I am kicking myself for not saving a study I read a few weeks ago. It was about a tribe of people from some country... can't remember where. But these people never eat carbs. No plants, nothing. They hunt and eat meat only. They have virtually no heart disease, no diabetes, no obesity, none of it. This is why they permitted doctors to study them.
We need to be careful not to draw the wrong conclusions from such research. Their lack of those diseases isn't necessarily because of their diet. There could be something in their genetic makeup or something else about their lifestyle, or a combination of factors that cause that result.
We don't know that this result would occur for everyone if they never ate carbs.
With all due respect, I think carbs are essential for optimum health! Fruits and vegetables, which are of course,carbs, should be the foundation of a healthy diet. They are loaded with vitamins, antioxidents, phytonutrients etc, that are essential for good health. Legumes are bursting with good things! I think the key is balance..having a good balance of good lean protein, healthy fats and healthy non processed carbs.
Last edited by morecowbell; 03-25-2011 at 10:10 PM.
Well, my point is that carbs are not essential for health. Besides, considering diet is key for health, they are healthier than us.
But there have been other studies on other tribes that eat lots of carbs and have the same results. I recently read a study about peruvians that eat mostly potatoes (70% of their calories come from potatoes). They have no heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.
Also Born to Run is a great book that again talks about a culture where plenty of carbs are eating but disease is uncommon. The one thing they do engage in is exercise and lots of it.
So it seems that it isn't carbs so it must be something else. Personally, I think eating whole foods, limited processed foods and plenty of exercise seems to be the difference.
And I agree with you. But it would appear we are both wrong, it isn't carbs keeping us healthy. It is something different.
Its not that 'carbs are keeping us healthy', it is that carbs aren't making us unhealthy. Our bodies primary energy source is glucose which comes from carbs. Our bodies are highly adaptable which means we can use fat and protein for energy but can only store fat (and small amounts of glucose). There are certain nutrients that your body needs that only comes from plants (such as vitamin C) so you can suffer from some forms of malnutrition by not eating some plants (which do contain carbs but its the nutrients we need).
So just 'carbs' aren't making us unhealthy, something we are not doing or doing is affecting us adversely in the development of various diseases. I personally think lack of exercise is one of those things. I also think highly processed foods are also to blame.
Every fruit and vegetable is in the carb group. They contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are not found in other types of foods. Eliminate or reduce too much and you'll eventually pay the price. In that respect, "carbs" will never be bad
The article specifically targets sugar and refined grains.
I don't think all carbs are bad, it is the simple carbs that give everyone grief. We all need some complex carbs. Carbs are the easiest thing for our body to process - and the excess goes to fat storage. Protein and Fat require more processing by the body so burn more calories for that before there is anything to store.
I bet that tribe did not have TV ~ Computer Games ~ pesticides ~ smog ~ cigarettes ~ alcohol ~ microwave food ~ preservatives ~ cars.....
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Originally Posted by WASaBubbleButt
Nope, I'm sure they don't. But they also don't have carbs and they are still doing better than us.
Not that anybody cares but what I was trying to point out WASaBubbleButt is that they probably don't have all the other things that we have and use that potentially harm us
How do they not get scurvy and other nutrient deficiencies from nutrients found only in plants?
Some of the nutrients we think of as "found only in plants" really aren't. Sea mammal blubber (fat from whale and seals), is reported to be exceptionally high in Vitamin C (with more vitamin C per kilo than oranges).
In the modern SAD (standard american diet) many of the nutrients we can get "only from plants" can come from other sources, but they're sources we're not normally willing to eat (insects, organ meats, blood, skin, bones...).
The meat-eating people referred to in the reference study were Inuit people (Eskimos) of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska and while their traditional diet is "almost exclusively animal protein," that almost is very important, because they do eat some plant foods, just not many and not all year round. Blueberries and related berries for example are very high in Vitamin C (which is the nutrient that prevents scurvy), and the Inuit do eat berries when they're available (often mixed with seal blubber (also high in vitamin C) to create a traditional treat akutaq, called Eskimo ice cream).
The Inuit also used plants medicinally, for example brewing a tea or tonic from stinkweed.
Neanderthin and other ancestor and "primal" diets often quote the research of these people as well as other aboriginal hunter/gathering people who eat very little plant food (or at least receive very few calories from plant foods, but use plants as seasonings and medications)
Exercise is also a variable too often left out of the equation. Hunting and hunting/gethering cultures generally require quite a lot of movement (and physical games are very popular in traditional Inuit culture).
Some of the nutrients we think of as "found only in plants" really aren't. Sea mammal blubber (fat from whale and seals), is reported to be exceptionally high in Vitamin C (with more vitamin C per kilo than oranges).
The opposite is also true in that people associate certain nutrients to meat those nutrients are also found in plants. My mind immediately jumped to scurvy as it was a common disease hundreds of years ago with sailors and pirates who went for long periods of time without access to plants.
I also am aware of the studies on the Inuit and although their plant sources are limited I remember reading that their diet wasn't just meat.
