Pete McVries said:
May I ask what you mean by zero carb? Like no sugary or white wheat products anymore or zero carbs in general, meaning you do not even eat vegetables anymore (which consist mostly of carbs)? Not to be a smart ass but I think zero carb is virtually impossible. And I think carbs in general are not bad per se. Polysaccharides take time to digest and therefore give you a lasting energy supply and are not bad like sugar (monosaccharides). I totally agree though, that the western carb diet is problematic in many cases. Personally, I was on a low carb diet for a while to lose weight. It was highly effective, I didn't have to starve myself to consistently lose weight and moreover my skin got really clean and clear. I was really astonished about this because I never had any problems with pimples or a 'dirty' skin but even in my case I could make out a distinct change for the better.
Ok, yes, zero carbs is practically impossible. What I meant was reducing carbs to the absolute minimum whilst still meeting your nutritional needs. In the past, low carb meant something like 15-20% carbs total. But now that has been revised as far too high for people with type 2 diabetes, or people carrying immovable weight, or people with metabolic syndrome. I'll have to disagree with you that polysaccharides are a desirable energy source. Whilst they are preferable to simple sugars, they still result in high insulin response, which is the cause of a lot of problems with metabolism and chronic disease. Evolutionally, humans were never designed to run principally on carbs as an energy source - that's an invention of modern marketing. More on that below.
I don't eat any unnecessary carbs now. For me, that results in having no more than 2-3% carbs - and the main point of emphasis here is that I don't chase carbs at all as an energy source. Most people, whether they are aware of it or not, are metabolically compromised because they rely entirely on carbs as their source of energy. If your carbs are above 40% you will be running very high levels of insulin in the blood most of the time (except when you sleep). This means your body never turns off its fat storage mode and you don't burn body fat. It also means, for most people, you will develop insulin resistance over time, and it will progressively worsen as you age. Insulin resistance is the main reason people develop weight problems, like the large belly, in their middle age and older. It's more significant than ideas around slowing metabolism with age. Carbs are a trap - they lead you into a lifetime of struggle with energy and metabolism.
We were all sold a lemon with the "healthy food pyramid" - it's literally responsible for the obesity epidemic the world is facing. Cardiovascular disease is not a result of fat consumption and cholesterol - it's because of high carb diets. Anthropologically, we weren't heavy carb eaters - carbs were fairly hard to come by until later developments in farming. Our ideas around what constitutes good food come more from farming and industry (and medical authorities bought and paid for by same), rather than studies proving what is healthier. Carbs in nature have always been a scarcity, rather than a constant supply. They were great when we could get them, and our body knows how to use them, but we were never supposed to be gorging on them all day everyday. What we see in supermarkets now, with all the highly abundant fruit, sugar and processed grains, is a total anomaly compared to what our bodies require. The carbs in nature are not highly calorific, and they come with plenty of fibre, that's why people who eat veggies like cruciferous greens, mushrooms, etc have no problems, but people who eats lots of potatoes, pumpkin etc, don't fare so well. It's all about the insulin response. We simply aren't supposed to be living with such high insulin levels in our bodies. Hyperinsulinaemia, and the resultant insulin resistance that follows, is the biggest cause of chronic disease, and cancer. It provides the perfect breeding ground for maladaptive processes in the body. It's a crying shame that fat was demonised the way it was, when carbs were the problem all along.
Another thing to note is that the problem with carbs is not just for overweight people. There are countless skinny people with metabolic syndrome which results in them being apparently thin, but having fatty livers and fat surrounding internal organs. They are known as "skinny-fat people". These people have significant insulin levels and insulin resistance, despite carrying little apparent weight. But the outcome for these people is just as bad as for morbidly obese people. They carry the same risk for heart-attack and stroke as obese people. These are some of the most problematic cases because they think they are healthy and they don't even find out that they are diabetic/prediabetic until something goes seriously wrong with their health. The cause of skinny/fat people? Carb-heavy diets.
Regarding cancer and disease. The reason we need to get our carbs down is because when they are high, the body is so busy dealing with them, it rarely properly engages a process called "autophagy", which is a our bodies main defence against mutated cell components which cause things like cancer and metabolic syndrome. By eating less carbs, and by having periods of fasting, we engage the autophagic response which involves the body digesting and recycling these damaged cell components before they turn into cancer. It also results in obvious changes in the body like clearing of the skin when on a low-carb diet.
I could go on and on about this, but I'm sure you've had enough, so I'll leave it there.