The Low-Fat High-Carb Controversy

The body needs three types of macronutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates. All three have their uses and all three are vital to health.

In recent years, as people have grown fatter, the food industry has responded by offering all manner of "fat-free" food. These products are indeed low fat. But they are also high in carbohydrates and high in calories. Many assumed that fat-free meant "all you can eat." They have paid for that mistake with swelling waistlines and rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

The increase in diabetes is especially troubling. More people are developing the disease in middle age. More children are developing the disease younger.

Carbohydrates come in two forms: simple and complex. When carbohydrates are broken down, they yield the sugar glucose. Glucose does many wonderful things, but mainly it's your body's gasoline, its chief energy source. It also maintains tissue protein, metabolises fat and powers the central nervous system.

Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, provides a signal to assist in the uptake of glucose into cells. You could call it the sugar trucker. If you don't make enough insulin, or if your cells become insulin-resistant, glucose builds up in your blood. Eventually, this excess sugar can lead to diabetes, and unchecked diabetes can lead to nerve damage, blindness and amputated toes and fingers.

All carbs are not created equal. Some carbs, such as whole-grain bread and cereal, are called "complex" carbs. Because their molecular structure is more complicated, it takes your body longer to break them down and extract the glucose. This keeps your blood sugar level even.

On the other hand, a candy bar is full of refined sugar - a simple carb. Because that sugar is so easily accessible, it provides a quick burst of energy, a sugar spike. Your body, which endeavours to keep things on an even keel, responds by dispatching an insulin posse to corral the sugar and haul it away. This can lead to a sugar bust that plunges your energy to a level below what it was before you ate that breakfast bagel or drank that mid-afternoon smoothie.

Cycling between high and lows, sugar spikes and sugar busts, can become addictive. High-carb diets can stimulate the appetite and may not satisfy. It's why people who consume a lot of simple carbs are always hungry, always eating. And the consequences of that are on display when we cannot even see the weighing scale as our tummies are getting in the way! (Excuse me for using Jester's expression!). Once we started making the correct carb choices, for example, choosing complex carbs such as whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes and brown rice instead of simple carbs like white bread, potatoes, white rice and anything with refined sugar, we were well on our way to creating the bodies which everybody aspire to have as JUARA of TBL!!!!

Sampai jumpa lagi di keluaran akan datang dan kita akan membicarakan mengenai Carbs and Protein: So Happy Together.

Salam hormat - Puda