Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates—fiber, sugars, and starch—are the body’s preferred fuel. When we eat them, our bodies switch from burning fat to burning carbs. We can certainly gain weight from eating carbs, but it’s more from sparing our own fat from being used, rather than adding more fat directly.

When proponents of low-carb diets demonize carbohydrates, public health advocates are quick to point out that it’s the source that matters—carbohydrates can mean everything from lentils to lollipops. Though that’s true, the Standard American Diet sadly tends to lean more toward the lollipop end of the spectrum. We eat about three times as many calories from refined grains and added sugars as we do from all whole plant foods combined. So the problem identified by the low-carb proponents is real. We are awash in refined grain garbage, but the answer isn’t to switch to high-fad, high-fat diets but rather to low-crap ones.

What about a very-low-carb diet like an Atkins diet? There is no significant drop in insulin levels on very-low-carb diets. Instead, there is a significant rise in “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and a significant crippling of artery function, which helps explain why those eating more low-carb diets tend to live significantly shorter lives.

In contrast, in a study out of MIT, researchers increased the carbohydrate intake of participants by up to hundreds of grams a day, yet their insulin levels went down. How is that possible? The researchers weren’t feeding people jelly beans and sugar cookies; they fed them whole plant foods—lots of whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables.

Indeed, when researchers put people on a plant-based diet and a modest, mostly walking-based exercise program, within three weeks, their bad cholesterol dropped by 20 percent and their insulin levels plummeted by 30 percent, despite a 75 to 80 percent carbohydrate diet.

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