• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

So is it the timing of meals and not the carb content?

  • Thread starter Thread starter WithoutSugar
  • Start Date Start Date
W

WithoutSugar

Guest
Hello!

I read that there are healthy populations that eat alot of carbs yet are very healthy and have longevity.

So is this carbophobia just wrong?

After a large meal, you get a pulse of insulin secreted, no matter what you eat. So does it really matter if you have carbs with your meal?

It seems for Dr. Fung that the many meals per day that matter most, instead of the carb content.

So, if I eat a large meal per day with any carb percentage, including protein and fat, will I lose weight and prevent diabetes, alzheimer etc?
 
It matters what you eat. A meal with fatty foods result in a lower spike of insulin than one high in carbs or protein.
Unfortunately the research into various high carb ways of eating isn't done - as far as I can see - carbs are regarded as benign, so there is no point in doing research.
 
For myself, the timing of meals with carbs matters. Breakfast is the best time of day for me to eat a higher then normal amount of carbs. I usually start the day with BG of 5 - breakfast for example would be gluten free weetbix (which is a sorghum cereal crushed up) with 25g of whey protein in it and almond milk added. 4 eggs scrambled with cheese tossed in and 30g of nuts or a cream cheese mix I make. 3 - 3.5hrs later my BG is about 5 or less.I don't take insulin or any diabetic drugs.So, that next meal won't be high carb unless I'm going to go lift weights. It will be a high protein, high fat with only carbs being mixed vegies. Or if it's a weight training day, then I'll add a cereal bowl full of chips to the meal. Further into the day my carb intake becomes less. Timing and exercise determine my carb intake per day. Exercise plays a big roll in maintaining good BG levels. I probably consume around 2800 - 3100 cal per day. For me, routine creates stability.
 
Yes there are populations that eat a lot of carbs with low rates of diabetes but they are certainly not eating processed breakfast cereal and chocolate bars. They are eating unprocessed fresh fruits and veggies and in many cases much lower calories than a western diet. The other thing to consider is that once you have diabetes, your metabolism is no longer normal. It does not matter what someone else can eat, it only matters what you can eat. Personally I cannot eat any carbs in the morning as it puts my blood sugar in orbit. I can get away with a bit of carbs at night with much less of a spike.
 
I think it is a many layered problem.

Insulin resistance develops for many different reasons, and once you have it, then your body is pumping out more insulin to achieve the same result.

These raised insulin levels have long term health implications, including metabolic syndrome, weight gain, developing T2 or 'double diabetes', and other knock on issues like heart disease and chronic inflammation. The insulin resistance comes first, before the other symptoms.

And you can have insulin resistance with normal blood glucose levels. It just means that insulin production is ramped up to achieve it.

So yes, in my opinion keeping insulin down is more important than keeping carbs down - but for many of us, keeping insulin down necessitates that we also keep the carbs down, whether that is by low carbing or fasting, or exercise. Skipping meals and food timing is just one tool on the toy box.
 
I haven't seen any good arguement so far.

My arguement is that we can still eat carbs, even sweets, and lose weight, if we do intermittent fasting.
The reason for this is that it won't make huge difference in insulin production and release to the body.
 
WithoutSugar said:
I haven't seen any good arguement so far.

My arguement is that we can still eat carbs, even sweets, and lose weight, if we do intermittent fasting.
The reason for this is that it won't make huge difference in insulin production and release to the body.
Click to expand...

That may work for you, but it certainly doesn't work for me. Hormones and insulin resistance, which vary from person to person seem to make a huge difference.

I have to use several different approaches at once (including very low carb, intermittent fasting, enough exercise - but not too much! - and protein control) to stand a chance of losing weight.
 
Back
Top