To a degree, yes. Dr. Robert Su, M.D., offers sound scientific advice as to why. His blog is a must read for those of you who think that carbs are fine so long as they are complex carbs. Not always.
Above is a typical vegan food pyramid. Looks so healthy right? How well we've been conditioned and decieved.
Virtually everything in this picture converts to sugar (glucose) after digestion. Those who follow this type of diet have chronically high blood sugar levels and may be on the fast track to type II diabetes, heart disease and other adverse health conditions associated with elevated blood sugar/insulin levels.
If you look closely, it even says "vital wheat gluten" on the box next to the Tofu box in the section second to the top. Vital? Far from being vital, gluten is virtually intolerable by all human being in one way or another. In fact, I'd go so far as to say no human being should ever eat it. And if you are one of the many who eat bread everyday without any outward signs of intolerance, don't be fooled. Inside your body there are some very unhappy things going on that might someday come to haunt.
On a low carb message board I frequent, one of the posters said the following in response to my suggesting to another poster that he should not cycle up carbs before and after his workouts:
Omgosh.. carbs do not cause one to gain fat.. EXTRA calories causn one to gain fat. Dont make people carbophobic!
I replied:
The body does not have a calorie sensor. Fat gain and loss is a hormonal issue, not a numbers issue. Carbohydrates raise insulin levels. Insulins primary job is to store fat and keep it locked in the fat cells. The more carbs one eats the more insulin is secreted and the greater the chance of storing more of the calories as fat. You do not want to go on a low calorie diet because low calorie is by default low nutrient. You want ample nutrients and to achieve this most of your food should be animal matter with some leafy-ish, cruciferous-ish, plant matter. Eating like this is very nutrient dense and keeps insulin levels low so that you can eat until you are satiated and if overfat, lose fat without ever thinking about a calorie. :cool: This is not my opinion. It is science and biochemistry.
She obviously isn't well read on the literature surrounding how unhealthy high blood sugar can be and obviously doesn't know that only carbs can raise blood sugar to abnormally high levels.
The stuff can indeed bad news if you eat too much of it - just like the USDA would like us to.
Carbs -just say no. Except sometimes.
