“BAD” Carbs Can Stop the Weight Loss of the HCG Diet

Our bodies react badly to high levels of blood sugar. High levels of blood sugar injure blood vessels, the retina of the eye, as well as the nerves in our arms and legs. Since carbs are used for energy before fat and protein, increasing daily activities and metabolism might be a good way to lower blood sugar to normal levels. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to change our metabolism enough to make a difference and it’s very difficult to coordinate the timing of blood sugar spikes with physical activity.

How Carbs Turn to Fat

The figure below shows how our bodies handle carbs. In this figure, the white ovals represent carbs changed into sugar in the stomach and rapidly absorbed into the blood. The sugar travels to the brain, where it triggers sensations of comfort and pleasure, and to the muscles, where it provides energy. Extra sugar, when not used, is converted to fat by insulin; this fat is stored around the belly. Fat accumulation around the belly is due to sugar turning fat — it is notcaused by fat turning to fat. Our bodies react badly to high levels of blood sugar. High levels of blood sugar injure blood vessels, the retina of the eye, as well as the nerves in our arms and legs. Since carbs are used for energy before fat and protein, increasing daily activities and metabolism might be a good way to lower blood sugar to normal levels. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to change our metabolism enough to make a difference and it’s very difficult to coordinate the timing of blood sugar spikes with physical activity.

Carbs Turn to Sugar

How Carbs Cause Cravings and What You Can Do

Cravings are intensive feeling for certain types of foods, usually salty ones or sweet ones. Eating these foods produces pleasurable feelings. Here is how it all happens.

Carbs Turn to Fat

Many carbs cause pleasure by producing serotonin and other proteomes

In our brains “bad” carbs and salty foods attach to receptors in the brain. Activation of these receptors releases numerous pleasure giving chemicals into the body which produce pleasure, calmness, contentment and energy. The is the same type of mechanism seen in alcohol and drug addiction and may help explain why controlling carbs and some pleasure producing foods is so difficult for almost everyone.

Good CARBS Do Not Cause Hunger or Quickly Turn to Fat — They Satisfy Cravings & Give Pleasure. Have 4 or 5 a Day!

You have seen how the “bad Carbs” can cause pleasure and calmness. produce many pleasurable feelings in the brain and then hunger and turn to fat. Here you will see that there are numerous “good Carbs” that do not have the same effect on blood sugar. These carbs include natural products as whole grains, most fruits and vegetables, and many prepared food products often sweetened with splenda or aspartame. When eaten these carbs are not rapidly converted to sugar in the stomach. The sugars in whole grains, fruits and vegetables are surrounded and encased in fibers which results in a much slower release of sugar into the blood. When released slowly over hours instead of seconds the body is able to utilize the sugar for metabolism and activities.

Good vs. Bad Carbs

How We Can Quickly Pick the “Good Carbs”: Glycemic Index & Net CARBS:

Now that you have seen the significant difference between the “good carbs” and the bad ones how can you quickly pick the good ones from the bad ones? The glycemic index was developed in Canada in the 1970’s as a way to select the “good Carbs.” Numerical values are to each carbohydrate depending upon how high the blood sugar rises after ingesting them. When the blood sugar rise is equal to the sugar rise seen with eating pure white sugar the food is given an index of 100%. Foods with high glycemic indices behave like sugar are between 70-100%. Foods that do not affect blood sugar have glycemic indices less than 55%. These are the “good carbs.” I find this a fairly useful system for avoiding foods that cause hunger and turn to fat. Below a few common foods and their glycemic index.

The Glycemic Index Shows the Best “Natural Products”

Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index: Good vs. Bad Carbs

The glycemic index is helpful in selecting the best of the naturally occurring foods such as fruits, vegetables and some grains. It is not very helpful in the packaged foods that are prepared from multiple ingredients like many of the prepared foods we eat today.

To identify “good carbs” in packaged, prepared food with multiple ingredients reading the food label is of help. Dr Atkins made popular several years ago the concept of “net Carbs”. Although not full proof it is another useful way to predict which foods will quickly raise blood sugar and thus cause hunger and turn to fat. The net Carbs are the little numbers one sees on the containers of many foods. Net carbs are total carbs less fiber and sugar alcohols. When these are less than 10 you have a good product.

« Previous Article
Next Article »

Leave a Comment