Can Carbs Fit Into A Healthy Diet?


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...kusaolp00000592



There is a 10 minute podcast at the link with Dr Alan Christianson on his book, The Adrenal Reset Diet.

Some points raised in the podcast:

Our brains need glucose which we can create from protein and fat in place of carbs but for gluconeogenesis we have to release stress hormones.

Our brains can build serotonin and also melatonin from good carbs, i.e. carbs with the most fiber and least fructose such as beans and legumes.

Later in the day, we want to form more serotonin and melatonin.

Adrenal hormones determine whether we're losing weight or gaining weight, whether we're storing energy or burning energy.

We make more cortisol when blood sugar's too low.

Trying to burn protein and fat for fuel can change cortisol.

What you're eating when can change body's rhythm.

Meals that have proteins with less carbs will support cortisol which is good earlier in the day, not so good later. So high protein for breakfast, more good carbs for dinner, which supports lower cortisol at night. Good for sleep.


This matches my experience.

Perhaps different tolerances for very low carb diets depends on our adrenal health to begin with?

I haven't watched the video, but just thinking about the question of whether carbs can be a part of a healthy diet, this is obviously (to me at least) going to be an individual thing depending upon one's current metabolic health, genetic luck, etc. For me a "bad carb" constitutes anything which raises my blood sugar thus putting me in danger of diabetic complications. That means for my body no such thing as a "safe starch" exists. Also means most fruits and similar natural sugar sources are bad carbs for me because no one informed my body they're "natural" and therefore not supposed to raise my blood sugar, which they do. So yeah, the answer depends on things like are we discussing a healthy young person especially from a culture which never ate much sugar so is in great metabolic health or a diabetic like me.

I'd listen to this guy (the Doc being interviewed):

http://body.io/body-io-fm-48-dr-jas...abetes-curable/

He basically agrees that high carb diets for diabetics worked because they were fiber rich, had a calorie deficit, dropped protein tremendously and all that basically reduced the amount of insulin in the body.

So all these diets - LC, High Carb etc. can be made to work.

So I'd say yeah - you might be able to get more and more carbs into your diet as long as you're managing your calories.

I'd view it as 'replacing' calories. Not adding to. Maybe reduce your fat and increase your carbs.

I've been able to eat a lot more carbs but I'm also exercising with a kettle bell a lot.

And I'm not fooling myself into thinking that I might not need to go back to lower carb at some point. Too many old health issues to risk it.

Dr. Jason Fung (the above doctor) and Dr. Richard K. Bernstein are the two doctors I've run across whom I rate to have the best understanding of diabetes and how to deal with it that I have run across. As is to be expected I don't agree with every single thing each has to say but would highly recommend both to anyone wanting really good accurate information on diabetes and how to fix it. Dr. Fung especially is really good with understanding insulin resistance, what causes it and how to lower it and how adding more insulin to the system makes resistance go up rather than fix the problem. Dr. Bernstein, who was an engineer before choosing to become a doctor in order to help other diabetic people like himself, has a wealth of knowledge on practical things people can do to control their blood sugars. Both are really good.

I agree that Dr. Bernstein and Fung are both knowledgeable but there are some fundamental differences, perhaps based on their experiences. Dr. Bernstein as a Type I emphasizes an exact number of carbs, 6-12-12, with a very low goal for A1c. Dr. Fung, in his descriptions of Type II patients, doesn't seem to sweat the details of "what to eat" beyond broad low carb guidelines, listed here http://intensivedietarymanagement.c...l-obesity-xvii/, and appears happy with his patients if they've reduced their A1c to 6 point something. His "what to eat" is predicated on also observing his advice as to "when to eat" and his fasting protocol.

I'm Type II and have tried Bernstein. It's great for lowering blood sugar but not so great for me in the long run, for reasons touched on in this brief interview with Dr. Alan Christianson, namely stress hormones.

I've had some serious issues with depression and stress in my life and have learned the hard way to observe what I think of as a healthy anti-stress protocol. I can't sleep on VLC, for instance, and that's major.

