Excess carbohydrates from our starch and sugar-loaded diet is greatly contributing to creating epidemics of modern diseases like obesity, cancer, diabetes 2 and similar.

For millions of years, human’s diet was based only on meat/plants. It was only 10,000 years ago when we began introducing sugar, starch and grains (carbohydrates) into our diets.

Consuming far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn, potatoes, cakes, rice etc. is very common in Western world, yet it has serious consequences to our health. Starchy and sugary foods create addiction.  The body’s storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, and excess is converted to fat and stored in the fatty tissue.

Excess carbohydrates contributes to excess weight, fatigue and sleepiness, depression, bloating, allergies, digestive disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes 2, cancer etc.

Contrary to popular belief that the fat is making people obese and unhealthy, in fact the excess carbohydrates from our starch and sugar-loaded diet is greatly contributing to creating epidemics of diseases such as diabetes 2, obesity and many other diseases.

That being said, we do need a certain amount of carbohydrates, but not as much as we typically consume (in excess of 50%).

How Much of Carbohydrates?

The amount of carbohydrates one should consume for optimal health is a widely controversial topic.

My conclusion is that there is a certain minimum carbohydrate threshold most likely in the range of 25 to 30 percent or approximately 200-250 calories per day for the average person.

Most of those calories can come from non-starchy vegetables, but you’ll need some starchy carbs, such as potatoes, rice, tapioca and starchy vegetables like carrots and squash.

Use of wholegrain sorts like oatmeal, kamut, rice, barley, rye, buckwheat, quinoa etc. is also controversial, but many consider them as healthy alternatives. White rice appears to be safe as well.

Sweet potato, although high in sugar but high in vitamins/nutrients is a good alternative to “regular” potato.

Tapioca made from the root of the cassava plant, is high in carbohydrates and contains NO gluten.

Key Things to Consider

• Reduce the intake of grains/starch (especially wheat/gluten) to 25-30% of your total food intake.
• Replace the excess carbs with healthy fats such as avocados, coconut oil, egg yolks, healthy butter (from raw, organic milk), olives and nuts.

Whatever the guidance is you should always listen to your body, as it will give you feedback about whether or not the approach you’ve chosen is right for your unique needs, biochemistry and genetics.  Do what feels right for yourself. Experiment. As soon as something doesn’t feel right or doesn’t make sense to you, you should tweak it.

References and Credits

http://www.mercola.com/article/insulin.htm

Perfect Health Diet, by Paul & Chou-Ching Jaminet