Course Correction for Carbs

 

Watch out for ‘carb myths’ and course correct as needed. Researchers studied groups of individuals and analyzed their intake of carbohydrates. Those who consumed forty-five to sixty-four percent of their total calories from healthier carbs showed the lowest risk of being overweight or obese. They found that adults with higher intakes of healthier carbs actually weighed less than those with lower intakes. Studies suggest that eating healthier carbs—ancient grains such steel-cut oats, amaranth, basmati brown rice, rye and millet, plus seeds like chia, teff, sunflower, flax, hemp, and quinoa, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins, and fiber—may help keep you younger for longer. Rich sources of fiber not only fill you up and support a healthy gastrointestinal system but also contribute antioxidants to protect your cells from the effects of damaging chemicals, toxins, and free radicals, all of which contribute to chronic illness and disease. The goal is to slow down your rate of biological aging and retard the onset of symptoms of aging! A gradual increase in the aging population around the world is showing that this can work!

Dump All or Nothing

An all-or-nothing approach to carbohydrates is like avoiding all dogs simply because some are downright ugly and some love to bite. Yes, some dogs are vicious and yes, some carbs are unhealthy. How did carbs get such a bad rap? It likely started when big industry began ‘refining’ them, removing many healthy ingredients, and turning them into processed food on a grand scale. Metaphorically, a similar thing happened when Yellowstone National Park ‘refined’ its environment and kicked out the coyotes. Fortunately, the pendulum is swinging back toward the middle in much the same way that Yellowstone is being revitalized—now that the wolves are back. Dieting does not work, especially fad, fast, or very low carb diets. Dropping unwanted pounds and then maintaining your weight within a more optimum range typically requires you to reduce your intake of poor quality refined and processed carbs and increase your intake of healthy proteins and fiber. 

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Carb Smart

Have you been trying to avoid all carbs? Think again! Healthier carbs are the preferred source of fuel for much of the work done by the brain and body. They provide energy for working muscles and fuel for the brain and central nervous system, without which weakness, dizziness, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can occur. They also provide needed dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Providing sufficient carbs in your daily cuisine can help prevent the body from trying to use proteins or fats for energy. Some weight-loss diets advocate severely restricting all carbohydrates, claiming this is more effective in preventing cardiovascular disease as compared with balanced weight-loss strategies. Naude and colleagues compared the effects of low-carb versus balanced weight-loss programs in overweight and obese adults. They reported that in the minimum follow-up period of three months, the low carb approach showed no weight-loss advantage. Be carb smart—for your brain’s sake!

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Exercise vs Dietary Restraint

Exercise has a huge upside for both brain and body health. By itself, however, exercise may not be the best way to lose weight. Evidence is beginning to accumulate that dietary restraint may be more important than energy expenditure level. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, what you avoid eating is likely more important than an excessive emphasis on exercise—although exercise can help you reshape your body as you lose weight (e.g., 30 minutes of running or swimming laps might burn off 350 calories or you could achieve the same calorie reduction by eliminating two 16-ounce sodas each day). Years ago, Candace B. Pert, PhD, reported that 20-25 minutes of aerobic exercise before breakfast could turn on fat-burning peptides that would burn for several hours. A study from Northumbria University, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, reported that participants lost 20 percent more fat when they exercised before eating breakfast.

To Carb or not to Carb

Many questions I receive have to do with confusion about carbohydrates, what they are, whether you really need any, and their contribution to brain-body health. Often these questioners have been lobbied by well-meaning individuals whose apparent goal was to convince the world that eating free of all carbs was the preferred way to go. Such recommendations seem to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ Carbs are one of the three general categories of macronutrients, the other two being fats and proteins. Are there good and bad carbs? Definitely, just as there are good and bad behaviors (or behaviors that results in either negative or positive outcomes, as I prefer to state it). Can avoiding undesirable carbs help you manage your weight and prevent some disease? That appears to be the case. Can avoiding all carbs potentially sabotage brain function and fitness goals? This, too, appears to be the case. 

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Carbs or Carbs

Some carbs are healthier than others. Some carbohydrates are more nutritious than others. Highly processed and refined foods are often referred to as empty because most of the nutrition has been removed. They include refined sugar, white rice, and white flour products, along with other highly processed foods and alcohol—all of which can contribute to weight gain. The quality of the carbohydrates along with the amount you are eating are key concepts. The problem arises with using too many carbs in proportion to other foods you are eating: primarily fruits or too many refined processed foods in your menu; and sugars such as those found in candy, sodas, many pastries and desserts. Along with highly refined foods like white-flour pastas and commercial white breads, these types of foods add calories but minimal nutrition, and they can spike blood sugar. Consequently, it is wise to choose complex carbs in as natural a form as possible, eaten in balance with vegetables, healthy proteins, fiber, and whole fruits.

Brain Carbs

You were quoted as saying that carbs were not good for your brain. Please explain.

Well, you have part of it right. Thanks for double checking. Unhealthy carbohydrates are not good for your brain--or your body for that matter. Processed foods, desserts, refined foods with high sugar-white flour-and fat. Your brain is a complex and world-class universe. Its primary preferred source of energy (after water) is carbohydrates that it breaks down into glucose. Glucose forms fuel that your brain, central nervous system, red-blood cells, and muscles require, to name just a few. Eating unhealthier carbs over time can stress both brain and body and pile on weight. However, eating fewer healthier carbs may not be the ticket. Eating moderate amounts of healthier carbs likely is. Lack of enough appropriate nutrition can be lethal for brain neurons. They can begin to cannibalize—eat themselves—in a desperate attempt to call for food.

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