Food Freedom Friday Edition 236 - Do you Need Carbs?

Are carbohydrates really necessary and essential for life?

Since the 1990s, government guidelines might have led you to believe that the answer is a resounding YES! You would think processed carbohydrates made from grains and starches are a necessary part of your diet. However, recent studies and the ever-declining health of modern society suggest that much of what you may have been taught about carbohydrates and fat is simply not true. In fact, evidence suggests that in order to survive and thrive, there is no need for carbohydrates the way they were once assumed to be essential. It also suggests that it is fat rather, that is essential to your well-being. 

History of Nutrition Guidelines

The current thinking about what constitutes ‘proper’ nutrition did not occur by happenstance. This carb-centric perspective ties back to a dietary edict perpetuated by the food industry in the 1980s that fat is the enemy of optimal health. In the early ‘80s, the notion of a low-fat diet became synonymous with healthy living, at least partially due to food manufacturers, who seized the opportunity to profit from and expand the growing low-fat trend. What followed was a downward spiral concluding in the low-fat diet dogma which is still pervasive today

“Driven by consumer demand and widespread advertising, in the 1980s and 1990s, low-fat industrial foods proliferated to fill grocery store shelves. In 1992, after much controversy and negotiation, the USDA released its first and long-awaited food pyramid that lent full support to the ideology of low fat.” ~ Anne F. La Berge

Sadly, a low-fat-based food pyramid has a huge impact on carbohydrate consumption in multiple ways:

·       Without calories or energy from fat to help people reach their daily energy requirements, they had to source their energy elsewhere – which was likely carbohydrates

·       When food manufacturers removed fat from dairy, cookies, crackers, and other packaged foods, they added more sugar (carbohydrates) and food additives to make their products taste more appealing. As a result, consumers ended up eating more carbohydrate calories simply by eating low-fat.

Just like that, the dietary paradigm shifted, and the health of much of modern society went along with it. 

The Big Carb Con

According to current research the established essential nutrients for humans are water, energy, amino acids (found in protein), essential fatty acids (found in fats), vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, electrolytes, and ultra-trace minerals. All of these can be obtained from a diet of healthy fat and protein. Carbohydrates do not feature on this list!. It is possible to get all your functional nutrient needs met without eating carbohydrates! Allow this to sink in for a moment. That food pyramid you were made to study at school, the one with the largest percentage of daily macronutrients coming from grains and starchy foods–is completely inaccurate. Obesity, illness, and earlier mortality are the price citizens of the modern world are paying for this misdirection. 

What Exactly Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are sugars, starches, and cellulose. They are divided into two categories–simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates come from sugar, candy, vegetables, and fruit. They are short chains of sugar molecules (monosaccharides). Complex carbohydrates, found in starches like bread, cereals, and pasta, contain longer chains of sugar molecules linked together and are more complex (polysaccharides). 

Is one really better for you than the other? In simple terms, yes, but the truth is a little more nuance. More complex carbohydrates are digested slower than simple carbohydrates, and therefore do not spike blood sugar or insulin as rapidly, creating less of the sugar highs and lows and its effect on the body. However, complex carbohydrates may also maintain elevated blood glucose and insulin levels longer, creating even more problems and not all complex carbohydrates break down slowly either! Regardless, both short- and long-chain carbohydrates are digested and broken down into simple sugar molecules in the body, which are then used by the body for energy or stored for later use as fat. 

Do You Need To Avoid Carbohydrates?

Your body is able to function perfectly well with limited to no carbohydrates, and restricting carbohydrates can actually improve your health and well-being.

Am I recommending a zero-carbohydrate eating plan?

Not necessarily.

Unless you are on a keto diet as a therapeutic treatment for a medical condition or you have specific health challenges that are often exacerbated by even minute carbohydrate consumption, you can consume between 20 and 50 grams of net carbohydrates per day on a keto diet (depending on your personal; goals, needs and concerns).

That is not a lot. In fact, it’s very little. One banana has more carbohydrates than that! When speaking of carbohydrates in your diet, I am generally not referring to or implying any and all carbohydrate choices. If you want to keep a small number of carbohydrates in your diet, I recommend getting them from above-ground vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, peppers, and zucchini), which contain vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein, fat, and fiber and avoid spiking your blood-sugar as much as starchier or more sugary sources. 

Additionally, when it comes to above the ground vegetables, you can have 20grams o net carbs, which is different than 20 total carbs. Net carbs are the grams of carbohydrate a food contains after you subtract grams of fiber (and sugar alcohol). The reason for this makes sense: although fiber is technically a carbohydrate, your body does not digest and assimilate fiber. Therefore, there is little to no need to account for it.

NOTE: This applies to whole-food sources only. The TOTAL carbohydrates in any processed or packaged food you may choose to consume need to be accounted for.

The Importance Of Fat

So how do we get energy without carbs? Believe it or not, the answer is FAT! Evidence has shown that fat is the best source of energy and is also very important for brain health, hormonal health, skin health, and yes, even heart health. But not just any fat will do. The type of fat matters. Experts agree we want to avoid heavily processed vegetable oils, like canola oil and vegetable oil, as well as hydrogenated oils like Crisco. We also need to be mindful of the ratio of omega-3 fatty acid to omega-6 fatty acid since excess omega-6 fatty acids have been linked to obesity. The best fats for our health are found in coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, avocados, certain nuts, and animal fats such as bacon fat, tallow, and lard. 

Using Fat for Energy

When following a carbohydrate-based diet, your body will crave carbohydrates whenever there is a need for energy. Once eaten, your insulin stimulates the liver to convert these carbohydrates (glucose/sugar) to glycogen. (The liver can also generate glucose from amino acids, this process is known as gluconeogenesis) Glucose that is not immediately used by the body for energy is stored in the liver and muscles for later use. When the storage capacity of the liver and muscles has been reached and/or the carbohydrates consumed are in excess of what the body needs for energy, they get stored in your fat cells.

When carbohydrates are severely restricted (like on the ketogenic diet) and you eat ample fat, the body is forced to use fat as its energy source. It does so by breaking down fatty acids (fat from your diet and your body) into ketones via your liver. This process is called ketosis, and it has some impressive results: you lose carbohydrate cravings, feel less hunger, gain more energy, and, provided you formulate your plan well and continue to eat whole, real, unprocessed foods, burns your body’s fat stores.  

Although the body can, and does, use carbohydrates for energy, fat is a much more efficient source of energy. Fats will also provide more sustained energy when compared with carbohydrates. Carbohydrates burn fast and there is a constant need to add more and more to maintain energy levels. Carbohydrates also need to be utilized or stored quickly as too much glucose in the bloodstream is dangerous! Fat for energy, which is only accessible with the restriction of carbohydrates and the consequent production of ketones (and no need to be used or stores as rapidly), can be equated to a slow-burning log on the fire; it will keep you glowing and going for a long time. 

Further Benefits Of Ketones

Along with providing energy, ketones offer many further health and wellness benefits: 

·       Protect the brain:  neurological and brain disorders as well as a traumatic brain injury.

·       Provide an alternative (and preferred) source of fuel to the brain

·       Reduce inflammation in the body (the root cause of autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s, Crohn’s Disease, & Celiac)

·       Promote fat loss 

·       Increase energy

·       Protect against mitochondrial dysfunction (where energy is produced)

·       Help with depression and anxiety

To Summarize

Contrary to a longstanding belief, carbohydrates are not necessary for your body to function, and, in reality, your body functions much more efficiently when carbohydrates are reduced or eliminated and fatty acids provide the main source for you fuel and energy.