I've seen a couple of posts lately in different areas of this forum that have me a little concerned. I've seen where a couple of folks seem to be claiming that we don't need any carbs whatsoever (i.e. like the eskimos) to be healthy. By no means am I an expert, but I really am convinced that we do not need to leave out any one whole food group altogether. Vegetables do serve a healthy purpose in our daily nutrition. We do get nutrients from these foods, and they give us much needed fiber.

What do the rest of you think about this?

If I have misunderstood anyone, then I apologize. I just don't want to see any of us do anything or advise anyone else to do anything that might be harmful in the long run.

Beth (aka Fuelmanswife)
http://www.marykay.com/bethsimmons

I don't read every post, so it's possible that I missed something.

I have seen one or two posts that mention a study about Inuit diet, which I think is to make a point about saturated fat in the diet.

OTOH, every day I see far more people urging LC eaters to consume lots of veggies. It seems to me that upping veggies and drinking water are the two most popular bits of advice I see in these forums.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/133/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

Hi Beth

It might be that people are simply trying to find all the data they can that says what they're doing is ok and it's not going to hurt them. They figure if the Eskimos can be fine with virtually no carbs, then certainly they'll be fine because they are eating some carbs. You know what I mean?

I'm just guessing but it's a thought. A positive rationalization if you will. Don't worry, I'm sure most people are not trying to eat no carbs.




Member since 2001
http://www.ilovelowcarb.com
Size 24(start lowfat)/Size 18(start LC)/Size 14/Size 8

I didn't read those posts, but will give my two cents regardless!

I believe that our bodies have evolved in a highly adaptive way. There are tribes in Africa as well as the Inuit Indians who eat little carb - MOST of the time - but like our cave-man ancestors, they DO eat carbs when they're available. The Inuits eat berries and such in season, and the tribes in Africa do likewise.

It always amazes me how our bodies can adapt to a different eating style with seemingly few problems.

I do not advocate eating no carbs - I think they serve a purpose in our diets. But I think you CAN be healthy if you are used to eating that way, like the above-mentioned peoples....

Char

Don't squat with yer spurs on!

Hey Beth, you're absolutely right that vegetables are an important part of our diets and we shouldn't cut them out.

What I could say is that we have no real requirement for carbs as carbs. That is, if you could magically take all the digestible carbs out of our veggies, we wouldn't be one whit worse off. There are essential amino acids (which we get from protein foods) and essential fatty acids. We can't manufacture these, so we need them in our diet. But there really is no essential carbohydrate; as long as you're getting sufficient calories, there is no requirement for carbs.

Vegetables are good for us, but not because they contain carbs; it's the other goodies like phytonutrients and fiber that do a body good. Carbs are just fuel, and getting too little fuel is not a problem I have to struggle with much!

Laurelyn


http://laurelyn.home.comcast.net/lowcarb/

What Laurlyn said so elegantly

I remember the thread you're talking about. I agreed with the idea that we don't need carbohydrates to be healthy, although eating certain vegetables can certainly help those us that are dieting to lose weight more quickly. For one thing, the vitamins that are in vegetables are good for us. Second, the fiber is good for us too, for a number of reasons.

But historically, it's a fact that many cultures of healthy people ate hardly any carbs at all. Somebody mentioned the Inuits. I'm much more interested in the Plains Indians of America. There's a great link that discusses their diet here:

http://www.calverley.ca/Part01-FirstNations/01-044.html

There's more information of a similar nature that covers a wider range of cultures at http://www.westonaprice.org

When I say diet, I mean their way of eating, rather than any weight-loss regimen. I find this very interesting because I come from a part-Indian family (First American or Native American is more PC nowadays). Our people tend to be plagued with unusually high levels of Type 2 Diabetes. Several members of my family have diabetes, and it's only sheer luck that I, the fattest one in my family, haven't developed it yet.

There has also been a high incidence of alcoholism, part of a common NA stereotyope, but there's some truth to it. Alcoholism in many respects is a metabolic problem. I'm not an expert on this, but I wonder if there might be a connection between NA carbohydrate-intolerance and alcohol-intolerance.

Why are Plains Indians tribes more prone to diabetes than Westerners? Well, they come from an old culture that lived almost entirely off of red meat. LOTS AND LOTS of saturated fat. Beaver, moose, buffalo, whatever wasn't fast enough to get away. (If you've never seen buffalo meat before, let me tell you, it's the reddest meat I've ever seen.) As the article mentions, Plains Indians lived to very ripe old ages on this food. Years ago, it used to be a stereotype to have Indians living into their hundreds. The movie Little Big Man played off of that.

So what about the vitamins in the vegetables, though? Were they healthy without them? Well, it turns out that, YEAH, they were. And there is a reason. They didn't eat the choice parts of the buffalo. The ate the whole animal. Nothing went to waste. The parts that we throw away on the slaughterhouse floor were considered treats, and those same parts were often richer in the vitamins and micronutrients that rump steaks lacked. For instance, the single richest source of B vitamins that you can buy at the store is beef liver.

On another but related note that I'll tie back into this...

Back around 1800, the British navy noticed that many of its sailors developed scurvy while at sea. This was because they were eating a diet of nothing but salted fish. Nobody knew anything about vitamins at the time. But it was discovered that eating limes would cure the scurvy. Consequently, it was ordered that all British naval vessels would carry lime syrup for the crew. Nevermind that boiling the limes down into a syrup ruined most of the Vitamin C -- there was enough left to do the job, apparently. This is how British Sailors became to be called "Limeys." True story.

However, it turns out that there is quite a bit of vitamin C in fish. It's just that it's in the internal organs that nobody wants to eat. People would rather eat the filets. Well, the filets are tasty, but they don't always have all the nutrients.

Interesting, huh?

Now, here's an interesting theory of mine to ponder. You can think whatever you like of it...

here can we, in today's world, get those parts of the animal that are usually thrown away, the parts that contain micronutrients that helped Plains Indians live so long. I wondered about that, and it came to me.

HOT DOGS!!!!!!!!

Yup. Hot dogs and sausages and all those things that contain as their main ingredients "Beef by-products." Remember the first time they told you that sausage was made from animal snouts and ears and tails. It sounded disgusting. Vegetarians like to remind us of this so we'll abandon meat. But, just perhaps, sausage might be one of the most nutritious foods we can eat.

Sausage as a health food! Mmmmm...

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

Very interesting posting - thanks!

As for hotdogs supplying missing nutrients... well - have you looked into commercial cannded cat food? Most brands are purely canned offal with some flavorings added, along with a few token minerals and vitamins. Now there you go!

OTOH, rendering for 3 days probably destroys whatever nutrients "made it to the floor".

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/133/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

Awww... Teelbee, now you're mocking me. I see right through you. I'm soooooo hurt!

But you may have a good point. Cat food. If only it weren't so expensive. And it might make my cat jealous. I mean, look at it from his point of view. It would drive him insane watching me eating his Friskies. I would lose a good pet. I'm sorry, but it's just not worth the risk.

Maybe they could just sweep up the stuff off the slaughterhouse floor and put it in a can with a convenient pull-tab lid and call it "Human Food."

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."