Is sugar making us fat?

TCPalm.com ^ | July 1, 2003 | Lance Gay and Lee Bowman Scripps

[aruanan]

Please explain how the Eskimos were able to survive (before they adopted a Westernized diet).

A high protein diet provides amino acids that can be deaminated and used for the gluconeogenic pathway. And some so-called ketone bodies can be used by the brain. It's not an ideal situation. This, along with diease, is one reason why the lifespan of hunter/gatherers tended to be really short. Even in the more temperate California, there were some Indian groups with an average lifespan of 19.

[Coleus]

Man was made to eat proteins and fats, just think of what the Indians ate in your area from October - May every year: animals. I've had these sites on a wordpad.doc for a while from posting to other bulletin boards. We weren't made to eat processed wheats and other carbs. Many soda's used to contain sugar, now it's high fructose corn syrup, big difference. The rise in Insulin makes you fat, no just calories as we have beed led to believe.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/caveman_diet.htm
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7334/DC1#19632
http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vegetarianism_myths_06.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2001/dec/29/vegetarian.htm Dangers of Vegetarian Diet in Teens

http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/caveman_cuisine.htm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967812607/o/qid%3D960040351/sr%3D8-2/optimalwellnessc/002-0565676-2218456

http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/

http://weightloss.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.beyondveg.com%2F

http://www.neanderthin.com/

http://weightloss-and-diet-facts.com/caveman-diet.htm

http://www.add-biofeedback.com/pulse.html

http://www.docsig.com/obesity/cave.htm

http://www.womenofhope.net/caveman.htm

http://www.greenspun.com/boohoo/related.tcl?page_id=ICAES_HumanDiet

http://chernandez2000.bizland.com/low_carb_links.htm

http://chernandez2000.bizland.com/low_carb_links.htm

http://www.apjohncancerinstitute.org/doctor.htm

http://lowcarbeating.com/

http://www.powerhealth.net/selected_articles.htm The Myths of Vegetarianism

http://atkinsfriends.com/
http://www7.addr.com/~atkinsdi/
http://www.atkinscenter.com/center.asp
http://www.vitacost.com/products/brandsaz/atkins.html

[Katie_Colic]

I'm glad you answered like this, because I agree. I guess where we part ways is that the studies I've seen show that health improves when sugar intake is drastically lowered or temporarily eliminated. And of course nothing can convince someone more than their own personal anecdotal evidence. My experience with eliminating most sugar was that I lost and kept off 32 pounds, my insomnia went away, my depression and panic attacks went away, my chronic sore throat and earache went away, my allergies improved, my heartburn went away and my skin improved.

But I am interesting in soaking up information, so please tell me what was killing off the hunter/gatherers at such a young age besides disease, predators, childbirth and infant mortality. I already know it wasn't heart disease. What was it? What were the physiological ailments caused by periods of ketosis?

[Katie_Colic]

Natural selection got rid of the Eskimos who were prone to heart disease. What you ended up with were a bunch of fat people who thereby kept warm in their arctic climate and were highly resistant to heart disease.

Hee hee. McCool has an extreme dislike for fat people. There must be some relatives he is really ashamed of. I'm sure you can pick out the error in his statement above that reveals his total ignorance on this subject : ).

[Coleus]

The Atkins diet works all to well, you not only lose a lot of weight, your cholesterol and triglycerides drop to normal levels.

[aruanan]

But I am interesting in soaking up information, so please tell me what was killing off the hunter/gatherers at such a young age besides disease, predators, childbirth and infant mortality.

If you eliminate those, about the only thing you have left is crime and suicide as causes of death.

Part of the problem, though, was just plain poor, inadequate nutrition. Living hand to mouth in a feast or famine world with no refrigeration and almost no concept of disease as related to sanitation, you're going to have horrible sequelae. When I get on my own computer later this afternoon, I'll find and post the URL of Fogel's Nobel lecture having to do with human nutrition in the historical context. It's fascinating to read how even after the advent of agriculture it still took centuries for the human body to begin to catch up in actual growth to its genetic potential for growth (and we're still not there). Even in the late 1900s in one of the best fed countries on the face of the earth, the United States, the amount of disease that was due to inadequate tissue and organ development because of inadequate prenatal and perinatal nutrition was very great. There was also a lot of disease due to the lack of things we take for granted today such as refrigeration, food processing techniques, and preservatives.

[Trust but Verify]

Congratulations on your success at weight loss. It really isn't as hard as some people think. Three and a half years ago, I decided my weight was ridiculous. Over 16 years of marriage, I had put on 80 pounds. Gained weight with each of my two pregnancies and kept going from there. Before I knew it, I weighed 265 lbs.

