An article in the March issue of Details, a magazine devoted to men's fashions, entertainment, sports and food, devoted a long article to the evils of eating carbohydrates. Normally I do not read this magazine but I picked up a copy in my unisex hair salon because the magazine cover announced that the reader would be able to find out if carbohydrates were more addicting than cocaine.
It is a good thing that hair loss does not follow reading outrageously wrong articles because otherwise I would have had to cancel my appointment. It is not necessary to reiterate the errors concerning carbohydrates and metabolism; how eating any carbohydrate is going to cause immediate obesity (I wonder why so many people in the rice-eating countries of the world look so thin?) and how the brain can get along perfectly well without carbohydrate as its source of energy.
I was curious as to whether the author would advocate the cessation of breast feeding because the major energy source is carbohydrate, or whether he might promote eating lard rather than pasta before a marathon to make sure the muscles had enough energy? The author had it all wrong when he said carbohydrates are addicting. If so, then water must also be addicting, as we all need to consume it every day.
The article gave egregious examples of men stuffing themselves with bagels, doughnuts and brownies and suffering the consequences of bizarre moods, continual hunger and, of course, massive weight gain. Clearly the author has never been to a fast-food restaurant and seen grown men stuffing themselves with triple hamburgers coated with fatty sauces dripping off bacon and cheese slices. I suspect the men eating all that beef are not much thinner.
What is especially worrisome about the diatribe against carbohydrates is the effect this will have on men's moods. Is it possible that by avoiding carbohydrates, men might become irritable, grumpy, less focused, more restless and depressed? If so, might the cause be too little serotonin?
Do men realize that they, like women, need to eat carbohydrates in order for their brains to make serotonin? The only way their brains make new serotonin is when an amino acid, tryptophan, gets into the brain. This amino acid rarely, if ever, gets into the brain when protein is consumed. Tryptophan enters the brain only after any non-fruit carbohydrate is consumed. The process is facilitated by insulin. (Contrary to its evil character as described by the article, insulin in essential for life -- just ask any diabetic.) As soon as tryptophan gets into the brain, serotonin is made and its ability to carry out its many functions is enhanced.
Serotonin regulates mood, appetite, pain, temperature sensation and is involved in sleep. Too little of this essential neurotransmitter can cast the blanket of symptoms similar to PMS over a man. Think about those symptoms: i.e., anger, depression, fatigue, impulsive behavior, confusion, inability to remember and irregular sleep. These are linked to insufficient serotonin activity in a woman as she approaches the end of her menstrual cycle. Women know how to handle these symptoms. They eat carbohydrates, make new serotonin, and feel better.
Now men are lucky. In addition to being able to lose weight more easily on a diet (or so we women believe), they start out with more serotonin in their brains. That is just the way it is. So when men read an article exhorting them to throw away their Raisin Bran and eat egg yolks for breakfast, or shun any food that is not protein and fat, their brains do not immediately suffer from their carbohydrate-free diet. It takes much longer for the drop in serotonin levels to have an impact on their behavior than it would for a woman who has less to begin with. But eventually they too will need to make more or their moods may begin to change.
Life is too short and uncertain to go through it without enough serotonin. When a potato, bowl of rice or cup of cereal can help replace nasty moods with tranquil ones, why not indulge?
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Whatever the ratio of fat to carbohydrate intake, it's crucial to obtain a balanced intake of omega fatty acids. Typically, an industrialized food supply furnishes way too much omega-6 and far too little omega-3. In fact a dose/response relationship exists between omega-6 intake and homicide rates. (Google:Increasing homicide rates and linoleic acid consumption among five Western countries)
There's lots of excitement, of late, about using therapeutic doses of omega-3s to improve mood or treat depression. Unfortunately, the benefits derived from reducing omega-6 intake get little press.
There exists an optimum intake for essential fatty acids. Exceeding the optimum intake produces marginal benefits. In fact, as the dose increases, it eventually becomes toxic. Does it make sense, then, to increase omega-3 beyond the optimum dose to treat a mood disorder when the omega-6 dose is already in the toxic range?
For further discussion, Google "Hibbeln Lands omega-6 mood."
The large differences in homicide mortality rates among the five countries suggest that many societal and economic factors contribute to greater risk of homicide.
We do not propose that increased linoleate consumption during 1961 to 2000 can be isolated from many other societal, cultural, economic, or nutritional factors that might contribute to increased risk of homicide.
