CARBOHYDRATES -
SUGARS AND STARCHES
by Lawrence
Wilson, MD
© December
2009, The Center For Development
All living creatures require energy
with which to function, and all our energy comes from the sun. Human
beings cannot directly convert sunlight to energy. We depend upon green
plants that absorb solar energy and store it in forms that we can convert to
usable energy or ATP. The two primary forms of stored energy in plants
are oils and carbohydrates. This article discusses only the
carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are classified into
two basic types. The first is known as simple carbohydrates, also
called sugars. The second type are called complex carbohydrates,
also called starches.
Sugars are the simplest type of carbohydrates. Chemically,
most are ring-shaped structures with five or six carbon atoms arranged in a
circle or ring. This ring is under tension. When we eat sugars, our
bodies are able to open the ring, releasing energy. This is somewhat like
opening a jack-in-the-box. Opening the ring structure releases the
energy, similar to releasing a spring that is under tension.
Starches, or complex carbohydrates, are groups of sugars that are
bound together. Starches require much more digestion to separate the
sugar molecules. For this reason, starches are not absorbed nearly as
fast as simple sugars. Now let us discuss common carbohydrate
foods. Let us begin with starches.
CEREAL GRAINS
The most important group of starches
are the cereal grains. The most common grain in Western societies is
wheat, which the bible calls “staff of life”. It is used in bread, pasta,
pizza dough and pastries. It is also the main ingredient in cakes,
cookies, as a thickener and as breading for fried food.
Other cereal grains include corn,
rice, rye and barley. Others are millet, oats, buckwheat and some less
known ones such as quinoa, spelt, amaranth and kamut. These are the
primary energy foods or staples for most civilizations on earth. For
example, rice is the major food eaten in China, while corn is eaten widely in
Latin America. Thousands of varieties of cereal grains are grown
around the world. They are versatile, hardy crops that can be grown in a
variety of climates and soils. They literally sustain mankind in many
parts of the planet.
Cereal grains can be extremely
nutritious foods if they are not overly processed or refined. However,
most today are refined. Let us discuss what this means in practice.
REFINED GRAINS
Today, most cereal grains are highly
refined or processed. For example, white flour is made from wheat.
However, the bran (fiber) and the germ (embryo) are removed, leaving mainly the
starchy part of the wheat.
This is a shame because refining
whole grains removes most of their vitamins and minerals. In making white
flour, about 75% of the minerals are lost from the whole wheat.
White flour, deceptively labeled
‘wheat flour’, contains 13% of the chromium, 9% of the manganese, 19% of the
iron, 30% of the cobalt, 10-30% of the copper and only17% of the zinc and
magnesium contained in the whole wheat. Brown rice suffers somewhat less
losses when it is refined into white rice.
Refining whole grains not only
removes most of their trace minerals. It also removes most of their
essential B vitamins. White flour contains only 23% of the thiamine, 20%
of the riboflavin, 19% of the niacin, 29% of the pyridoxine, 50% of the pantothenic
acid and 33% of the folic acid. Eighty-six percent of the vitamin E is
also lost when whole wheat is made into white flour.
Removing the wheat bran does
additional nutritional damage. Bran, which is mainly a fibrous substance,
helps avoid constipation and can assist in the production of some vitamins in
the intestinal tract.
After the best parts of the wheat
has been removed, most flour is bleached with chlorine bleach similar to that
used to whiten clothing. When cooked, it forms toxic chlorinated
compounds. Many pesticides, for example, are chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Enriched Flour. Almost 100 years ago, tests were made feeding only
white flour to animals. The test animals developed fatal neurological
problems. This is because the vitamins and minerals in the wheat are
needed to digest the flour. As a result of these experiments, our
government requires that all white flour be enriched with three B vitamins and
iron.
This is beneficial to a slight
degree. However, it has caused other serious problems. First, the
flour is still deficient in at least 30 other minerals, vitamins and
oils. Secondly, adding only one mineral, iron, completely unbalances the
food. Minerals normally compete for absorption with each other.
When many minerals are removed
through refining, and then a single mineral is added in significant quantity,
too much of that mineral can be absorbed, leading to mineral imbalances.
This is exactly what occurs today. Fortunately, the non-organic form of
iron in white flour is poorly absorbed. Even so, we get too much iron
from white flour that is not balanced with other vital minerals.
