by
Donald A. Miller, Ph.D.
Recent
TV news showed that various food brands are
offering low carbohydrate foods due to public
demand. That just shows how poorly informed
the public can be.
The
Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/) tells
us that "Every day your body requires
certain nutrients, such as carbohydrates,
fats and protein, to function properly. Too
much of one nutrient or not enough of another
can influence your health."
Encyclopedia
Britannica (http://www.britannica.com) tells
how carbohydrates can be classified, but they
are all described as molecules of Carbon,
Hydrogen, and Oxygen. "Carbohydrates
are the most abundant molecules in all biology."
Carbohydrates
and oils are the means that plants store energy.
Few plant fats are saturated.
Fats
are also compounds of Carbon, Hydrogen, and
Oxygen, but in more complex structures than
carbohydrates. The more structural bonds,
the less liquid is the fat at room temperature.
Such liquid fats are called oils. Hydrogenating
oils creates more hydrogen bonds to make liquids
into soft or hard fats. These trans-fats are
bad for cardiovascular health. The "essential
fatty acids" are the ones that the human
body cannot create from other foods, such
as proteins.
Proteins
have many structures, but are mostly composed
of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen plus Nitrogen.
The essential amino acids are those proteins
which the human body cannot create from other
foods.
Of
course, foods also contain essential vitamins
and minerals. Supplements of these can be
beneficial, if not overdone.
High
/ Low Carbohydrate / Protein diets really
miss the target. Once minimal needs of each
food type are met, the real issue is high
or low calories compared to those used. If
you eat more than your exercise can burn,
you gain weight, and vice versa.
Carbohydrates
as sugars are fine as nature provides them,
but not as refined and concentrated by humans.
Like any source of calories, excess consumption
leads to body fat. The details will vary,
but a five pound bag of fresh fruit contains
fewer calories than a typical candy bar.
Supposed
high protein diets are often filled with hidden
fats. For example, consider ground beef.
Center
for Science in the Public Interest, with reports
on-line at www.cspinet.org, tells us "USDA
allows ground beef labels to make claims that
would be illegal on other foods." "Ground
beef accounts for 45 percent of the beef sold
in the U.S. and it adds more fat -- and more
artery- clogging saturated fat -- to the average
American's diet than any other single food."
"The USDA allows no more than 10 percent
fat by weight in most foods that are labeled
'lean.' But the USDA allows ground beef that
is up to 22.5 percent fat to be called 'lean.'"
Of course, that fat is "saturated".
In
contrast, protein from plants, such as grains
and legumes, has much less fat than ground
beef and none of it is saturated. Tempeh,
an Asian food made from whole soy beans with
careful fermentation, has more protein than
an equal amount (volume or weight) of ground
beef, and also contains all the essential
amino acids.
So
try this for healthy diet rules. Eat all the
vegetables and fruits you can stand, but without
sauces, dressings, added sugar, butter, margarine,
or cheese. The same applies to grain foods,
such as whole grain breads and pastas. Get
at least some of your proteins from plant
sources. Avoid all foods fried in fat or oil.
I
lost weight and one third of my blood cholesterol
by reducing my beef and pork consumption,
increasing my use of broiled and baked fish
and chicken, and learning about soy foods
that are now available in North America.
Even
Ph.D. scientists can mis-lead themselves with
wishful thinking. A former colleague of mine
was often heard to describe his high protein,
low carb diet in terms of complex biochemical
theories, yet he was always at least 100 pounds
overweight. He also ate and drank about three
times as much as I did at shared meals. Get
Real!
**
Diet with FACTS, not MYTHS. **
About the Author: Donald A. Miller, Ph.D.
is the author of "Easy Health Diet",
and several thousand other reports, including
two eBooks available through Amazon.Com. More
health information can be found at http://easyhealthdiet.com,
or send a blank email to snips@easyhealthdiet.com.
Email is drdon@easyhealthdiet.com
