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Carbs have been demonized, just like fats used to be, but both are wrong. Fats are calorie-dense, which is their primary danger (ignoring trans-fats here). Si

Carbs have been demonized, just like fats used to be, but both are wrong. Fats are calorie-dense, which is their primary danger (ignoring trans-fats here). Simple carbs give you plenty of calories too, and basically nothing else. People are quick to demonize all carbs, but it's only really the simple ones that are dangerous. Whole carbs are generally fine in moderation, like everything else. A lot of people are looking for foods they can binge on, with no guilty conscience, but no such food exists. It's not black/white, good/bad.

alexkavon 9y ago
> "A lot of people are looking for foods they can binge on, with no guilty conscience, but no such food exists." Vegetables. Raw.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  Sure, but people want something satisfying, not 50lbs of kale. Especially not raw. I love veggies, but eating only raw veggies is absolute nonsense.
- kbutler 9y ago
  I was thinking that, too, but remember that feeding babies excess carrots actually changes skin color from the beta carotene, and then there are issues with gas and bloating from cruciferous vegetables.
dh89 9y ago
Raw fruit can be eaten in virtually any amount. It's incredibly difficult to overeat while plant foods - not so with animal products, since a 500 calorie piece of cheese fits in your hand and offers close to zero nutrition and satiation.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  >"a 500 calorie piece of cheese fits in your hand and offers close to zero nutrition and satiation." Nonsense, there's plenty of nutrition. Like you said, there's 500 calories, that's nutrition. There is also protein, calcium, vitamins (including B12) and other minerals. It's also very filling and satisfying, provided you eat good cheese, and not some "processed cheese product".
  - Turing_Machine 9y ago
    Also, raw fruit is chock full of simple sugars ("refined" has nothing to do with it, by the way).
- Shikadi 9y ago
  Cheese is probably one of the most satiating foods there is actually... Fat and protein keep you full.
Shikadi 9y ago
While true about whole carbs, a lot of people are mislead on what that means. A lot of whole grain cereal (such as multi-grain cheerios) is processed enough that you don't get any of the benefits of it being whole grain and it's digested like simple carbs. I remember reading something similar about whole grain pasta as well. My opinion based on what I know is that while complex carbs are fine in moderation, the average American consumes way more simple carbs than they should because carbs in general were pushed as the healthy alternative to the "heart killing" saturated fats.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  It's mostly due to the sugar (whether sucrose or HFCS) that is added to just about everything presented to the average customer in the US. Regarding whole grain pasta, as far as I know, it's fine and healthier than normal pasta. It just tends to smell and taste like a wet burlap sack.
  - Shikadi 9y ago
    The idea is that once whole grains are processed into flour, the surface area is increased enough to make the benefits much smaller than eating actually whole grains (like rice). A little more googling shows me that whole grain pasta is definitely better for you, (has more fiber and vitamins naturally, and digests a little slower). I also learned that pasta is actually significantly lower on the glycemic index than bread. I haven't been able to find any scientific papers on this, but the general idea is that when you grind whole grains into a flour, you digest them pretty much just as fast as white flour due to the increased surface area, so although whole grain pasta/bread is better, it's not as beneficial as eating actually whole grains like brown rice. A lot of nutritionists believe this to be true, but I made the mistake of assuming scientific papers were out there to back their reasoning. In the end, it seems like portion control is still the winner here, and that it is indeed better to eat whole grain pasta over white pasta.

alexkavon 9y ago

> "A lot of people are looking for foods they can binge on, with no guilty conscience, but no such food exists." Vegetables. Raw.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
Sure, but people want something satisfying, not 50lbs of kale. Especially not raw. I love veggies, but eating only raw veggies is absolute nonsense.
kbutler 9y ago
I was thinking that, too, but remember that feeding babies excess carrots actually changes skin color from the beta carotene, and then there are issues with gas and bloating from cruciferous vegetables.

dh89 9y ago

Raw fruit can be eaten in virtually any amount. It's incredibly difficult to overeat while plant foods - not so with animal products, since a 500 calorie piece of cheese fits in your hand and offers close to zero nutrition and satiation.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
>"a 500 calorie piece of cheese fits in your hand and offers close to zero nutrition and satiation." Nonsense, there's plenty of nutrition. Like you said, there's 500 calories, that's nutrition. There is also protein, calcium, vitamins (including B12) and other minerals. It's also very filling and satisfying, provided you eat good cheese, and not some "processed cheese product".
- Turing_Machine 9y ago
  Also, raw fruit is chock full of simple sugars ("refined" has nothing to do with it, by the way).
Shikadi 9y ago
Cheese is probably one of the most satiating foods there is actually... Fat and protein keep you full.

Shikadi 9y ago

While true about whole carbs, a lot of people are mislead on what that means. A lot of whole grain cereal (such as multi-grain cheerios) is processed enough that you don't get any of the benefits of it being whole grain and it's digested like simple carbs. I remember reading something similar about whole grain pasta as well. My opinion based on what I know is that while complex carbs are fine in moderation, the average American consumes way more simple carbs than they should because carbs in general were pushed as the healthy alternative to the "heart killing" saturated fats.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
It's mostly due to the sugar (whether sucrose or HFCS) that is added to just about everything presented to the average customer in the US. Regarding whole grain pasta, as far as I know, it's fine and healthier than normal pasta. It just tends to smell and taste like a wet burlap sack.
- Shikadi 9y ago
  The idea is that once whole grains are processed into flour, the surface area is increased enough to make the benefits much smaller than eating actually whole grains (like rice). A little more googling shows me that whole grain pasta is definitely better for you, (has more fiber and vitamins naturally, and digests a little slower). I also learned that pasta is actually significantly lower on the glycemic index than bread. I haven't been able to find any scientific papers on this, but the general idea is that when you grind whole grains into a flour, you digest them pretty much just as fast as white flour due to the increased surface area, so although whole grain pasta/bread is better, it's not as beneficial as eating actually whole grains like brown rice. A lot of nutritionists believe this to be true, but I made the mistake of assuming scientific papers were out there to back their reasoning. In the end, it seems like portion control is still the winner here, and that it is indeed better to eat whole grain pasta over white pasta.