I subscribe to the Dr Joseph Mercola‘s newsletter. I don’t always agree with his point of view or the way he tries to scare people and oversells his products š But he does offer an alternative view to conventional medicine and treatment.
One of his recent newsletters had Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple guest writing on how our bodies ought to burn fat for fuel and not carbs. This leads to better health and better weight control as well.
As I posted in Facebook, this is interesting to me. I used to answer “no” to almost all the questions Mark posed in his article to check if one was burning fat or carbs. But ever since I went on the GAPS diet and eliminated all processed carbs and upped my fat intake (good, real fats), I can now answer “yes” to all the questions (except the exercise one since I, er…don’t exercise, pre- orĀ post-GAPS :D)
Here are his questions :
- Can you go three hours without eating? Is skipping a meal an exercise in futility and misery?
- Do you enjoy steady, even energy throughout the day? Are midday naps pleasurable indulgences, rather than necessary staples?
- Can you exercise without carb-loading?
- Have the headaches and brain fuzziness passed?
Yes? Then youāre probably fat-adapted. Welcome to normal human metabolism. For the full article, check out What does it mean to be fat adapted?
I think it is quite safe to assume that 90% of the people depend on carbs for fuel. Look at the huge amount of bread, noodles and rice we consume for all our meals and snacks! Besides, we have been brainwashed to believe that ALL fats are bad. Look at how many low fat foods thereĀ are on the supermarket shelves. We have also been told to follow the food pyramid :get most of our nutrition from carbs and least from fats! In the recent years, it has been modified to say that it is whole grain carbs we should be consuming because our bodies burn whole grains slower (than processed grains) and therefore that will help us feel more satiated.
So when I tell people that I eat no rice, noodles, pasta or polysaccharide carbs like potatoes, sweet potatoes, they gasp in audible disbelief. How can it be healthy? They ask.Ā But how can eating rice, noodles and potatoes be healthy? š
Almost everything you need for health in carbs can beĀ found in proteins and fats of animal and plant orgins. Besides, what we often call carbs are really processed carbs. Carbs from vegetables and fruits are fine. And most of these processed carbs are grains which are not properly prepared.
So if you are looking to lose weight or control your carb cravings, I would strongly suggest that you look into eliminating carbs as your main source of food. Besides, overeatingĀ carbs (which convert to sugar in our bodies) always lead to a yeast overgrowth.