>> glucose is required for normal brain and muscle function <<
yes, you've said that already.
>> you can either feed them to your body or you can withhold them so your body has to then go through a whole lot of inefficient process to create the glucose. <<
first of all everyone eats some level of carbohydrates. it's nearly impossible to avoid carbs completely. so usually you can fuel certain parts of your brain and other organs that require glucose. don't forget your brain can utilize ketones for energy as well, and dr atkins argues that your brain even prefers ketones over glucose. second of all there is nothing wrong with your body constructing glucose from protein, just as long as you are ingesting enough protein so it is coming from your diet and not your tissues. obviously that's not a problem on a low-carb diet like atkins. all this talk about inefficiency is nonsense. obviously americans eat so much garbage loaded with calories that what you call inefficienct is not a bad thing. i would argue that using ketones as fuel is most optimal and efficient if you have fuel sitting right there in your gas tank (i.e. fat stored on your body). when you use glucose as the primary fuel, since your body can only store a couple thousand calories worth of it as glycogen, you constantly have to refuel that tank. i would prefer to switch over to my more efficient diesel engine which has a fuel tank (your adipose tissue) full of fuel.
>> carbos aren't bad, too many carbos are. <<
the problem is you fail to differentiate between the various carbs. not all carbs are the same. pasta is a junk food with practically no nutritional value. in fact it has so little nutritional value that the government forces pasta makers to enrich it by coating it with vitamins. same for flour that is used in most breads. all the fiber, vitamins, & minerals are stripped away so they have to be added back in by enriching it.
i will concede that some carbs are not bad if you will concede that most carbs found in your local grocery store are. most carbs have been totally stripped of their fiber content and then used in processed food. even bread sitting on the shelf that says "wheat" is usually junk.
>> saturated fat isn't bad, too much appears to be bad. <<
you never have countered the overwhelming evidence i have presented, such as the fact that saturated fat consumption has declined in the last few decades yet cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic ailments are on the rise. obviously the 27-28% increase in sugar/carb consumption and the overwhelming use of hydrogenated fats in the last several decades has more to do with these problems than saturated fat. a couple hundred years ago people cooked with lard all the time. they used far more butter than we do today. the french and swiss eat more fat and more saturated fat than we do, yet have far fewer cardiovascular and diabetes cases than we do. of course they also eat a fraction of the sugar we do.
so perhaps you should concede that america is obsessed with saturated fat and cholesterol and totally glossing over the real issue, which is refined carbohydrate intake.
>> cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol is required to sustain life!) isn't bad, too much is bad. <<
i notice you didn't specify whether too much cholesterol in your food is bad, or too much cholesterol in your blood is bad. that is where most people fail to grasp the truth. the truth is, your liver generates anywhere from 80-95% of the cholesterol in your body regardless of dietary intake of cholesterol (statistics i have read vary). the simple truth is, cholesterol in your blood has nothing to do with cholesterol in your diet, and everything to do with sugar in your diet. do you know what hormone calls your liver into action to start producing cholesterol? insulin! what triggers abnormal levels of insulin? excessive carbohydrates, especially refined ones. pasta, bagels, bread, rolls, potatoes, rice, & sugary fruits like bananas included.
>> moderation is key. <<
moderation is a useful tool for people who lack the knowledge needed to decide the proper thing to do. i'm not sure exactly the right way to eat, so i better just eat a little of everything or not too much of anything and i will cover all my bases. of course my diet is self-regulating in the moderation department. i eat nutritionally dense food that my body requires so it does not cry out every few hours for more food, which is just a way of saying it needs more nutrients. people who eat lots of sugars, grains, & starches are hungry all the time because the food they are ingesting lacks nutrients. not only does it lack nutrients, it robs your body of nutrients. when you eat sugar your body is called into action to metabolize that sugar instantly as it hits your bloodstream very fast. of course there are no nutrients in sugar, so your body has to deplete your vitamin and mineral stores to metabolize the sugar and shuttle it off to your cells. so sugar is the ultimate anti-nutrient. contrast this with the fat and protein in my diet which is essential to life. that is why when i eat a diet contain healthy fats including muf and sfa's, protein to supply essential amino acids, and vitamins and minerals to carry-out all the metabolic processes in my body, my body is far quicker to tell me i have all the essentials to run properly thank you very much. therefore it signals me to stop eating. hence i do not overeat and gain weight. when people who eat sugar/empty carbs get hungry a few hours later, your body is signaling for you that it didn't get the vital nutrients it requires to function properly. it is crying out for you to eat, hoping that this time you will eat some nutritious food with efa's, essential aminos, vitamins, minerals etc. of course many people just feed themselves more junk, so their body keeps crying out for food until you eat enough to give it the nutrients it requires. that is why people on the sugar/carb train are always hungry and require food every few hours. that is why they have unstoppable cravings and they are the true victims of gluttony. people that follow my kind of diet don't have this problem and so you really need to get off this notion that eating lots of meat or fat will lead to gluttony. it does the exact opposite.
>> btw, where is your data that PROVES folks are healthier, feel better and lose weight faster when compared to the zone? you have none? ha ha ha ha! ;-) <<
i told you, i'm not in the business of advertising for dr atkins. you can search the web or his website for just as many testimonials and just as much evidence as the zone. i advocate eating a low-carb, what most people would call a high protein, high fat diet. it just so happens that dr atkins is one of the pioneers in advocating this type of eating style, so it's only natural that i will refer to him a lot. i'm not in the business of proselytizing for his sake. it's the principals that matter. the same goes for pat buchanan or alan keyes. i'm not in the business of trying to get them elected to office (which will never happen), it's the principles i care about. it just so happen those two individuals are well known examples of people who share my ideals.
it isn't about the zone vs dr atkins. it's about trying to find the proper way to eat. i just happen to think that dr atkins has more insight on the proper way to eat than dr sears does. |
