Hey guys, I'm generally a lurker, but decided to give a post.
I've been following a low carb diet for quiet some time, though I will occasionally fit in a cheat day every now and then since I'm not following this diet to lose weight or anything.

Let me first say I wholeheartedly support this way of life and truly believe in the health benefits a low carb diet and the removal of sugars and refined grains can have on my body. Still, there are times I read things people post on this forum and cringe at how wrong I think they are. Here is an example of one I commonly see:

1. "Oh man, after accidentally eating that piece of bread/roll/donut/pizza/[insert carby food here] I had bloating, stomach cramps, bathroom problems, and fatigue like no other!! Carbs are terrible for humans, we weren't meant to eat them, and this just goes to prove it!!"

Ummm, no. We were born with the ability to digest starches and carbs just as we were born with the ability to digest protein and fats. In fact, carbs are broken down before ANY OTHER macronutrient. (Saliva in the mouth)

The REASON you are getting these digestion problems is NOT because you're finally teaching your body how to live the way it should have, but because your body is simply ADJUSTED to not eating them, and therefore makes fewer enzymes that aid in carb digestion.

Take for example a vegetarian. They can have the opposite problem. They accidentally eat a piece of meat and have constipation, cramps, and bloating afterwards. According to your logic, they can also say "ohh man! that meat was soo bad for my digestive system!! Clearly, humans were not meant to eat meat and this proves it!" Obviously, you would think that vegetarian was wrong. Why does the vegetarian get the cramps from meat? The same reason you get cramps from eating carbs: the adjustment of your body.

Thoughts?

You're so very sure of yourself.

Go talk to folks who have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. Many of them once they remove gluten from their diet, even after they continue eating high carb diets, they get very strong reactions to gluten.

You are right about losing the enzymes to help you digest carbs. Dr. Eades mentions that, Atkins does too sort of. They both suggest eating carbs for awhile before taking a glucose tolerance test because you'll have extreme reactions if you take one after being low carb. However, there is also some truth to your body having a stronger immune response to something if you've been exposed to it a long time, then it goes away and is brought back.

I heard some doctors on the radio talking about how that works with common allergies too.

Hi colejames. Welcome to the forum. I don't have any answers for you, but I will be following this thread because I ask myself the same question all the time. I eat low carb because I need to lose weight and because I have digestion problems. When I do eat carbs I feel good, like my body is getting something it needs, but if I keep it up then I wind up with problems. I think you'll get some good answers here.

I didn't know I had a problem digesting starch until I went lowcarb. Suddenly all my life-long digestive issues (bloating, cramps, diarrhea, etc.) disappeared. At first I thought it was just gluten sensitivity, but when I tried a starch-based, vegan diet (McDougall) and did it gluten-free, I had all the same problems. It's starch! I suspect that many people who find success on a low carb diet have the same problem, whether they know it or not.

I would say most of the things you mentioned.. aren't meant to be eaten. Anything processed, really. Or not found in it's natural state. Lots of people feel bad when they eat bread. Whether they are on low carb or not. I have a gluten sensitivity and when I eat pizza, cake, rolls, etc., I feel SO awful, and I did for a few years before going to LC. So I wouldn't say I lacked the enzymes.

I can, however, eat potatoes, yuca, plantains, etc., without these problems. Most people, when complaining of these problems, are complaining that processed junk is what is giving them digestive problems and are right when they say they aren't meant for the human body to consume.

I agree with some of what you're saying, as I have seen a brief adjustment period when going either on or off lowcarb.

However "adjustment" doesn't sufficiently explain the 15 years of digestion problems I had while eating a "healthy" high carb diet for several decades, unless you are claiming that the adjustment period can take over 30 years. You aren't claiming that, are you?

I get really bad arthritis if I eat wheat or refined sugar. It's not in my head, and as big as I still am, I should get the clicking (so loud that others can hear it) and pain in my knees whether I am eating these things (at least according to common knowledge about what causes joint problems). For a long time I thought it was starchy food in general, but I've found that it really only comes back if I eat a lot of food with wheat or refined sugar. I can eat a fair amount of carby fruit and even potatoes or rice and not have it. This isn't something that is new with low carb; I just always thought it had to do with my weight.

I also think people who have a lot of lower GI problems from carbs probably have yeast issues. I don't think it's a simple as stop eating carbs and all your health problems will go away. I think some carbs are more tolerated than others by people in general whether they have similar levels of carbohydrate.