OTHER PROBLEMS WITH WHEAT
Wheat can no longer be considered
“the staff of life”. In fact, it has become one of the most common
allergic foods and a food to avoid in all forms. Many people report that
when they completely eliminate wheat from the diet they have more energy, fewer
allergies, improved digestion and they often lose weight as well.
Heartburn often decreases or goes away completely they have less gas or
bloating as well. Let us examine why.
Hybridization. Wheat grown today is extremely hybridized. This means
it has been altered to produce greater yields, more bug resistance or a better
shelf life. However, it has not been bred for improved nutrition or
easier digestion, for example.
In fact, the protein content of our
wheat has declined significantly over the past century, from about 13% to about
5-6% today. Wheat now contains more starch, less protein and fewer trace
minerals. Wheat today is also extremely high in glutamine, an amino acid
that has an inflammatory effect on the body. In addition, wheat contains
gluten, a protein to which an increasing number of people are allergic.
These are just a few of the effects of modern hybridization of wheat.
Newer genetically-modified wheat may have even more problems, such as
containing some degree of pesticides that are literally bred into the plant to
resist pests.
Wheat-Free Foods. If one eats processed foods, eliminating wheat is not
easy because it is hidden in so many processed foods. One must read
labels carefully, and even then there are occasional surprises. Those who
are sensitive to gluten must also eliminate rye, oats, spelt and barley from
their diets as well. The clinical name for gluten sensitivity is celiac
disease. However, as more people are choosing to eliminate all wheat,
which I strongly recommend, more and more foods are available that are
wheat-free and even gluten-free. Eating at home makes it much easier to
avoid wheat by just staying away from wheat pasta, most breads, cookies, cakes,
breading used on deep-fried foods, thickeners and dressings containing wheat
flour. Substitutes for these are often easy to find.
The other grains may be eaten in
moderation by most people, especially brown rice, white Basmati rice and
organic blue corn chips with sea salt. Some people must avoid most grains for a
while to help lose weight or if their bodies are high in yeast or candida albicans
infection grains may bother their bodies.
STARCHY VEGETABLES
Cooked vegetables are a very
important food group that almost everyone fails to eat enough of. Starchy
vegetables such as roots contain some complex carbohydrates. The best
root vegetables include onions, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, golden beets,
celery root and parsnips. Others, which are less healthful, are potatoes,
squashes, jicama, sweet potatoes, yams and daikon radish.
Nightshades and yin vegetables. Potatoes, along with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and
a few others are in the nightshade family of vegetables. This group of
foods contains certain toxins that cause reactions in sensitive
individuals. Squash, along with peppers, tomatoes and a few other vegetables,
are, in fact, fruits and are far more yin in Chinese medical terminology.
For this reason, these are less recommended for daily fare. An occasional
serving is okay, however.
Root vegetables are often easier to
digest than cereal grains, and much less allergenic for most people than
wheat. Roots and tubers usually need cooking to help break down their
fiber and make them easier to digest.
Starchy vegetables should be a major
part of your diet if you are health-conscious. They are tasty and
nutritious by themselves, in soups and in casseroles. They keep well in
the refrigerator and are generally inexpensive.
LEGUMES OR DRIED BEANS
Another set of foods high in complex
carbohydrates is dried beans or legumes. These include lentils, pinto
beans, navy beans, garbanzos and black-eyed peas. Others are lentils, red
beans, azuki beans, peanuts, soybeans, black beans and others.
Dried beans are staple foods in many cultures, as they are inexpensive, nutritious and they keep well. However, they are not a major part of the diets we recommend. Reasons for this are:
1. While they are rich in certain
amino acids, their protein content is rather imbalanced. They are
not as
high quality proteins as eggs, meats and other animal products. This is
not helpful for
many people, especially in Western nations.
2. They are more yin in Chinese
medical terminology.
3. They are low in a quality we call
etheric energy. This is a life energy quality that increases when
one is
in the animal realm, but is less in the vegetable kingdom.
Soy. Soy should be fermented for best digestion, as is done with
tofu, tempeh, and miso and other fermented soy products. Fermenting
soybeans helps destroy enzyme inhibitors, phytates and other harmful chemicals
they contain. For this reason, I do not recommend soy protein isolate,
soymilks, soy burgers and other soy products that have not been fermented.
An important point about all
starches is they begin to be digested in the mouth. They will become sweet if
you chew each bite at least 10 times. So chew your starches thoroughly.
SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES -
FRUIT
Ripe fruit contains mainly simple
carbohydrates or sugars. These are also found in other sweet foods such
as honey, maple syrup, corn sweeteners and refined sugar. Fruits also
contain some fiber and vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
However, most fruit is mainly sugar
and water. I feel that fruit is nutritionally highly overrated.
Many who are trying to live healthfully eat an excessive amount of it because
it is quick and easy to eat, satisfies cravings for sugar and is less expensive
than many protein foods. Fruit is largely unhealthful today because:
Do not eat more than one small piece
of fruit daily, and none is needed. Among the best fruits are berries
such as blackberries, raspberries and cranberries. Berries are high
in anti-oxidants and other health-promoting substances. Dates and figs
are also very nutritious, though they are also very sweet. Other fruits,
such as apples, peaches, pears, plums and others are also okay if eaten in very
small quantities.
REFINED SUGARS
Most sugars eaten today, including
most honey, is refined. This means that some or all of the minerals and
vitamins naturally contained in the food are removed. This is a crime
against humanity, as these precise minerals, vitamins and other nutrients are
needed just to digest the food. Therefore, the more that one eats of
these foods, the more sick one becomes.
For example, sugar cane is processed
into molasses and sugar. The sugar contains almost no vitamins or
minerals. Molasses, meanwhile, is considered a health food, as it is rich
in micronutrients. Despite some propaganda to the contrary, eating sugar
leads to tooth decay, hypoglycemia, hyperactive behavior, mood swings,
diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more illnesses.
Unfortunately, most Americans
receive a major portion of their calories from refined sweeteners. The
most popular today is high-fructose corn syrup. It is one of the worst
sugars, but it is widely used, as it is inexpensive. Corn syrup, which is
mainly fructose, interferes with blood sugar and with copper metabolism.
These are just two of its problems.
Other refined sugars are barley malt
and rice syrup, which are little better than refined sugar. Others are
beet sugar, and most honey and maple syrup. Most honey is boiled, and
most maple syrup contains a little real syrup with added sugar. These
“foods” contain little or no vitamins and are correctly called “empty
calories”. They contribute to an epidemic today of obesity, hypoglycemia,
diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Preferably totally
avoid all sugars, even natural ones.
Refined sweeteners are often listed
on food labels as glucose, fructose, maltose, corn syrup, sugar, liquid sugar
or natural sweeteners. They are added to most processed foods from soda
pop and cereals to dressings, breads, pastries, desserts of all kinds,
condiments such as ketchup and mustard, peanuts butter and hundreds of other
foods. They upset blood sugar and raise insulin levels, slowly causing
many health conditions.
FIBER
Some carbohydrates are not well
digested by human beings. We call these fibers. These serve as
roughage. Sometimes vegetable fibers are classified as soluble and
insoluble fibers. Soluble fibers include psyllium and pectin, among
others. Insoluble fibers include cellulose and bran from wheat, oats or
other grains. Cellulose forms the structure of most plants and can be
digested by some animals. Pectin is a fruit fiber.
Fibers are an important group of food products for the following reasons:
1. Fibers create bulk in the
intestines that help move food along in the intestines.
2. Some fibers are used for the synthesis
of vitamins in the intestines.
3. Fiber is very important to absorb certain toxins and other chemicals as food passes through
the intestines.
One of the most important chemicals they absorb is cholesterol, secreted in the
bile. However, there are many, many others as well. All foods
contain toxic chemicals in small
quantities. Fiber is essential to bind
many of these harmful chemicals and remove them from
the body. Soluble fibers
such as pectin, alginates and others can absorb toxic metals as well.
4. Certain fibers can slow the
absorption of sugars in the diet, helping to maintain a more
balanced blood
sugar level.
5. Fibers can sometimes be broken
down in the intestines and used as food. In these cases,
the fiber is not
serving as roughage, but it actually used as food. This is less common in
human
beings, however.
Most foods contain some fiber.
One of the worst sins against healthful eating is the removal of the bran fiber
from grains such as wheat, corn and other cereal grains that occurs during the
refining process. This tends to cause constipation in those eating white
flour and to some extent white rice products.
NONABSORBABLE SUGARS
Just as we cannot digest some
fibrous starches, our bodies do not absorb some sugars. These are found
in various fruits and vegetables, and help make the food sweet-tasting without
adding calories or sugar to the diet.
In the food industry, these are used
as natural non-caloric sweeteners and include mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol.
