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>That really does seem counter to the low-carb diets that seem to be all the rage among internet communities (also HN). Generally people discussing “low carb d

>That really does seem counter to the low-carb diets that seem to be all the rage among internet communities (also HN). Generally people discussing “low carb diets” really mean managing blood glucose/insulin spikes. So high glycemic carbs, refined sugars, refined carbs. Not all carbs are created equal when we talk about impacts on blood glucose and/or the liver.

52-6F-62 7y ago
This is true. It's likely that beside the rice and maize, most of their carbs come from vegetables. It's one of the reasons why high-performance diets are usually heavy on the broccoli!
- munk-a 7y ago
  Another absolutely killer carb in western diets comes out of refined flour which makes it into a ton of stuff. My wife is gluten-free currently for health reasons and we've experimented with using more raw starch sources to great success. Most of these flour based foods don't need to be super-refined bleached flour.
  - mcbits 7y ago
    Most "whole wheat" flour is literally the same refined flour from the same vat, but with some bran (fiber) and germ (nutrients) mixed back in. This could happen at the refinery shortly after refining, or weeks to months later using bran and germ sourced from a warehouse somewhere. Very unpredictable and not indicated anywhere on the label. What seems consistent is that both diets high in whole grains and high-fiber diets in general have some heart health benefits. My guess is that refined+enriched flour in a high-fiber meal is not much, if any, worse than whole flour in a medium- or low-fiber meal. Those pastries and chips between meals, on the other hand...
bigDICK 7y ago
Healthy people who are normal weight generally don't need to worry about blood glucose, insulin, liver, or anything else on the molecular level.
copperx 7y ago
Tangentially, there are two professors that swear by the idea of taking glucose readings soon after eating to know the impact of different foods in your diet. Theoretically, if you eat things that don't raise your glucose too much you can lose weight. It sounds logical, but I don't know if it's really useful if you're not diabetic. Edit: the book is called "The Personalized Diet."
- will_brown 7y ago
  I’d say all things being equal if you have the same person on two timelines and on both they over consume calories but on one they spike their insulin and the other they don’t, the time line with the insulin spikes will carry more fat/dangerous adipose tissue. Insulin acts as a hormone and tells the body to store calories as fat and simultaneously enlarges cells throughout the body, especially fat cells, allowing the body to store more fat than otherwise. It’s probably very useful to measure what spikes ones insulin so the individual can avoid those foods. For example I know whey, a protein powder with zero carbs/sugars will spike my insulin (because it knocks me out of ketosis). Probably not a bad idea for a body builder who wants to replinish their muscle glycogen stores after a hard workout, but not going to be necessary and over long term even harmful to someone who isn’t depleting their muscle glucose/glycogen stores. In fact protein that can’t be used is generally converted into glucose which when not used is store in fat cells.

52-6F-62 7y ago

This is true. It's likely that beside the rice and maize, most of their carbs come from vegetables. It's one of the reasons why high-performance diets are usually heavy on the broccoli!

munk-a 7y ago
Another absolutely killer carb in western diets comes out of refined flour which makes it into a ton of stuff. My wife is gluten-free currently for health reasons and we've experimented with using more raw starch sources to great success. Most of these flour based foods don't need to be super-refined bleached flour.
- mcbits 7y ago
  Most "whole wheat" flour is literally the same refined flour from the same vat, but with some bran (fiber) and germ (nutrients) mixed back in. This could happen at the refinery shortly after refining, or weeks to months later using bran and germ sourced from a warehouse somewhere. Very unpredictable and not indicated anywhere on the label. What seems consistent is that both diets high in whole grains and high-fiber diets in general have some heart health benefits. My guess is that refined+enriched flour in a high-fiber meal is not much, if any, worse than whole flour in a medium- or low-fiber meal. Those pastries and chips between meals, on the other hand...

bigDICK 7y ago

Healthy people who are normal weight generally don't need to worry about blood glucose, insulin, liver, or anything else on the molecular level.

copperx 7y ago

Tangentially, there are two professors that swear by the idea of taking glucose readings soon after eating to know the impact of different foods in your diet. Theoretically, if you eat things that don't raise your glucose too much you can lose weight. It sounds logical, but I don't know if it's really useful if you're not diabetic. Edit: the book is called "The Personalized Diet."

will_brown 7y ago
I’d say all things being equal if you have the same person on two timelines and on both they over consume calories but on one they spike their insulin and the other they don’t, the time line with the insulin spikes will carry more fat/dangerous adipose tissue. Insulin acts as a hormone and tells the body to store calories as fat and simultaneously enlarges cells throughout the body, especially fat cells, allowing the body to store more fat than otherwise. It’s probably very useful to measure what spikes ones insulin so the individual can avoid those foods. For example I know whey, a protein powder with zero carbs/sugars will spike my insulin (because it knocks me out of ketosis). Probably not a bad idea for a body builder who wants to replinish their muscle glycogen stores after a hard workout, but not going to be necessary and over long term even harmful to someone who isn’t depleting their muscle glucose/glycogen stores. In fact protein that can’t be used is generally converted into glucose which when not used is store in fat cells.