We've sort of lived a long time without wheat and even longer without refined sugar. We may be designed with the ability to process carbs, even if it was just for times when the carbier fruits and plants were in season, but I think things like sugar, wheat, fruit juices, and HFCS are something totally different.

So how much wheat do we have to eat to digest it properly? Enough to wreck our health?

If I eat pizza, I'll blow up like a beachball. Gluten-free pizza doesn't do that to me.

All of your responses are very very interesting. And no Nancy, haha, I'm not THAT sure of myself though it may have come across that way. It's just in my nature to question things and never accept anything for fact without complete proof. I know a lot of you here have had previous issues such as arthritis and such from eating carbs, but I actually had none of these issues. I'm still young and healthy, so this may be why the effects have not manifested themselves yet, and that is why I'm starting low-carb early: as a prevention method rather than a cure.

I agree that we can be very wrong in our analysis, but I have to disagree with your conclusion. If the scope of your analysis is only digestion, then maybe your conclusion is right. But digestion is just one part of the problem. Not because we can digest it, and absorb it, that it's good for us. Consider that we can absorb arsenic. Is that good for us?

Can we digest fiber? No. So are we adapted to a high carb diet? No. Can we adapt to a high carb diet? No. What if we remove the fiber and eat just the digestible starch and sugars. Can we adapt to that kind of diet? No. Digestion is just one side of the problem. The other side is what this substance does once it's inside our body. Once carbs are absorbed, they make us fatter, sicker, weaker, and probably stupider. What does any of that have to do with digestion?

We can only adapt so much. Our entire physiology, not merely digestive enzymes, dictates what we must eat. As for cramps being the barometer for what we should eat, that's just shortsighted. Cramps can be due to pretty much anything. Infected food, indigestible substances (fiber?), poisons, starvation, etc.

As for vegans eating meat, the most probable scenario is that they'll return to good health quickly and wonder where they've been all this time. Wonderland?

I've had arthritis since my mid teens, and our GP told my husband it's normal to have arthritis in your back by your mid-thirties. And you're right, prevention is probably the best route. A lot of people who haven't been affected by carbs (or certain carbs) are either lucky or unlucky depending upon how you look at it. Some of us get fat. Some of us get serious, but maybe not life threatening diseases relatively young. Some of us end up with something more serious. You figuring out that a lowered carb diet is best for health is probably the luckiest route, because hopefully, you've avoided any serious problems.

Here is a good reason to not eat grains..


Do you know what happens when the intestinal wall is permeated?? You develop Leaky gut syndrome,where proteins,bacteria and gut flora enter the bloodstream setting off auto-immune responses in the body...Once the intestinal villi have been damaged they can never be healed..Every single time you eat grains,is like playing Russian Roulette with your body...But hey..What do I know huh?? Perhaps I'm completely wrong and all the research I've studied is wrong and the NIH,FDA and USDA have your best interest at heart by telling you to eat at least 5 servings of whole grains a day...

^^ This. Even though I have a gluten sensitivity, I still from time to time eat a little bit of wheat. Sometimes I feel the effects, sometimes I don't (depends really on how much I eat, though my tolerance isn't great anymore), and it never occurs to me until AFTER eating that I could develop leaky gut at any time.

Yuck.

[U]

You have articulated precisely the point at hand: I think two issues may have been confused!

(1) We were designed to digest naturally ocuring carbs (in veggies, fruits, legumes, potatoes, etc.)
---The processed stuff is BAD for us, no matter which way you cut it. ["Processed" refers not just to twinkies and ice cream, but most breads, cereals, crackers, rice, etc.]
---The rise of industry, fast foods, general availability of food, and grocery markets, have made us fat and sick! period.
---We were never meant to eat these natural items in the frequency or quantity that we consume them today. They would come with the seasons and the region!

(2) After being on LC and 'cheating' or going on maintenance, some people can tolerate some natural carbs. However, some people are EXTREMELY sensitive to any kind of sugar or gluten and the like (found in both natural and processed products). And they only discovered this by going LC and then going back to one or more offending foods.

Example: some LCers cannot eat natural fruits, because it makes their blood sugar rise too much This DOES cause problems with fatigue and stomach issues.

Furthermore, there are some theories that state we have these allergies/sensitivities because of our poor diets. In other words, eating the refined, highly processed crap (99% of foods from the grocery) has caused problems with insulin resistance and other food issues in the first place! Thus, destroying some people's ability to eat 'natural' carbs without problems.