Over at the Daily Mail yesterday a fairly useless article regarding carbs was posted up. Zoe Harcombe as always got it right.
“While Professor Ogden is clear in her opinion that carbohydrates should remain a key part of people’s diets, nutritionist Zoe Harcombe disagrees.
She claims it is illogical to say people should avoid carbohydrates that are high in sugar, because all carbohydrates break down into sugar. She told MailOnline: ‘This shows nutritional ignorance. Telling people to cut down on sugar but to eat more carbohydrate is like telling people to use the car less but to consume more petrol.
‘All carbs break down into sugars. Whether polysaccharides (many sugars), disaccharides (two sugars) or mono saccharides (single sugars) - all carbs break down into sugar.’ She added: ‘Carbs are not essential. Essential in nutrition means that the substance must be consumed - the body doesn't make it.‘There are essential fats. There are essentials proteins (certain amino acids). There are no essential carbs.’ She added: ‘Women are right to be wary of carbs - they make us fat.”
The most ludicrous comment came from Carrie Ruxton, an independent dietician, said that “carbs are the body’s main source of energy – and the brain’s only source”
Carbs are not essential for any part of the body full stop. Yet again we see a dietitian with zero knowledge of even the most basic knowledge on human metabolism. Glucose is essential for the brain to operate and the body can make all the glucose it needs from protein. Can someone let Carrie know about Gluconeogenesis the pathway that results in glucose production from non carbohydrate foods. Around fifty percent of protein and 10% of fat can be converted by the body to glycogen and ultimately to glucose.
At diagnosis of type two diabetes I came across one of the biggest idiots of my life, you guessed a dietitian, unfortunately it was not a one off situation. Most I have encountered or read about are clueless. Turned out like nuts and bolts at a factory and spout nonsense until the day they retire. So many appear on the payroll of junk food outfits or are rent a gobs for the tabloid press. Professionals many are not.
Eddie
Link to the lunacy Here
12 comments:
Haha, love the title of your post.
I'm not an expert and so I will avoid commenting on the importance/danger of carbs. All I know is that my trainer told me to choose my carbs wisely, e.g. from sweet potatoes, quinoa and porridge instead of bread and pasta.
And, to reach my fitness goals, I did lower my carbs and augment my protein, but not extremely, and it worked. I guess it's different for each person.
Looking forward to learn more about this!
St.Eddie said -
"all carbs break down into sugar"
Glucose, all carbs break down in to glucose.
Regards
Dr Paul Jones - Carmarthen University
Hi Jona
I know you are as thick as a plank, but I figured even you could read. Read the post when the booze and street meds have worn off. Jeez do they really let you loose on Uni students, tell me you are not for real. Do you know, I reckon you would make a damn good dietitian.
You just can't keep away, people will say you are in love.
Eddie
Carbs are the enemy. Reduction surely the best way?According to Wikipedia: The name "glucose" comes from the Greek word glukus (γλυκύς), meaning "sweet". The suffix "-ose" denotes a sugar.Sugar the new or is it the old poison? Avoidance perhaps the best policy.Speaking from personal experience when I cut back on processed foods, carbohydrate, sugar my overall health improved as did my blood sugar numbers.
Your being rather pedantic there Dr Jones,glucose is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) present in carbohydrates hence the term blood glucose or blood sugar is equally valid.
Tim
Eddie, my comments in the Daily Mail were not exactly as I'd said them to Fiona McRae. Instead of sounding off in this bitchy way, why don't you ask me what I think about this topic? You know nothing at all about me
Carrie
Are you saying you did not say " “carbs are the body’s main source of energy – and the brain’s only source” as quoted in the Daily Mail.
What are views on a low carb say 30- 50 grams per day plus high fat diet to control diabetes ?
I said glucose is the brain's only source of energy under normal conditions and carbs are the body's preferred fuel. I have no experience of using high fat diets to control diabetes so I can't comment. The Daily Mail article was about low carb diets for weight control. My view on this is that you can get the same benefit from low GI/GL high fibre diets and, so, it is not necessary to restrict carbs.
Carrie
Carrie, because you are a dietitian, I suggest you will investigate carbohydrates limitation more - I am sure in the line of your carrier you will meet many people who practice such diet, and for your benefits and theirs it would be reasonable to know more about it. Probably, visiting blog of another dietitian http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog.html who investigated the issue would be very helpful.
I am not a diabetic myself, but I can testify from my experience and from what I observed in my mother's case, low GI diets do not produce the same result as low-carbohydrates/high fat diets do.
First of all, high fiber/low fat food do not provide the same level of long-term satiety as a high/fat food. Also, many recommended high/fiber grain-based foods still produce excessive blood sugar spike after a meal, and as a result blood sugar dips too much in two hours after a meal which results in a hunger. I was using a blood glucose measuring devise to convince my mom to give a LC diet a try. Still-cut oatmeal without sugar, whole grain and sourdough rye breads, buckwheat all caused an abnormal sugar spikes after a meal even when a salad was a part of her meal. The switch to a LC diet caused her to loose 20 lbs and normalized her blood pressure.
In my own case, my diet before LCarbing was high-fiber-low-fat one, and it definitely didn't provide the same benefits - I was excessively hungry, couldn't control rising weight despite exercising every day, other aspects of my health got worse.
I just read Dr.Briffa's post about Mrs. Ruxton http://www.drbriffa.com/2013/07/18/what-is-the-fat-information-service-up-to/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+drbriffa%2FsOZf+%28Dr+Briffa%27s+Blog+-+A+Good+Look+at+Good+Health%29, and it became clear to me what was the main logical reason for her to try to find anything which works similar to LC diet, but is not a LCHF diet,because what we discuss is a diet high in saturated fat while low in carbohydrates and moderate protein. A common government dietitian just can't accept the value of LCHF diet while saying things during last 20 years like "The evidence shows clearly that the risk of developing heart disease is reduced when saturated fats are replaced with unsaturated fats" . There is no such evidence, but she and people like her are ashamed to admit it unlike the influential Danish scientist Arne Astrup who changed his position on LC diets and saturated fat and publicly told to Gary Taubes at the ASBP obesity conference in San Diego in April 2013 that he was wrong - http://www.dietdoctor.com/i-was-wrong-you-were-right.
I strongly believe that you are the clueless here.
If you were a registered dietitian/ nutritionist you would know about biochemistry and human physiology and how the body works!
"The most ludicrous comment came from Carrie Ruxton, an independent dietician, said that “carbs are the body’s main source of energy – and the brain’s only source”
Complete and utter garbage, clearly you my anon are clueless.
Eddie
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