Carbs, the New Deadly “C” Word?
Researching the connection between carbohydrate consumption and disease prevalence over the past 10 years has me increasingly wary of carbohydrates—even the so called “good carbs”!
Let me explain. When I first began writing on the subject of nutrition and blood sugar regulation I found it odd that the diabetic population was instructed by the American Diabetic Association® to eat upwards of 45-60 grams of carbohydrates per meal (a single carb serving is 15 grams). Afterwards, the person with diabetes must attempt to accurate calculate how many carbs they consumed and inject themselves with enough insulin to counteract the inevitable blood sugar spike which would ensue. Those yet to require insulin must counter their blood sugar highs with often increasing dosages of the medication Metformin® or the like.
Why not simply cut back on the volume of carbs and use less insulin, I wondered?
As humans, we do not need carbohydrates to fuel our bodies. We can actually survive quite well on just fats and proteins. Surprisingly, neither fats nor proteins raise our blood sugar with any significance. For the type 1 or 2 diabetic, who overtime becomes insulin resistant and needs to use larger quantities of insulin to regulate their blood sugar, it only seems reasonable to cut back the recommended daily allowance of carbohydrates by 50%.
These days I am thinking about the impact of carbs (both simple and complex) on the blood sugar of those in the non-diabetic population, such as myself. If a slice of whole grain bread has been shown to spike one’s blood sugar level higher than a mini-Snickers® bar1, maybe we need to use far more caution when considering ALL carbohydrate consumption—the good (whole grain), the bad (white pasta/bread), and the ugly (cakes, candy and cookies).
So, here’s the question I’m asking myself when it comes to consuming grain and potato carbohydrates: “How low can I go?” Honestly, I will never be a carb-free girl, nor do I believe that’s necessary. However, I’d love to get to the place where I only consume one meal or snack per day which features a grain or potato ingredient. While I’ve had only a handful of days in which I’ve achieved this lofty goal, I have definitely been making strides towards cutting out carbs here and there and preparing more 100% grain and potato-free meals which are both tasty and 100% satisfying.
1 David Permutter, MD, author of Grain Brain