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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
Necro'd! I know...but I couldn't think of what else to do with this.....
In my random Internet wanderings, I was reading about the diet of chimpanzees. I've always been fascinated with them because humans and chimps share much of the same DNA. Anyway, a rhetorical question popped up in my head: Why don't chimpanzees go on low-carb diets?
/randomness
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In chimp's natural ecosphere the only possibility for a low-carb diet would be as a carnivore. Chimps are not strong enough or smart enough rhetorically to do that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
The low-fat, low-carb thing always irritated me. I think it's because I learned a lot about nutrition at a young age.
It's true that not all calories are created the same (protein, carbohydrate, fat), but a calorie is a calorie, and we need to consider our daily intake vs. daily usage, for sure....---This is why people need to educate themselves.
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Perhaps some of what you learned at a young age was incorrect... or has since been supplanted with new information.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
....The problem isn't the carbs. The human body needs carbs....
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With all due respect, this is simply not true. There is nothing that the human body needs that comes only from carbohydrate.
Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition?
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Foods high in carbohydrate include fruits, sweets, soft drinks, breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Carbohydrates are a common source of energy in living organisms, however, no carbohydrate is an essential nutrient in humans.
Carbohydrates are not necessary building blocks of other molecules, and the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats.[10][11]
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
Well, as they say, not all calories are equal.
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No they aren't. On your plate, a calorie is a calorie. In your body, not so much. Consider the thermic effect of different foods. Carbs, especially refined carbs, are, along with fats, much more easily digested than proteins. This thermic effect (the energy a food expends in digesting and assimilating itself) ranges from almost zero for fats, alcohol, and glucose to as much as 30% for proteins. That is one of the benefits of the high protein/controlled carb diet.
With thermic effect, a 1000 calorie bowl of ice cream (or white rice or potato) will net you about 965 calories. Assuming that you are running a caloric surplus, that's about 4.5 ounces of fat on your midsection. A 1000 calorie plate of lean steak will net you about 760 calories, or about 3.5 ounces on your belly. So much for all calories being equal.
Anyone who actually looks at those high protein/controlled carb diets knows that carbs are reduced mostly by eliminating refined carbs. White flour, rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, etc. and the various forms of sugar, including HFCS. No one is crusading against vegetables and fruit. High protein controlled carb diets are not bereft of vegetables and fruit, far from it. Drs. Atkins and Eades and the others strongly encourage consumption of leafy green and colored vegetables and fresh fruits.
Lindy
A high protein controlled carb foodie since February 2006
