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or several million years, humans existed on a diet of animals and vegetation.
It was only with the advent of agriculture a mere 10,000 years ago - a fraction
of a second in evolutionary time - that humans began ingesting large amounts
of sugar and starch in the form of grains (and potatoes) into their diets.
Indeed, 99.99% of our genes were formed before the advent of agriculture;
in biological terms, our bodies are still those of hunter-gatherers.
While the human shift to agriculture produced indisputable gains for
man - modern civilization is based on this epoch - societies where the transition
from a primarily meat/vegetation diet to one high in cereals show a reduced
lifespan and stature, increases in infant mortality and infectious disease,
and higher nutritional deficiencies.
Contemporary humans have not suddenly evolved mechanisms to incorporate
the high carbohydrates from starch- and sugar-rich foods into their diet.
In short, we are consuming far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a
grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes and rice cakes, with very grave
consequences to our health. Making matters worse, most of these carbohydrates
we consume come in the form of processed food.
That 65% of Americans are overweight, and 27% clinically obese, in a nation
addicted to sesame seed buns for that hamburger, with a side of French fries
and a Coke, is no coincidence. It is not the fat in the foods we eat
but, far more, the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-loaded
diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels
of a host of diseases such as diabetes.
If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, chances are very
good that the excess carbohydrates in your body are, in part or whole, to
blame:
Excess weight
Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
Depression
Brain fogginess
Bloating
Low blood sugar
High blood pressure
High triglycerides
We all need a certain amount of carbohydrates, of course, but, through
our addiction to grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy and sugary foods,
we are consuming far too many. The body's storage capacity for carbohydrates
is quite limited, though, so here's what happens to all the excess: they
are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty,
tissue.
Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood
glucose. To adjust for this rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone
insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin is,
though, essentially a storage hormone, evolved over those millions of
years of humans prior to the agricultural age, to store the excess calories
from carbohydrates in the form of fat in case of famine.
Insulin, stimulated by the excess carbohydrates in our overabundant consumption
of grains, starches and sweets, is responsible for all those bulging stomachs
and fat rolls in thighs and chins.
Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones
- glucagons and growth hormones - that are responsible for burning fat and
sugar and promoting muscle development, respectively. So insulin from excess
carbohydrates promotes fat, and then wards off the body's ability to lose
that fat.
Excess weight and obesity lead to heart disease and a wide variety of other
diseases. But the ill effect of grains and sugars does not end there. They
suppress the immune system, contributing to allergies, and they are responsible
for a host of digestive disorders. They contribute to depression, and their
excess consumption is, in fact, associated with many of the chronic diseases
in our nation, such as cancer and diabetes.
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Starting an Atkins Diet. Is there a better way?
Not eliminate carbs altogether but get a better balance between carbs and
protein in the diet and choose the right type of carbs.
- Are you getting the correct
protein intake
- More info on the
glycemic
index - avoid carbohydrate based snacks such as rice cakes
- Lower Your
Grains & Lower Your Insulin Levels!
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