Download carbohydrate “fitness”

Margot Watson
BSC. Dip Nutrition,
Registered Member CNA,
Certified HPN Practitioner,
[email protected]:
www.nkh.co.nz
Mob 021 756 844
CARBOHYDRATE “FITNESS”
At a cellular level we basically have the same human body as our ancestors that is to say that the majority
of human evolution occurred when we ate a low carbohydrate diet !!
So is the ability for us to tolerate the high processed carbohydrate diet a normal adaptive process?
ExcessiveprocessedcarbohydrateandsugaristhecornerstoneoftheSADdiet,(westerndiet)!!
Wehaveallbeenencouragedtoconsumemassiveamountsofcarbohydrateattheexpenseofothervital
nutrients(particularlyfatandvaluablemicronutrients).
HOWEVERWENEEDTOFEEDTHEBODYTHERIGHTCARBOHYDRATEStosupportandsustaindailyactivities.
Itisimportanttonotethatthebody’scapacityforstoringglucose(glycogen)islimited.
WecanonlystoreasmallamountofCHOasglycogen.
Sufficetosaythisisacomplexsystem.InanutshellOURFATSGETLOCKEDAWAYanditisincreasingly
difficulttoaccessfatsforenergy.Webecome“sugarburners”asopposedto“fatburners”(thatisawhole
otherstory)!!
AccordingtoWHO’sguidelinesin2013,theaverageNewZealanderwouldneedtocuttheirdailysugar
intaketoasixthofwhatitisnow.Thistranslatestototaldailyintakefortheaverageadultofaboutsix
teaspoons–or25grams–ofsugarperday.
NewZealanders,onaverage,consumeabout54kilogramsofsugarperyear.Thatisequivalentto37
teaspoonsofsugarperpersonperday.
Manypeopledonotrealisehowmuchsugaris"hidden"inprocessedfoods.
Acanoffizzydrink(355millilitres)couldcontainupto10teaspoons,or40grams,ofsugar.
Manysocalledhealthyfruitjuicescancontainupto14tspsugar.
Somemueslibarshavetheequivalentofupto4tspofsugarina40gmserve!
Atablespoonoftomatosauceoneteaspoonofsugar.
Asdomanycondimentslikerelishesanddressings.Sweetchillisaucecontains10gmssugarfor3tspof
sauce.Roughlythatisoveratspofsugar/tspofsauce.
SowhenwedotheMath:thisdailyintakecanrepresentuptokiloaweekeachfortheaverageNew
Zealander.
Sonotsurprisingthatwearedevelopingintoapopulationconsumedbychronicdiseaseslikediabetes.
Belowaresomealternativestotablesugar.Thesealternativesprovideyourbodywithvaluable
micronutrients.
• Fruitisnotonlysweetbutalsosuppliesvitalmicronutrivitamins,minerals,antioxidantsandsome
fibre.
• Driedfruitishighinnaturalsugarsandisagoodsnackalongwithsomenutstohelpregulateblood
sugarlevels.
• Honey,preferablyrawasithasn’thaditsenzymesdestroyedandhoneycontains1/2ofallknown
aminoacids,BVitaminsandVitamins,C,D&E.Honeycontainsbothfructoseandglucosebuthasa
lessdramaticeffectonbloodsugarlevelsthancanesugar.
• Maplesyrup(goodquality,notmapleflavouredsyrup)containsmineralsandisagoodsubstitutefor
sugarinbaking.
• SteviaissweetenerthatisderivedfromtheplantSteviarebaudianafromSouthAmerica.Availablein
powder,granulesorliquidfromhealthfoodstores.Thestevialeafcontainsiron,phosphorous,
calcium,magnesiumandzinc.Itcontainsnocaloriesandhaslittleimpactonbloodsugarlevels.a
betteroptionthanwhitesugarwhichismadeof99%sucrose.
• Agavesyrupfromtheagaveplantisgoodalternativetooandisavailableathealthfoodstores.It
containssomecalcium,potassium,magnesiumandironandhasalowerGlycemicIndex.
• Usetheflavoursthathaveanaturaltendencytoenhancesweetnesssuchasvanilla,cinnamon,
cardamom,coconutetc.
ITALLCOMESBACKTOBLOODSUGARREGULATIONBEINGTHEKEYFOROPTIMALHEALTH
APPROPRIATECARBOHYDRATESUGGESTIONS
§ EatwholegrainsourcesratherthanrefinedsourcesegOats,millet,barley,quinoa,buckwheat,bulgur
wheat:soakgrainsovernighttomaximiseenzymaticpotentialoffood.TryBirchermuesli:porridge.
§ IncorporateproteinandfatwithyourCARBOHYDRATEtoslowdownthepassageoffoodthroughthe
gutavoidingbloodsugarspikingandinsulinspiking.
§ Minimiserefinedbreakfastcerealsastheyallcontainloadsofrefinedsugar.(oftenthemain
ingredient)
§ ChoosewholegraindensebreadsasthecoarserthegrainthelowertheGI/GL
§ Includesolublefibreindietforeg,prunes,mangoes,linseed,legumes,oatbran,barley,cookedapple
andmushrooms.Thesefoodsamongtheirmanybenefitsslowdownthepassageoffoodthroughthe
digestivesystemregulatingbloodsugarlevels.Theseparticularfoodsalsofeedthegoodbacteriain
yourguthelpingwithgutwallintegrityandyouroverallimmunity.
§ Incorporatemorerawfoodintodietasfruits,vegetables,nutsandseedsaddcoarsertexture
SLOWINGDOWNPASSAGEOFFOODloweringGIandGLoffood.
§ Tryandminimiseprocessedpackagedfood,biscuits,pastriesandsweetsastheyareloadedwith
sugar:andhavefinesmoothtexturesthatdigestmorerapidlyleadingtospikingofBSLandinsulin.
§ Minimisefactorsthatstimulatebloodsugarspikingandtaxtheliver!–ALCOHOL,coffee,teas,
artificialsweeteners,gumbreathfreshenersandthebigculpritENERGYDRINKS!Fruitandcoconut
waterareamuchbetteroption.
§ Noteartificialsweeteners(1500sweeterthansugar)canproduceaninsulinresponse!becausethey
aresweeterindividualsgetusedtosweetnessandcravemore.
§ ImportanttonotskipmealsasyouwanttoavoidBSlowsandthenreachingforahighGIfoodsource
spikingBSL.
§ Converselyifyoucontinueeatingforoveranhourasecondwaveofinsulinisreleased.
For additional information on carbohydrate fitness please visit my website http://www.nkh.co.nz