Forget Low Carb Diets: Researchers Find “Better Calories!”

“Bad” Carbs A Cause of Child Obesity and Child Health Problems, say Scientists

Don’t put kids on a low carb diet. Why? Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. Instead, by eating “good carb” foods, they will stay leaner than by eating the exact same amount of calories of “bad” carbohydrate foods, and in the process stay leaner and be healthy! How?

• “Bad” carbs are the quick-burning carbohydrates in foods like white bread, white rice, most breakfast cereals and potatoes, that have given carbohydrates a bad name. And rightly so. Why? Because they cause blood sugar to spike so that insulin is released telling the body to store the extra energy as fat.

• The “good” carbs in foods such as old fashioned oats, lentils, beans, and pastas, are absorbed into the blood more slowly, giving a longer-lasting energy with less fat storage.

• Studies have shown that children given a “good” carb breakfast (not low carb) thrive more and eat less during the day.

• You can find out the rates at which foods are absorbed into the blood by learning where foods are on the Glycemic Index * The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss *

• Even young children can be easily be taught about the “Green Light, Yellow Light and Red Light" foods of this GI Index.

See also: Teaching Nutrition to Kids * Healthy "Green Light" Recipes for the Whole Family

Researchers Find “Better” Calories

One group got carbohydrates that are rapidly absorbed (high glycemic index) and the other group was instead, fed slowly absorbed, (low glycemic index) carbohydrates – all had the same amount of calories.

After six months, the two groups gained the same amount of weight, but there were big differences:

• But the high glycemic index group had way more total body fat, and less lean tissue.

• They also had more fat in their blood and twice as much fat in their liver. The lead researcher, Dr. David Ludwig, sounded the alarm about the extra fat in the liver of the “bad” carb group. Why?

Because non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, where five per cent or more of the liver cells are gorged with fat, is showing up in increasingly younger children, with serious health consequences. (Optimal Weight for Life Program, Children’s Hospital, Boston, in the journal Obesity)

Why NOT Low Carbs But Complex Carbs?

• These are: white bread, bagels, rice cakes, French fries, most breakfast cereals, e.g cornflakes, potatoes, steamed white rice, and so on. What does eating these do?

• High glycemic carbohydrates can raise blood sugar and insulin levels as much as an equivalent amount of table sugar.

The GOOD carbs are high fibre: beans, lentils, vegetables, some fruits and pastas, and whole grains such as brown rice, old fashioned oats, and coarse unrefined breads.

Examples are: roasted salted peanuts, grapefruit, dried apricots, rye and stone-ground whole wheat bread, whole and skimmed milk, spaghetti, apples, pears, oranges, boiled carrots, peas, baked beans, canned tomato soup, All Bran, Special K, chick peas, and noodles. Why eat these?

• Low glycemic carbohydrates make you feel fuller for longer and can protect the heart and arteries.

• The low carb diet fad has been replaced with low GI carbs, and of course, adding more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis for both health and best weight.

• Getting Children Eating Healthy: 10 Healthy Eating Tips and a Recipe * Healthy Teen Eating Tips and Tricks * Successful Healthy Eating Advice for Kids * Giving Fat Kids A Better Chance * Healthy Eating Activities for Kids * Healthy Eating Plan for Toddlers *

Child Health Problems Caused by “Bad” Carbs

Dr. Ludwig of the Optimum Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital Boston, says that fatty liver disease is going to be one of the tragedies of the future unless we do something about it now. He is seeing this disease in children as old as 10 years, with serious consequences.

• A generation of kids is at risk of fatty liver disease because they are eating too many of the same kinds of foods used in force-feeding geese to make "foie gras." These kids eat like "foie gras" geese, say scientists, referring to a goose liver gorged with fat that is considered a delicacy in France.

• When fat accumulates in the liver it cannot get rid of the body's fats and toxins effectively, causing tiredness, sluggishness and may lead to hepatitis, fibrosis and liver failure.

• Neither low carbs nor low fats are the answer, but whole foods, with both “good” carbs and “good” fats are recommended for gradual weight loss.

Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease

• A healthy liver regulates fat metabolism and is the major fat-burning organ in the body. A healthy liver not only burns fat, but it can pump excess fat out of the body through the bile into the gut.

• Therefore, if your liver is healthy you will not have much difficulty in controlling your weight, regardless of low carb or low fat diets.

• Instead, a fatty liver becomes a warehouse for fat and if it is allowed to progress for many years, the liver may finally become just a "bag of fat" with dire consequences for health and longevity.

Dr. Ludwig says that these new findings about “bad” carbohydrates causing fat storage in the liver give important new medical insight. Why? Because low-fat diets are currently the standard treatment, but many children with fatty liver don't respond to them.

• It appears to be a misconception that the dietary fat you are eating goes into the liver, according to Dr. Ludwig.

Fortunately, a gradual reduction in weight has been shown to improve liver function and reverse liver damage. So, don’t bother with low carbs, but switch to “good” carbohydrates that can help to turn the tide.

How Do You Know If You Have A Fatty Liver?

• You will find it very hard to lose weight

• You will be very tired

• You may also have: 1) elevated cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood, 2) type 2 diabetes, 3) insulin resistance as well as 4) problems with your immune system.

In the USA the incidence of fatty liver is 15 to 20% of the general population, but is much higher than this in very overweight people.

Fatty liver is the most common cause of abnormal liver function tests in the USA. It is increasingly being found in children.

Regaining Health and Energy

Glutathione deficiency has been linked to many health problems, so it would be wise to enhance your body’s glutathione levels. This can be done safely through the diet -- with whey protein isolates clinically shown to raise glutathione.

Recommendations for Supplements for Energy Levels and Liver Health

For free E-BOOK

Find Out What Doctors Say About Glutathione and Health

Healthy Eating for Kids and Smart Carbohydrates Links

More About Good Carbs and Bad Carbs: What's Up * From Low Carb to Smart Carbs: Glycemic Index Handbook * Glycemic Index Diet for Weightloss * The Good Carbohydrates Cookbook: from Low Carb to Good Carbs * Best Guides To Eating Healthy On the Road and Eating Out * Fast Food Nation * Healthy Eating for Kids with Child Friendly Cooking Kids Health Problems: Carb Cravings and Child Obesity * Teens and Beginners Cook Book *

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