarter decisions about what you take in.

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/


If you are serious, talk to your doctor about starting, or getting a referral to, a legitimate and managed diet and exercise program.
(Some health plans will even cover some or even most of the expenses associated.)

[Bowjack]

Good points Sand Squid.

Calories are calories, no doubt, but not all fat is not the same. Therein lies the problem as pertains to good health. Fats derived from olive oil and nuts are very, very good for you and will help reduce cholesterol, but saturated fats are a large problem.

This is where Adkins was going to change. Saturated fat should be reduced from the diet, and poly and mono unsaturated increased.

Wild game is good to eat. The hot dogs and sausages we all know taste good, but ...

A Mediterranean diet is considered the most healthy.

I consider wild game in the same category as fish and chicken.

[Ishi]

I am a big proponent of both. Carbs and fat that is. Donuts, french fries, fried chicken, chicken fried anything and of course, while not actually fried, bicuits and gravy have ample servings of both. As does a bacon double cheeseburger. Carbs and fat....gotta love it.

[DanaC]

""Oh yeah, that USDA Food Pyramid, is spot on."'

See the above reference for 'Eat, Drink and Be Healthy.' The USDA is a glorified advertising agency for agribusiness, NOT a health agency.


http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/

[Glynn Sluder]

I tried the Atkins diet one year and lost 40 pounds, but it was impossible to stay on and I started to feel "wierd" and memory loss got worse than just aging... I think.

Anyway, I just tend to eat like I'm still sixteen, and even though I have a physical job and active lifestyle I wind up weighing 245 instead of 205.

This January I set out to be 200# again for elk season (which I had to miss :() and sent off for the Paleo diet book. I just skimmed through it and mostly went by what others were saying about it or the newsletter they e-mailed.

Basically lean meat, vegetables, and fruit, but I am by no means super strict on it. I eat all meats and get more fat that way than just olive oil or whatever you fry in. Take it easy on the potatoes and big on the leafy and flowery, as well as green beans, peas and carrots. Lots of bananas, apples, oranges, peaches and grapes, and try to eat some of each in every meal, but just have fruit for breakfast sometimes. Cashews and ,almonds and walnuts, but not peanuts. I take it easy on the eggs.

Cut out the milk and cheese(dairy), refined flour and most other grains. Once I did and then eat them again on occasion, it is obvious they disagree with my system.

So, I agree with the whole foods suggestion.

Took me three times as long to lose the weight, but I am back down to 205-210. Feel better, sleep better, snore less, smell better, look better, all that stuff.

If I get a craving, I eat it, and haven't had any trouble with binges. Like we have all heard before, it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.