Low carb plans have helped people lose fat by reducing food reward from white flour and excess sugar and maybe linoleic acid. This is by accident as it happens that most of the “carbs” in our diet are coming in the form of manufactured and processed items that are simply not real food. Low carb does not work for most people via effects on blood sugar or insulin “locking away” fat. Insulin is necessary to store fat, but is not the main hormone regulating fat storage. That would be leptin.
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We are a highly adaptable species. It is not plausible that carbohydrates as a class of macronutrient are toxic.
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Here’s a one-page explanation and illustration of Jaminet’s program:http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=8
Several places in the book and on Jaminet’s blog (http://perfecthealthdiet.com) he specifically warns against the danger of a very low-carb diet (defined as less than about 300-400 calories per day (~100 grams) from so-called “safe starches”–taro, plantains, yams, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, white rice and berries) because less than this leads to the risks, including: 1) “insufficient production of mucus in the digestive tract” leading to dysbiosis
I have not looked into that claim enough to comment in detail, but it seems plausible.
2) vitamin deficiencies (he particularly mentions Vitamin C and glutathione
Yes I would agree with that. Whites and sweets are loaded with ascorbic acid.
on pages 253-254)In particular he emphasizes these calories need to come from “safe starches and berrries” and “don’t count vegetables as as a carb source (because) they are a fiber (and therefore a fat) source” (page 45).
My list is white potatoes, sweet potatoes, white rice and bananas. If more exotic fare like plantains and taro is available to you, that is fine, too. Except for white rice, these are all whole food starch sources with good mineral and micronutrient content that have been eaten in good health for thousands of years in many environments by genetically diverse populations. Many of these plants have spread far from their biomes of origin and serve as staples for populations who have adopted them with success over just the past few thousand years.
These starchy plant organs or vegetables are like night and day compared to most cereal grains, particularly wheat. One can eat more than half of calories from these safe starches without the risk of disease from phytates and mineral deficiencies one would have from relying on grains.
White rice is kind of a special case. It lacks the nutrients of root vegetables and starchy fruits like plantain and banana, but is good in reasonable quantities as it is a very benign grain that is easy to digest and gluten free.
I think consumption of quality animal products is the sine qua non of a healthy diet.
Once you have that, then eating starchy plants is more important for nutrition than eating colorful leafy greens – the veggies that are high fiber and low starch. (Some green leafy vegetables are good sources of folate and along with some fruits are sources of flavonoids that may benefit you via hormesis.)
I view most non-starchy fruit with indifference. In reasonable quantities it is fine but it won’t save your life either. I like citrus now and then myself, especially grapefruit. But better to rely on starchy vegetables for carbohydrate intake than fruit.
Kurt Harris on ‘safe starches‘
Safe staches
