Do we need carbs

zero_hope

Do we need carbs to survive? If there is any evidence that we can't live without carbs please post them here. According to wikipedia carbs are unessential for humans.

biko

Carbohydrates are the body's main source of usable energy. The McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois explains that every tissue and cell in the body uses glucose, a form of sugar, for energy. This energy can be used immediately, once the carbohydrate is digested and glucose sugars are sent into the bloodstream, or it can be stored within muscles and the liver for future use. Besides being the main source of energy, carbohydrates also function to regulate the digestive system and maintain intestinal health.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/233554-why-are-carbohydrates-important-in-diet/

zero_hope

You can covert fat and protein to glucose through ketosis. Do you have any evidence to prove that we do not survive without carbs?

biko

Just what I find on livestrong really.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/419298-can-you-live-without-carbohydrates/

Ketosis, a condition that occurs in the body by incomplete fat breakdown, arises with low carbohydrate intake and can cause weakness, nausea, dehydration, dizziness and irritability.

Instead of being tempted to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet, try limiting your carbohydrates to the healthy sources. The vitamins, minerals and fiber that come with healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and dairy offer healthful benefits. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that 45 to 65 percent of your calories come from carbohydrates.

zero_hope

So no evidence that carbs are needed to survive?

biko

It seems we need them in order to survive.
http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm

Can you elaborate on why you need to know this? Are you planning to cut out carbs entirely? Something similar to Atkins?

zero_hope

I want to experiment with a 100% animal based diet, it won't be zero carbs because liver contains some

Bottle_of_Smoke

pretty sure they're not essential. though that doesn't mean in itself we shouldn't eat them

CrazySka

zero_hope wrote: »

I want to experiment with a 100% animal based diet, it won't be zero carbs because liver contains some

Why do you want to do this? What is your overall goal, weight loss ?

Do we need balance would be a better question than do we need carbs, you may not need carbs per say(although I would have thought you wont function with 0 carbs) but you wont live a healthy balanced life on a 100% animal based diet IN MY OPINION,

You should be looking at the quality of your carbs rather than whether you should eat them.

Amantine

If you plan on eating a lot of protein/animal products you will have to eat a lot of vegetable to prevent acidosis, since we seem to like livestrong here is a link:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/298834-acid-in-the-human-diet/

Cutting out carbs and eating meat is certainly healthier than eating lots of refined carbs but only if you balance your meat with fat (extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados) and lots of veggies.
You will have little energy and feel rotten (headaches) for the first few days (atkins flu) then the weight will drop off slowly not matter how much you eat. Just take it easy on fruit that are high in carbs such as ripe bananas and other tropical fruit. All berries and any green vegetable are good to eat in huge quantities. Just make sure you get enough protein (1g/day per kg body weight), fats and you'll do great.
Let me know how you get on.

El_Dangeroso

My caveat about going zero carb would be two-fold:

1. Every single culture that eats very low carb eats a LOT of sea vegetables like seaweed, mostly for things like thiamine, potassium and iodine which are lacking in meat. Also there is evidence that these people have special adaptations to living like they do, for example a reduced need for vitamin C.

2. You're putting a lot of stress on your liver to create the 60-100g of glucose you need even if very keto-adapted. This will probably be ok for a few months but will start to take it's toll on the adrenals and thyroid after that.

I've done meat fasts in the past, mostly as an elimination diet to see if I could find out what I was intolerant to. I discovered I was intolerant to eggs through this. But I didn't do it for longer than a week, besides it's very boring eating like that long term!

boogeyman

Interesting thread....my answer is I'm not sure....but wouldn't humans be ultra low on energy if we didn't eat carbs?

Breaking down fats and protein for fuel would be more time consuming (I guess) and we wouldn't get the prolonged energy release that we get from eating high carb foods like rice/pasta/potatoes...

Mack_1111

This is also a question of economics!

1st there's a good cost benefit ratio with carbs as a source of energy compared to animal protein and fats. A cup of pasta will give you so much more energy than a steak; when you compare the price of a steak to the price of a cup of pasta it becomes very hard, for me personally, to justify a 0 carb diet.

