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"we would do just fine with out carbs" - Intuition leads me to want to disagree with this. How would the body handle not having ANY fiber? I'm curious. Fiber

"we would do just fine with out carbs" - Intuition leads me to want to disagree with this. How would the body handle not having ANY fiber? I'm curious. Fiber helps digestion, feeds the happy parts of your internal biome, makes your colon happy, etc. I can't imagine that eliminating all carbs is good for your body.

fingerprinter 13y ago
When you up the fat, things flow very well in the colon front. Particularly if that fat is MCT based (coconut, mct oil).
thebrokencube 13y ago
Normally if you follow a low-carb diet, you get your fiber from greens. I believe the statement was targeted more towards carbs like bread, pasta, rice, etc.
- fingerprinter 13y ago
  Indeed.
  - encoderer 13y ago
    Ok, but that's not what you said? You say something bold and provocative and then start carving out exceptions buried downthread. As I said elsewhere in this discussion: "I feel like all the simple answers in nutrition are BS and the only short answer is 'it's complex.'"
    - fingerprinter 13y ago
      Ok, here it is. Technically, we don't need carbs. Whatever that means, it is what it is. Carbs are a non-essiential macronutrient. We need some vitamins, minerals and what not as well as protein and fat. We don't need carbs. Some of those vitamins and minerals come from plants, which have, as we say in the biz, trace carbs and fiber. When I'm cutting down for a photoshoot I go keto. I might not have a veggie for weeks. My bloods and panels all look fine. I mostly eat veggies b/c I feel bad for not eating them. I do take a multivit every day and I'm eating plenty of fat which helps the colon move things along. When I'm gaining muscle, I do eat carbs. Lots of carbs. But we don't need carbs.
      - DanBC 13y ago
        > But we don't need carbs. Do you have any science to back up this bold claim? And what are you claiming carbohydrates are? Simplex and complex carbohydrates - sugars and starches? It seems like you're saying that we don't need carbs, but that eating a diet with no carbs means we lose out on all those foods that have other useful nutrients (ie green vegetables). So, we tend to eat diets that have carbs to get the other benefits. Is that right?
bluthru 13y ago
Well this is an interesting result of marketing. Fruits and vegetables offer fiber. For example, dark greens offer 6.4g of fiber per serving while whole grains offer 2.4g.
- gph 13y ago
  I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Fruits and Vegetables are mostly carbs (except for the rare ones like avacados) just like whole grains. Presumably if you were to cut out all carbs they would be on the chopping block too.
  - maxerickson 13y ago
    Vegetables are mostly water. Lots of them provide more fiber than other carbs (and even more protein than digestible carbs). Pedantically you would have to cut them to eliminate carbs. On a practical basis, there isn't much reason to.
elchief 13y ago
Seems to work okay for the Inuit
- DanBC 13y ago
  Life expectancy in aboriginal populations is hard to measure. Modern populations have many complex factors affecting life expectancy, including cheap alcohol. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080123/dq080123d-eng.htm http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080123/dq080123d-en... http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/23/us-inuit-idUSN2362426520080123 http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/23/us-inuit-idUSN2362... I dunno, that doesn't sound okay.

fingerprinter 13y ago

When you up the fat, things flow very well in the colon front. Particularly if that fat is MCT based (coconut, mct oil).

thebrokencube 13y ago

Normally if you follow a low-carb diet, you get your fiber from greens. I believe the statement was targeted more towards carbs like bread, pasta, rice, etc.

fingerprinter 13y ago
Indeed.
- encoderer 13y ago
  Ok, but that's not what you said? You say something bold and provocative and then start carving out exceptions buried downthread. As I said elsewhere in this discussion: "I feel like all the simple answers in nutrition are BS and the only short answer is 'it's complex.'"
  - fingerprinter 13y ago
    Ok, here it is. Technically, we don't need carbs. Whatever that means, it is what it is. Carbs are a non-essiential macronutrient. We need some vitamins, minerals and what not as well as protein and fat. We don't need carbs. Some of those vitamins and minerals come from plants, which have, as we say in the biz, trace carbs and fiber. When I'm cutting down for a photoshoot I go keto. I might not have a veggie for weeks. My bloods and panels all look fine. I mostly eat veggies b/c I feel bad for not eating them. I do take a multivit every day and I'm eating plenty of fat which helps the colon move things along. When I'm gaining muscle, I do eat carbs. Lots of carbs. But we don't need carbs.
    - DanBC 13y ago
      > But we don't need carbs. Do you have any science to back up this bold claim? And what are you claiming carbohydrates are? Simplex and complex carbohydrates - sugars and starches? It seems like you're saying that we don't need carbs, but that eating a diet with no carbs means we lose out on all those foods that have other useful nutrients (ie green vegetables). So, we tend to eat diets that have carbs to get the other benefits. Is that right?

bluthru 13y ago

Well this is an interesting result of marketing. Fruits and vegetables offer fiber. For example, dark greens offer 6.4g of fiber per serving while whole grains offer 2.4g.

gph 13y ago
I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Fruits and Vegetables are mostly carbs (except for the rare ones like avacados) just like whole grains. Presumably if you were to cut out all carbs they would be on the chopping block too.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  Vegetables are mostly water. Lots of them provide more fiber than other carbs (and even more protein than digestible carbs). Pedantically you would have to cut them to eliminate carbs. On a practical basis, there isn't much reason to.

elchief 13y ago

Seems to work okay for the Inuit

DanBC 13y ago
Life expectancy in aboriginal populations is hard to measure. Modern populations have many complex factors affecting life expectancy, including cheap alcohol. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080123/dq080123d-eng.htm http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080123/dq080123d-en... http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/23/us-inuit-idUSN2362426520080123 http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/23/us-inuit-idUSN2362... I dunno, that doesn't sound okay.