August 2004

Everywhere you turn there is misinformation about how to avoid or flush out complex carbs. Every restaurant has Atkins Friendly options. Walk down the packaged food isles and it’s everywhere! Everywhere you turn someone is raving about how they lost 20 pounds in just days by avoiding complex carbs. So why not? After all isn’t it all about weight loss, isn’t it? Well, below I’m going to explain why this is not a good thing. And before you get mad at me: I’m not going to tell you not to lose weight, but rather how to lose weight and keep it off. When body fat percentage is reduced, health is ALWAYS improved, but many times when weight is lost it is not fat but rather lean, so…. read on.

If you are truly a person who would thrive on a high protein low carb diet (and that is only about 20% of our population), then your balance would be around 40-30-30. Meaning 40% complex carb, 30% protein, 30% fat. Now the average person claiming to be on such a diet is usually eating little to no quality complex carbs such as a potato or rice but rather is eating “low carb” over processed refined carbohydrates such as diet breads and pasta. They may even eliminate complex carbs altogether in the misguided notion that complex carbs are obtained through vegetables or fruit. These are fibrous and simple carbs and another story altogether. It is very difficult to convince someone who has just lost weight with a low carb diet that perhaps it was not a good weight loss, that even though the weight is off temporarily, that great damage has been done to the organs especially the kidneys and heart, also bone density and muscle mass has deteriorated. When you stop putting the carbs in you stop refilling glycogen stores. After a day or two, you’ve expended muscle glycogen and have not replaced it. Since glycogen attracts water, a reduction in glycogen storage results in muscle & bone water loss. (a few pounds are lost). Arthritis acts up more as the diet goes on. The brain feeds exclusively on glucose, and when you enter a state of glycogen depletion, you may initially have difficulty concentrating. Several days later, if you remain carb deprived, almost miraculously brain function improves. Dieters feel this is a good thing, you’re adapting, but this is your fight or flight system kicking in. The human body will make adjustments to survive, so you get a little more tired every day, your bone and muscle are being eaten away and therefore weight is lost but it is not fat weight.

To make the long story short, complex carbs are needed for quality of life, you can survive without them but: thinking power, energy levels, bone density, and a muscle strength will suffer greatly. Weight loss without health improvement is detrimental to your well being. Temporary so-called results do not help.

The medical community can keep us alive longer, but what is the quality of that life. We are responsible for our own well-being.

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