The single greatest issue which crops up amongst diabetics is ‘to carb or not to carb’. That really is the question.
Increasingly within the medical professional and even the military this question is also being heavily investigated. Some of the top cancer hospitals all over the world are placing patients into ketosis before treatment. Why? Because cancer can’t feed on ketones. It feeds on glucose.
The American military have noticed that their navy seals perform better in a state of ketosis and even more bizarrely that they also encounter less oxygen deprived seizures when under the water whilst in ketosis (The Keto diet has been used for some time to help epilepsy sufferers).
Despite mounting evidence for less carbs being overwhelmingly beneficial for all humans, not just diabetics, it’s still a very contentious issue. So, why are we all so hell bent on protecting our right to eat this ‘non essential nutrient’? Even if it’s damaging our health.
Culture.
As we began to farm grain, we turned from opportunistic hunters with meat on our mind to purveyors of staple Produce. The prospect of consistency to our food was too tempting, even if it was no where near as nutrient dense. Another upside was that it was cheap as chips, so profit margins went through the roof. Moving forward and we’ve discovered how to manipulate it to be highly addictive (see next point) and highly profitable. So, in short, if you see a fast food ‘restaurant’ on every corner and have a sandwich for every lunch, you’re eating a highly processed western diet - it’s part of your culture after all.
Addiction.
As briefly mentioned above, food manufacturers now produce large quantities of ‘food’ which they market like it’s great for our health and they stick so much sugar and carbs in it that our brains send signals that we love it, even though it’s damaging our bodies. Putting it frankly, if you think scoffing cake and pies every day won’t catch up to you, you’re living on a different planet. Everyone has heard that ‘too much alcohol’ will damage our health, but were you aware that too much sugar has similar detrimental effects on your liver? Big food manufacturers have their sticky little fingers in a whole lot of pies and this contributes to how we are told of what to eat, to what’s good and bad for us. Take note, because if you’re enjoying a food and it’s not whole, grown and recently breathing then it’s likely to be refined, processed or both, with an ingredients list the length of your arm.
Cheap.
As we’ve touched upon, when we began manufacturing industrial quantities of grain, we created cheap food. Is it a coincidence that many of our staple foods are made from grain? Pasta, pizza, bread, cereal, rice, pastry, cakes, the list goes on. Is it a coincidence that these foods are also very cheap compared with organic wholefood options? We think not. We’ve also become pretty clever at creating new foods, I.e. sweeteners, preservatives. Funny how these foods contribute to a greater profit margin, e.g. longer shelf life, sweet taste ‘without’ sugar - but not any health benefits. What’s the moral of this sordid story? When talking about food, cheap never translates as good for your health.
Easy.
Are we seeing a trend here? Yup, addictive and cheap food is VERY accessible. It’s in every shop, supermarket, deli, cafe etc etc. we’ve covered why it’s everywhere, so it makes sense that ‘they’ will put it in front of you wherever you are. We’re here to make money people, NOT help you live longer (should be their slogan).
Science.
We kept this till last because, well, it should be cut and dry but let’s not forget there’s a lot of secret ‘flat earthers’ amongst us.
We also have to remember that if you are educated on nutrition and understand that carbs in large quantities are disastrous to a diabetics blood sugars (and non-diabetics), then you are still the minority. The powers that be are still heavily swayed in favour of profit over health and this results in questionable ‘guidance’ on what we should be eating. The facts are out though, so take stock.
So, in essence, we’ve perhaps been a tad cynical (I’m not so sure) - but you get the point. People don’t want to be told what to eat because it’s our life and we’re already bombarded by taxes and speed cameras, so our safe haven is what we put in our fridge and onto our plate. We get it. EVERYONE gets it. But when looking at the big picture - our health - the health of our children - what’s more important?
Nathan
Believe the hypo
www.believethehypo.com