Factors that must be considered (from the article) in relation to increasing homicide rates: declining integrity of US social systems, increasing divorce rates, disintegration of the family unit, prevailing violence in the media, availability of weapons, drug & alcohol use, gang behaviours, dysphoric/discontented youth,
Promising research exists regarding the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 and use of omega-3 in treatment of depression, anger, violent behaviors and bipolar disorders. It appears that Dr. Hibbeln is amongst the forerunners in this regard, but additional research is needed to understand the role of these fats in the physiological, biochemical, emotional and psychological function of the human body and how they relate to the occurrence, prevention and control of complex violent behaviours.
You listed some other factors relating to homicide that you seem to regard as something other than nutritional, factors such as divorce rates, the disintegrating family unit, drug and alcohol use, gang behaviors, and dysphoric/discontented youth. In my experience, food choices affect these problems as well. In fact, sociologically speaking, it makes little sense to deal with these sorts of problems with talk therapy without first checking to see if brain chemistry is operating properly.
I still say it looks like there exists a dose response relationship between homicides, whether accidental or deliberate, and omega-6 intake. To be sure, excessive added sugars intake is another likely factor affecting emotions and behavior. Google "Whole Health Source: Vegetable oil and homicide."
i'm actually a health professional in the musculo-skeletal realm, well versed in evidence-based medicine with strong interests in whole-food nutrition, neuropsychology and a host of other things that would take up the entire 250 word limit to list. the basis of my professional practice is to attempt to identify and resolve the root problem and thus eliminate the need to treat symptoms and chase pain in the long term. i try to post on topics and comments that will lead me to learn or consider something in a new way and as such, your post caught my eye.
in fact, each of the factors that i listed came directly from the full-text of the Dr. Hibbeln paper you cited. however, i do completely agree with you that food choices affect us right down to our basic body biochemistry and that our basic body chemistry can affect everything from the ability of cartilage and other soft tissues to heal to the expression of complex behaviours.
however, i do not feel that the research in this area has yet evolved to the point of dose-response relationships and upon reading Hibbeln's article, it seemed to me that he agreed (at least at that point in time).
and it's funny that you mentioned Whole Health Source. i came across it when i was doing some background reading in regards to your first post and spent a few hours reading and bookmarking pages.
...to be continued.
either way, i appreciate the thoughtful response and inclusion of additional resources on the topic.
just wondering what realm you operate in and if are you in a lab or a clinic?
Mood is one thing, living a long, healthy life is another.
Suggest Richard Bernstein's Diabetes Solution and Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories or Why We Get Fat -- lots of science to back up what I just said.
But no, diabetics do not need grains of any kind -- absolutely not essential to the functioning of the body and in fact they are toxic to a lot of people. We sometimes use almond flour, coconut flour or flax meal to make bread products.
Its a great way of eating -- you should check it out.
Many low carbers get a lot of exercise, but can you imagine the freedom a very obese person has knowing they can lose weight without exercise -- exercise is painful and can be very difficult on the joints of a very large person. Once they have lost weight, then they want to exercise because they are feeling so much better and lighter.
It is a revelation to someone who thinks they are lost to know how simple it is to turn their life around -- eating lots of fat and protein and not needing to exercise. This way of eating has saved countless lives. I wouldn't worry about the exercise part too much -- it will come eventually. Save the life first.
Cholesterol: Low carbers do not believe that total cholesterol has anything to do with heart disease and we concentrate on triglycerides and HDL levels. But our MDs try and push the statins even though we have amazingly good cholesterol profiles -- hence many of us pass on the cholesterol tests. By the way, low carbing also lowers your blood pressure so you can get off both the blood pressure meds and the statins -- the pushers (doctors)
Also, is it possible that maintianing chronically elevated levels of insulin via high carbohydrate consumption in order to feel the "high" caused by high serotonin levels could be damaging in the long term?
Most drugs, for example, are powerful mood-enhancers in the short term. But we all seem to accept the fact that long term reliance on mood enhancers can ultimately lead to negative health outcomes.
Perhaps then, carbohydrate addictions are analogous to drug addictions. I don't really know much about this other than what the author wrote, but this seems like a fairly logical explanation.
My nutrition profile is approximately 60% carbohydrate, 25% fat and 15% protein. My intake is based on my level of activity.
The most important points never talked about are the type of carbohydrates and how much to consume. I know many, many beginning runners who cut out refined carbodydrates, replacing them with the foods listed above. Next, they calibrated their carb intake based on base metabolic need and level of activity. They lost weight. Gained energy and increased fitness levels. Not bad!
From my stand point, a low-carb diet is just as "extreme" as one high in simple, processed sugars and starch.
Though I'm no Dr. Oz fan. I don't know how anybody watches that guy. But to each his own.
Well said!