I'm losing recently re-gained weight again for the umpteenth time, so my thinking is geared for how I can sustain weight loss in the long run. I'm reading the Amazon comments for this guy's book and it sounds interesting.

Thanks for posting this Judy.

I sleep better on a very low-carb ketogenic diet, as long as protein isn't too high. Dr. Atkins called his diet "imbalanced," but explained that that was what was needed, because a lot of people's metabolisms were imbalanced, and the important thing was to balance the metabolism, and not the diet. From that, you could take it that what's necessary to balance the metabolism will be different from person to person. Ignoring anecdotes where somebody added a potato to their diet, and things improved, would be wrong--but so would a flat-out, "everybody needs that potato" assumption.

You're welcome!

FWIW to you, I was feeling very stressed too. I started taking adrenal support supplements with my thyroid meds and supplement. I also make sure to add in a little starch and fruit each, along with all my other food. I am able to deal with my stress much better now and feel calmer.
Do you take adrenal support?

Not a specific supplement but I take many of the supplements advised (listed here for instance http://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/a...ue-supplements/)

I read the The Cortisol Connection some years back and have incorporated many of the suggestions in it as well as others from the internet through the years, with great success. Suggestions included going to bed early, getting light in the eyes early in the day, not sitting in front of the computer at night, and turning out lights in the evening, all designed to observe natural circadian rhythm. I was always a night owl so these were hard at first but sleep is crucial to healing adrenal fatigue.

So is diet, but the usual advice is more problematical. OTOH, I can't tolerate VLC, but am diabetic and need to lose weight, so I have to find the happy medium to eating just enough carbs while obtaining/sustaining weight loss. I haven't found it yet, but you've been an inspiration to me through the years that it is possible.

Right now I'm following Dr. Fung's protocol and so far so good in terms of weight loss and blood sugar but I've just begun experiencing some stress related symptoms that I'll have to figure out.

Hi -

My wife has had some of these issues too. You've probably tried some of these things but if you haven't they might help:

- Breakfast -> High protein/fat with low to no carbs
- Lunch -> Protein & Veggies
- Dinner -> Protein / Veggies / Starch
- Before Bed -> Fruit w/honey

She aimed for 100 carbs a day.

Fruit - especially the fructose - can keep your liver glycogen partially full which helps with hormones. This doesn't harm weight loss but keeps your blood sugars a bit more normal at night which lets you sleep better.

There's also a "sleep hack" from Seth Roberts that says to take a tbsp. of honey before bed:

http://blog.sethroberts.net/2013/11...crazy-good-tip/

Magnesium supplementation and Inositol can also help you to sleep better at night too.

I've found eating more fruit has helped. Lots of good research showing fruit consumption even can improve insulin response.

Interesting observation, Judy.

I know Sarah Ballantyne (ThePaleoMom.com & author of the autoimmune bible "The Paleo Approach") is a former low-carb dieter who now pretty vocally disuades others, women in particular, against strict low carb. She prefers people eat some fruit (not a ton), a LOT of veggies, and some starchy carbs.

I've been doing her autoimmune diet for close to 2 months now, and I'm doing basically that - so it's lower-carb than a standard American diet, but well above ketosis (I'd guess my daily carb intake ranges between 50g-125g if it's a particularly carby day). Average probably closer to 75-100.

I feel FABULOUS and I'm losing some weight, but not at a dramatic pace (I'm also not really trying to lose weight either though, so the pace is fine for the amount of effort I'm putting in...)

I had a couple of bouts with Adrenal Fatigue and now I'm in a DefCon One emergency situation. I had to think of it as "Cortisol Resistance" before I found something that worked, which is Dr. Kruse's Epi-Paleo approach.

Carbs are still Kryptonite for me... there is no safe starch in my body! Trying to add carbs to my diet helped short-term, but now I have an extra ten pounds I can't shift. And trying too hard landed me in trouble last time.

Mine started with hormone trouble, but HRT stopped working, and now I'm having luck with hormone precursors like pregnenolone and general metabolic support.

And I can't seem to do VLC, either; I can't seem to be satisfied with just meat. A very small portion of fruit/low starch vegetables works to take care of my hunger.