These are excellent sweeteners if one does not want the calories that the other
sugars provide. They are not without problems, however. They still
upset the blood sugar level, though less than calorie-containing sugars.
They can send phony signals to the body that one is eating a sugar and to
prepare to digest the sugar, when in fact the product is not digested and
absorbed at all.
I believe it is best not to sweeten
your food. The best solution is to avoid all sweets. Sweetening your food is
just a habit, and with patience and practice it can be changed. However,
if you need a non-caloric sweetener, xylitol or mannitol are far better than
the artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame, Equal, Splenda or Saccharin.
The latter are synthetic chemicals
that have been shown to have many adverse effects on the body. Indeed,
the term “aspartame disease” describes a range of symptoms from depression to
seizures that can result from consuming diet soda and hundreds of other
products sweetened with NutraSweet or Equal. If you have any unusual
symptoms and use artificial sweeteners, try discontinuing them all for at least
three weeks and notice if you feel better.
One can find non-caloric natural
sweeteners such as xylitol, sorbitol or mannitol at health food stores and some
supermarkets.
CARBOHYDRATES AND WEIGHT
GAIN
Overeating on carbohydrates is a major cause of excessive weight gain. A common misconception is that eating fat makes one fat. However, most weight gain today is due to overeating on refined sugars and, to a lesser extent, eating complex carbohydrates in excess.
Let us explain why people believe that eating fat makes one fat, and why it is not true:
1. Carbohydrates provide four
calories (energy units) per gram, while fats provide nine calories
per
gram. This leads many doctors and health authorities to think that fats
make you fat, but
carbohydrates do not. However, our bodies easily
convert carbohydrates to fats through the
action of insulin and other hormones.
2. Eating carbohydrates increases
insulin secretion, and decreases zinc, magnesium and other
vital
minerals. This can contribute to weight gain and many other
diseases. Eating high quality
fats does not increase insulin secretion as
much.
3. Breads, pasta, fruit and sweets
can also alter neurotransmitter levels in ways that cause a
calming
effect. This can be addictive for some people, leading to overeating on
these foods.
Dr. Robert Atkins, MD, a cardiologist in New York City, did
quite extensive research on this
subject. Although he was scorned for
years, his research has been shown to be valid.
Here are simple tips to avoid overeating on these sweets and starches:
1. Make sure the carbohydrates you
eat are unrefined only. This alone is most helpful. This
means to
eat only whole grains such as brown rice, yellow corn tortillas, and only the
organic
blue corn tortilla chips. Do not eat anything made with wheat
flour, such as flour tortillas, white or
“rye” breads unless 100% rye flour, white
rice or white sugar in any form or product. This will
limit your soda
pop, ice cream, cookies, cakes, and much more. Also avoid anything
sweetened with fruit juices, as these also count as concentrated sugars with
few other nutrients
in them.
2. If you must have honey or maple
syrup, make sure it is 100% pure and not laced with sugar
and use as little as
possible.
3. Be sure to ask for what you want
at restaurants. This way more restaurants will begin to offer
the higher
quality foods. Ask that the bread be removed from the table.
4. Eat some fats or oils at least
twice daily if you are used to eating a lot of carbohydrates. This
way
you will not be so hungry for starches and sugars. Most people also need
to eat protein at
least twice daily to avoid sweet cravings.
5. If you are hypoglycemic, or just
trying to reduce your carbohydrate intake, eat 4 or 5 small
meals during the
day of a protein food and some fat and vegetables. This will help
maintain
your blood sugar and prevent cravings.
6. Eat only fresh fruit or frozen
berries, and very little of it. Avoid all dried fruit, all sweet fruit
like
dates, figs and bananas and avoid canned and baked fruit as well.
7. Eat carbohydrates with a low glycemic
index. This topic is covered in the next section.
THE GLYCEMIC INDEX
All carbohydrate foods raise the
level of glucose in the blood. This is considered an unhealthy quality of
carbohydrates. The glycemic index of a food tells to what extent a food raises
the glucose level in the blood relative to other foods. To eat lower glycemic
index foods, here are a guidelines:
References
1. Cleave, T.L., The Saccharine
Disease, The Master Disease Of Our Time, Keats Publishing, CT, 1974.
2. Hall, R.H., Food For Naught,
The Decline in Nutrition, Vintage Books, NY, 1976
3. Schroeder, H., The Trace
Elements and Man, Devin-Adair Company, Ct., 1973.
4. Glycemicindex.com