2nd you get about 24 ATP's from one cal of carbs but only 8 from fats through Ketosis! So it's also very inefficient within the body. This may be ok if you'r not very active or only moderately train, if you'r doing a lot of training you'll loose your concentration very quickly; in the gym this will mean poor technique and then possibly an injury, on the field it will mean dropping the ball, giving poor passes and getting cranky with your team mates.

In saying that I'm not against a 0 carb diet, the best diet someone should be on is the one that works best for them.

El_Dangeroso

Mack_1111 wrote: »

This is also a question of economics!

1st there's a good cost benefit ratio with carbs as a source of energy compared to animal protein and fats. A cup of pasta will give you so much more energy than a steak; when you compare the price of a steak to the price of a cup of pasta it becomes very hard, for me personally, to justify a 0 carb diet.

2nd you get about 24 ATP's from one cal of carbs but only 8 from fats through Ketosis! So it's also very inefficient within the body. This may be ok if you'r not very active or only moderately train, if you'r doing a lot of training you'll loose your concentration very quickly; in the gym this will mean poor technique and then possibly an injury, on the field it will mean dropping the ball, giving poor passes and getting cranky with your team mates.

In saying that I'm not against a 0 carb diet, the best diet someone should be on is the one that works best for them.

The steak pasta comparison isn't really fair because calories aren't the only measure of a value of food, for example take liver, very very cheap and 10 times more nutritious than pasta. Plus some people like the fact that ketosis is inefficient in generating energy, a lot of people on here are trying to lose weight..

Then you have regional considerations, it takes more resources to grow grain in some places than it would to say have a goat grazing on some land that would be not be able to be cultivated.

I agree with the general gist of what your saying though, getting carbs from potatoes in Ireland is far more efficient and cheaper than getting it from gluconeogenesis from protein.

Vomit

I remember the Atkins diet craze, which is a low-carb diet. I remember a few friends who tried it and all of them complained of tiredness. Can't be a good idea.

Gummy Panda

Vomit wrote: »

I remember the Atkins diet craze, which is a low-carb diet. I remember a few friends who tried it and all of them complained of tiredness. Can't be a good idea.

Low carb is still very popular. The tiredness is the body adjusting to lack of glucose from carbs. 1-2 weeks it's usually gone and people get a burst of energy.

boogeyman

Vomit wrote: »

I remember the Atkins diet craze, which is a low-carb diet. I remember a few friends who tried it and all of them complained of tiredness. Can't be a good idea.

That would be my concern aswel. At least you know if you consume a nice amount of complex carbs you're gonna have a sustained flow of energy coming your way.

Relying on using protein and fats for energy doesn't appeal to me anyway lol

gsxr1

Why would anyone want to starve themselves of carbs?

Whats wrong with a balanced diet.

Amantine

Most people eat way to many carbs and most of it is fast carbs. The result is diabetes, heart attacks, overweight and nutritional deficiencies. The more overweight you are the less carbs you need. Instead you need to increase your insulin sensitivity by eating foods with a low glycemic index.
Yes food high in carbs are cheaper but clearly if you are overweight you're getting too much "energy" already. So the idea is to give you body the protein, fats and micronutrients it needs to maintain itself and and use it's body fat for energy. DONE RIGHT (see my previous post) this is a very healthy way to live, certainly better than our current diet and it's consequences (again: heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, overweight)
The food with the most micronutrients per € would be kale.

accensi0n

Amantine wrote: »

The food with the most micronutrients per € would be kale.

Nice too. €1 for a bag in LIDL. Steam and add some butter, lovely.

bertiecont

check out - http://www.mac-nutrition.com/ - UK based sports nutrionist who is advocate of high fat, moderate protein & moderate Carb (CHO) diet.

Around 40% of calories from fat, 2g protein per kg lean body weight and the balance from carbs (mainly veg and complex carbs such as bulgar wheat, brown rice etc.)

Also - if planning to lose weight you still need to eat at least the number of caloriesto cover BMR or your body goes into starvation mode.

This guy is currently Irish athlete David Gillick's nutritionist.

zero_hope

When was the last time someone died due to carb deficiency?