Carbohydrates

For years, nutritionists have been studying every type of foods trying to come up with the solution to the America-is-fat issue.  First, they told us not to eat protein, because it was making us fat.  Then they told us to stay away from carbohydrates,  because they were the latest culprits for all the extra body fat.  Finally, they decided that we should stop eating fat. After all, they reasoned, it only made sense that since dietary fat was so easily converted to body fat, if you ate too much of it you were bound to get fat. Now, we are going to set the record straight: carbohydrates aren't making us fat, protein isn't making us fat, and fat isn't making us fat. Too much food is making us fat! If one more calorie is eaten that can be burned in a day, it won't matter if that calorie came in the form of a fat-free banana, or a chocolate milkshake. That extra calorie will be burned today, or be saved for tomorrow. Fat is nothing more than stored energy. Use it now or it will be saved for later.

When it comes to daily nutrition, first and foremost carbohydrates are required-they are the body's number-one preferred fuel sources. Most likely, it is because carbohydrates bring in valuable nutrients, which protein and fat do not. And carbohydrates are lots of fun to eat. Potatoes and bananas are my favorites.

It's important to know that carbohydrates need to be replaced often. Your body can go completely through its supply of glucose, or blood sugar, in a matter of hours. Glucose and fat are constantly being burned side by side throughout the day as fuel, so, if you want your body to burn off its fat storage, you better keep plenty of glucose available.

By now you may be asking yourself, "Why aren't our bodies designed to use up fat first, since we seem to have so much of it?" It's actually quite simple. Safety! Our bodies have been engineered to store up lots of extra fuel to enable them to get along without food for extended periods of time. All the extra body fat stored up is nothing more than protection. Your brain doesn't know how long you plan on depriving it of nutrients, but it does know that fat has nine calories per gram and protein and carbohydrates have only four. So, it tells the body to save as much high-octane fuel as it can-fat!

Your body will never be able to run itself completely out of fat unless there is enough glucose available to do so, and the only way to make more glucose is to take in more carbohydrates. This is one of the reasons that I have always suggested that we eat at least four to six servings of fruit or vegetables each day, spacing them out about every three to four hours.

Simple ways for getting 6 servings of carbohydrates a day

• Steam vegetables and spread them over rice.

• Serve pasta and stir-fry dishes as a great way to get lots of different vegetables.

• Add fresh fruit to your morning cereal or yogurt.

• Use legumes and vegetables as a soup base.

• Make a salad with a wide variety of fresh things like kale, lettuce greens, spinach, or watercress covered with fresh tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, or any other of your favorite vegetables.

Let's take a closer look at carbohydrate. A carbohydrate can come in many shapes and sizes. It's available in a variety of foods from fresh fruit to pasta. And no matter how a carbohydrate comes into your body, whether it is from a bowl of fruit or a plate of brown rice, your body won't know the difference. All your body knows is that it will need to turn that food into glucose to be used for energy. Now pay attention because how it becomes glucose is very important. If the food that you ate came into your body in the form of a simple sugar or simple carbohydrate (cake, candy, sugar), it will be converted into glucose too quickly, and will cause your blood sugar to go crazy. First, your blood sugar will shoot up, then it will drastically fall back down, making you feel tired and irritable and craving more sugar. This is the major problem with diabetics and hypoglycemics.

The more complex a carbohydrate, the higher satiety (ability to curb appetite) factor it has. Not only can a complex carbohydrate help to control your appetite, it can also help to stabilize blood sugar levels. By breaking down more slowly, complex carbohydrates allow time for the body's insulin to work more effectively.

Great sources of complex carbohydrates:

All whole grains and brown rice Peas, beans, lentils

Fresh vegetables Fresh and dried fruit

Whole-wheat pasta Artichokes

Avocados Sweet potatoes

Corn Yams & water chestnuts

Fruits are also a great source of carbohydrates, as they also bring in lots of fiber and vital nutrients. But fruits break down a little faster than vegetables, so they can elevate the body's insulin level. Plus, since they break down a little faster than vegetables, they need to be replaced more often. So, if your looking to curb your appetite for longer periods, you might want to stick to vegetables, which break down more slowly than fruits.

Watch out for the empty calories, such as those found in cakes, candy bars and soda pop. Since they contain no vital nutrients, we call them naked or empty calories. Calories that provide no nutritional value cannot be converted to energy very efficiently, so they will need to be stored until the body can steal vital nutrients from somewhere else. And where do you think those nutrients can be found? In our muscles! Extra nutrition is stored right in our muscles. So, if your body can't find nutrients anywhere else, it tears down muscle tissue to find them. Trust me, you don't want this to happen, especially if you are a person who is trying to shed a few extra pounds of fat.

Another way in which nutrients are lost or destroyed is through the practice of using chemicals and pesticides on our food, and through the processing of our food. This is why a good vitamin supplement can be helpful.

Some form of fresh fruit or vegetable need to be included in each and every meal you eat. Those foods are loaded with high quality nutrients, and should be eaten often. A recent study of citrus fruit indicated that it now takes as many as seven oranges to provide the equivalent vitamin content that one orange provided only ten years ago. Why? Because farmers get paid by the bushel, not by the nutrient value. They have a primary goal to produce more fruit, because more fruit means more money. Farmers aren't concerned that chemicals and pesticides used to make the tree yield more fruit are also responsible for destroying the nutritional value of the fruit.

For the most part, this is the same philosophy that applies to the entire food industry-more food at any cost! In the United States, not only are fields continually being sprayed with dangerous chemicals in an attempt to produce more crops, but also animals are being fed with substances such as steroids and other growth hormones so that they will grow larger, faster. As the next link on the food chain, human beings are consuming these harmful toxins, which I believe are destroying us. Professing to be wise, we have become fools!

According to the Nutritional Board of the National Academy of Sciences, we should eat at least four to six servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Not only can they help us lose weight, but they are an important source of fiber and contain virtually no fat. And because they are so rich in vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals, scientists also believe they contribute to the prevention of ailments such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

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