First thing I did was cut out almost all sugar. Certainly no processed sugar. That meant giving up soda. That was the hardest part. Also, I was a big, big carb eater. Found a bread that is very high fiber, almost no fat, and low carbs (when you are eating complex carbs you can deduct the number of grams of fiber from the grams of carbs to get your net carbs). I have converted my entire family to eating high fiber things like beans, brown rice, whole grain breads and cereals. We all actually enjoy this type of ewating. We also eat only lean meats. As a result of my dietary changes, I have lost and kept off 115 lbs. Went from a size 24 to a size 8. You can bet my husband loves it! Even if he does call me the food Nazi!

[SamAdams76]

We have been drinking the Michelob Ultra with only 2.6 grams of carbohydrates. It actually tastes better than a lot of other light beers, but not as good as Sam Adams light.

When it comes to beer, I cannot make compromises. I must have my "real" beer! Now the average beer has between 8-12 carbs per 12-oz bottle and rarely do you find a beer that is more than 17 carbs per bottle. Since I rarely drink more than two bottles a day, I can live with that. I can't see moderate beer consumption significantly interfering with a low-carb diet. Provided, of course, that you minimize your carbs elsewhere in your diet and eat well. I read that so long as you stay under 70 grams (of carbs) a day, you are officially on a low-carb diet. (Most Americans consume well over 200 grams of carbs a day on average.)

[SamAdams76]

Why does my metabolism seem to slow down the more I eat? Thats right, I have documented that the more I consume the slower my metabolism becomes and the fatter I get. Explain that one.

Allow me to try to answer this one (even though the question wasn't directed to me). If your diet is high in carbs, your body is producing insulin to take the sugar (carbs are sugar) out of your bloodstream. Unless you happen to be running the Boston marathon at the time, those "carbs" are usually stored as fat cells. Then you are hungry again and the whole cycle starts over again.

By eating foods high in fat and protein and avoiding sugars (carbs), your sugar level stays constant and the protein and fat causes what is called "satiety" and you no longer feel hungry. (Your body will produce its own sugars if it needs it - you don't need to eat them at all.)

This is why when you eat a cheese omelette for breakfast with a slice or two of bacon, you feel full and have no problem even skipping lunch. However, if you have a big bowl of cereal with milk and orange juice with toast, you are hungry two hours later.

This happened to me for years. And I never realized what was going on. For example, when I had breakfast, I'd have a bowl of Wheaties with unbuttered toast despite the fact that what I really wanted was the bacon & eggs. I used to praise myself for my "self-control" to eat right and eat healthy. At a restuarant for dinner, I'd pass on the steak (which was what I really wanted) and get a bowl of pasta or something, again, thinking that I was making a healthier choice. In fact, I used to fill myself up with bread at restaurants so I wouldn't eat so much of the main course. I actually thought this was a good thing.

Since I went "low-carb" on April 1, I have lost 44 pounds and I do my weekly weighing tomorrow so I'll likely add 2-3 pounds to that total then. I should emphasize that I am not on the "Atkins" Diet and never was. Thus I did this without the "induction phase" that Atkins promotes which pretty much eliminates carbs totally. (But I do walk 6-8 miles a day so that probably made up for it.) I figure I am between 50-100 carbs a day on average since April 1 - still a far cry from the days where I consistently consumed 300+ carbs a day! It makes a big difference.

So to sum it all up, it's probably not really your slow metabolism that is at issue here. It's probably the kind of foods you are putting into your body.

[Bluntpoint]

Actually, I was joking. But thanks anyway. You are a good sport.

[SamAdams76]

That's okay. I don't mind being used for sport so long as my points got across for others. BTW, I should correct a statement I made in my recent reply about carbs in beer. I stated that the average American consumes over 200 carbs a day. That is actually understated. Actually it is more like over 450 carbs a day!

So if there are only 8-13 carbs in a bottle of my favorite beer, I'm not going to get too worked up over it.

[Lee'sGhost]

Thanks for the adult beverage info. Not that they are my life, but there are some foods (and conversations) that just wouldn't be the same without beer or wine. I can modify, but I wouldn't want to totally give them up. There is a quality of life issue here.

[Lee'sGhost]

"I can't see moderate beer consumption significantly interfering with a low-carb diet."

I heard him! Sam Adams said it's OK to drink real beer. Two a day is alright, but let me see; hhmmmmm. . . 70 grams a day . . . if I totally eliminate all other carbs that means I could have a whole six pack!!! Pass the Saranac Adirondac Amber!

[Lee'sGhost]

"don't quit!"

Never.

[brewcrew]

Sam Adams said it's OK to drink real beer.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

--Benjamin Franklin

[Xenalyte]

I haven't touched white wine in about four years.

Xena's Guy and I had some Pinot Grigio with pasta, and I corked the remainder and put it in the fridge. Three or four days later, I decided I wanted some wine and didn't want to open a new bottle, so I poured a glass of the leftover Grigio. No big - had a glass, went about my bidness, went to bed.

I woke up about three that morning with a headache that was so bad, I thought I was having some kind of attack. Damnedest thing ever.