LOW-CARB THE MOST APPROPRIATE FOOD FOR HUMAN SPECIES?

WHY LOW-CARB?

Today I would like to explain why the products I create are mainly low carb.

Since I was 9 years old I have had a strange relationship with food: I have always used it to appease “uncomfortable” emotions (sadness, anger, boredom, etc...). I have tried all possible and imaginable diets and since I am a very curious person in the process I have always studied a lot about nutrition.

I find it somewhat puzzling that even today there are such different positions on what is the optimal nutrition for human beings. For a lay person, such divergent positions by experts creates great confusion.

Therefore, I would like to share with you the reasoning that has led me to firmly believe that a low-carbohydrate diet is most appropriate for humankind.

WARNING: I am not a doctor, nutritionist or dietician. I am just a human being in search of an answer: what is the most appropriate nutrition for the human species? I also believe that those who produce food have a duty to ask whether their products are well structured for human beings.

FOREWORD: Our knowledge is constantly evolving along with our scientific discoveries, so I urge you to always keep an open mind.

Note: The numbers in parentheses (X) refer to the sources of the information given in the bibliography at the end of the article.

HOW WE ARE MADE

The human body is composed of (1)

62% water
16% fat (varies between men and women)
16% proteins
6% minerals
1% carbohydrates

So my reasoning is, if my body is composed of 1% of carbohydrates, why do the official guidelines recommend that our diet be composed of about 60% of carbohydrates? (2)

Often the answer I hear is “carbohydrates provide us with energy.” If this is the reason, then fats are an exponentially better energy source, in fact they provide us with more than twice as much energy as carbohydrates: 9 kcal per gram versus 4 kcal per gram for carbohydrates and protein.

In addition to being less energy-efficient than fats, carbohydrates have another huge problem: they are the macronutrients that raise blood sugar, or blood glucose concentration, more than any other. Protein and fats also raise blood sugar but significantly less than carbohydrates (fats raise it the least of all). (3)

CARBOHYDRATES = SUGARS

The reason why carbohydrates raise blood sugar is very simple: they are composed of one or more sugar molecules. In fact, they are also called carbohydrates, from the Greek glucos, meaning sweet.

Grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and sugars are considered carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are divided into SIMPLE and COMPLETE depending on how many sugar molecules make them up. The simpler they are, the faster they will be digested and thus the faster they will be absorbed into the bloodstream raising blood sugar.

To understand:

Simple carbohydrates are the various sugars: white, whole-wheat, coconut, date, agave, etc.
complex carbohydrates are grains and legumes

Fruits and vegetables are considered simple carbohydrates because they contain sugar molecules; however, they also contain fiber, which slows digestion and thus decreases the rate of sugar absorption.

But how, legumes are not protein??? No, foods are assigned to a certain macronutrient group (carbohydrate, protein, fat) based on the macronutrient present in % greater: legumes contain mainly carbohydrates (about 60%). Exceptions are soybeans, which contain only 30% of carbohydrates, and peanuts, which contain only 25% of carbohydrates. This information will probably surprise even you, but it is indeed true: peanuts are legumes (4) And in fact they grow in a pod.

INSULIN

When blood glucose concentration is too high, our body produces insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin takes the excess glucose in our blood and stores it as glycogen.

Glycogen represents our glucose stores. It is found in the liver and muscles, and we have stores for about 2,000 calories (a woman's daily energy requirement).

If glycogen stores are full, insulin has only one other place to put glucose: triglycerides, or body fat.

INSULIN RESISTANCE

When our body repeatedly keeps producing insulin, our cells can become insulin-resistant, that is, no longer respond effectively to the message carried by insulin. This means that the pancreas will have to produce more insulin to remove excess glucose. In the long run, this overwork will wear down the pancreas, which will stop producing insulin and we will become diabetic.

Insulin resistance is already present 10 to 15 years before we develop diabetes. If we catch it in time, a simple change in lifestyle (5) Could prevent us from becoming diabetic:

Calorie restriction (very often insulin resistance is also associated with excess body fat)
low-carbohydrate diet
physical activity

OUR HEALTH

Each year, the American Diabetes Association publishes a Banting Lecture where a diabetes expert presents on a relevant topic.

In 1988 the topic was “the role of insulin resistance in human disease” where Gerald Reaven, endocrinologist and professor emeritus at Stanford University, proposed his theory: insulin resistance is the common cause of obesity, diabetes and hypertension(6)

Fun fact: From this lecture by Professor Reaven was born in later years the term
“metabolic syndrome.”.

Today, more and more researchers believe that insulin resistance is the cause of many more diseases(7)

Hypertension and thus cardiovascular disease
Neurological diseases
Infertility
Tumors
Aging
Nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis (fatty liver)
Metabolic syndrome
Kidney failure
Obesity
Diabetes
Inflammation

Unfortunately, however, even today (it's been 33 years!!!) for doctors public enemy number one is cholesterol... when in fact fixing insulin resistance would improve so many aspects related to our health, even atherosclerotic plaques.

REFLECTION

During the live broadcast on PNEI and the role of stress in our health, Dr. Davide Gottardiello, talking about the ketogenic diet, made a very interesting observation, “Have you ever wondered why our body has 7 hormones that raise blood sugar (glucagon, GH, cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, adrenaline, thyroxine (8)) and only one hormone that lowers it (insulin)?”

Since our bodies are the result of millions of years of evolution (the genus Homo has existed for about 2.5 million years (9)) the answer that comes to me is: probably our body was more often in the condition of having to raise blood sugar than lower it.

And this reflection has only strengthened my belief that a low-carb diet is best suited for human beings.

Also because agriculture, and therefore the consumption of grains and legumes, came into being only 10,000 years ago. So for 99.6% of our evolution (genus Homo) we have not eaten either (if we consider only our species Homo Sapiens then we have not eaten grains and legumes for 96% of our evolution).

SLIMMING

Very last point: I guess you have realized that as you get older you gain weight more easily. This, too, is due to insulin resistance created by a diet too high in carbohydrates.

It is not written in our genes that as we age we are destined to gain weight. Do you want an example? Go see photos of the few remaining hunter gatherer peoples: old people are not fat!!!

We tend to gain weight simply because our diet sends our pancreas into overdrive, which produces too much insulin, and insulin is a hormone that promotes fat storage.Want proof? Insulin lipodystrophy: a buildup of fatty tissue in the areas where we inject insulin.

ICING ON THE CAKE

Let's find out the many benefits of a low-carb diet:

Sense of satiety and reduced appetite(10)
Abdominal fat reduction(11)
Reduction in blood triglycerides(12,13)
Increased HDL cholesterol(14,15,16)
Reduced blood glucose and insulin levels(17,18)
Reduced blood pressure(19,20)
Improved metabolic syndrome(21,22)
Decrease in small and dense LDL cholesterol(23)

These are the benefits reported by studies; it is not certain that everyone experiences them all because we are all different and therefore our bodies react differently.

Let's close on a high note with a nice cherry on top: low carb regimens allow you to lose more weight than low fat regimens (24).

A great way to try low-carb eating is Holistica, Claudia's project @vitalybio. Each season Claudia offers a 3-week course with a low-carb menu compiled by Dr. Manuela Rigo. For more information on when the next Holistic will begin and how to get involved, follow Claudia on Instagram or sign up for his newsletter.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY