THE NO-CARB diet and variations of it, have taken the world by storm in the past few years. But the very word “carbs” it’s so vague – don’t you think?
Most guests who arrive at our facility – www.thebodycamp.com in Ibiza, use the word carbs imprecisely, as most folks do. But in so doing, we make the landscape of what to eat and what not to eat much more confusing for ourselves. When people say “carbs,” usually they are referring to things like biscuits/cookies, bread, pasta, muffins, desserts, chips, and chips/french fries.
And it’s true that these foods consist largely of carbohydrates (or carbohydrates and fats). If these were the only foods that consisted mainly of carbohydrates, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. If that were the case, “carbs” would be a perfectly legitimate abbreviation for “carbohydrates.” But of course that’s not the case. The fact is that many of the foods we all should be eating at every single meal consist primarily of carbohydrates. This includes pretty much all fruits and vegetables. (Actually, you’d be surprised at how much protein is in certain vegetables, but that’s another day’s topic.) Brown rice has a lot of carbohydrates. So does porridge/oatmeal, great for breakfast. Carrots, apples, butternut squash, strawberries…we could go on and on. The healthiest, most delicious foods in the world are composed mostly of carbohydrates. So when people say “carbs” – like it’s a dirty word, or watch me say earn or avoid sugar and flour and then say, “Oh, so you don’t eat carbs,” it drives me mad. Of course I eat carbs.
I just don’t eat much sugar and flour – they are earned treats after a workout!
Let’s all think more carefully about the refined carbohydrates we want to reduce in our diets (sugar, flour, corn starch, French fries, etc.) and the natural, whole carbohydrates we want to include more of (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes).
Do you see why the word “carbs” makes no sense? Can we just agree to eliminate it from our vocabularies?
Every nutrition expert agrees that we should be eating vegetables.
That may sound simplistic, but actually, if you’re eating enough vegetables, you’re a lot closer to the goal than you might think.
Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, in their whole form, are the healthiest foods we can eat. They have vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. They provide the cleanest source of energy. They fight cancer and reduce depression and anxiety. They have antioxidants that neutralize free radicals and keep us looking and feeling young.
We can eat them as nature intended: with the fiber intact.
When you strip fruits, vegetables, legumes, or grains of their fiber, glucose and fructose enter the bloodstream far too quickly and overwhelm the liver.
Then three things happen:
- Your blood sugar soars, causing a surge of insulin. This causes the body to store fat. What’s worse, the blood sugar crash about 1-2 hours later leaves you ravenous, and you start the cycle all over again.
- Dopamine floods into the nucleus accumbens. The brain responds by thinning out dopamine receptors, leaving you feeling unfulfilled and unhappy if you’re not eating. The resulting cravings propel you to the local shops, where you wander through the aisles wondering what will “hit the spot.”
- Baseline insulin levels rise, blocking leptin at the brain, which causes your brain to decide that you are starving. Leptin is the “I’m not hungry and I feel like being active” hormone. When it’s working correctly, you’ll stay trim rather effortlessly. Insulin blocks leptin. This makes your hypothalamus generate a need to eat that’s akin to the need to breathe heavily if you’re running up several flights of stairs.
Forget the term carbs – just reclassify them:
- CARBS REQUIRED FOR HEALTH- Natural, whole carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes etc)
- CARBS EARNED WITH WORKOUTS – Refined carbohydrates (sugar, flour, corn starch, French fries etc)
I hope this helps clear the clutter and the confusion!
Rick Parcell,
MASTER COACH
Partner and Program Creator
