Simple vs Complex Carbohydrates

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Simple vs Complex Carbohydrates

JoAnn Guest

Apr 26, 2005 09:54 PDT

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The word " Simple Carbohydrate " means simply " fractionated, artificial,

devitalized by-product " of the original plant.

The original plant contains all the necessary *properties*

of a " Whole Food " :

 

Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes.

 

So what are Carbohydrates??

Everyone knows that food comes in three forms: fats, protein, and carbohydrates.

Most foods have all three, in 'varying' proportions.

Carbohydrates are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The main carbos are

sugar, starches, and cellulose.

 

Sugars are 'sweet' carbohydrates, either single

or double molecules: monosaccharides or disaccharides.

 

Starches are the main form of carbohydrate 'storage' in plants.

Starches are polysaccharides, which means strings of more than two

carbohydrate " molecules " .

 

Cellulose is made of long, fibrous strings of carbohydrate, mainly

for 'structural' support of a plant. It is cellulose that " provides " us

with 'fiber' in the diet.

 

Complex Vs. Simple:

 

An apple contains natural sugar: fructose.

A potato contains natural starch.

But these are Whole Foods containing much more

than just " isolated " carbohydrates.

 

Apples and potatoes grown in good soil

also contain vitamins,minerals, and enzymes.

Such foods are `complex' carbohydrates, meaning that they are

*complete* foods.

 

Fruits contain mainly natural sugars, while vegetables contain mainly

starches. And both contain 'cellulose'.

The problem comes in with " processed " sugar and " processed " starch.

 

White table sugar has no nutrients.

White bread is a processed, artificial starch made from white flour

 

These are not foods - they do not " nourish " .

We call them " simple carbohydrates " .

 

Even when they are broken down to individual " glucose molecules " by

digestion, it is completely different from the glucose

*end-product* of a digested apple,for example.

 

That's because apples don't simply " break down "

into " isolated " glucose " molecules " . Other nutrients and " co-factors " are

present, which are necessary for the body to make use

of the glucose:

These nutrients are called - enzymes, minerals, vitamins.

 

When *complex* carbohydrates are broken down, the result is a " usable "

*glucose molecule*.

On the other hand,white sugar and white bread need 'added' enzymes,

vitamins, minerals,and insulin in order to be digested.

 

These are taken from existing 'stores'of nutrients

in order to complete the 'digestive' process.

 

All 'enzymes' and 'nutrients' have been purposely

removed from white sugar and white flour by 'processing'.

The result is a *synthetic* 'man-made carbohydrate',

occurring nowhere in nature.

 

The body regards such as a " foreign " substance as a " drug " .

 

Whenever the body does not have the " required " nutrients to process

these " non-foods " , the simple (refined) carbohydrates cannot be

broken down (digested) and just lay and " ferment "

in the digestive tract.

 

Simple carbohydrates " increase " blood glucose

by an 'unregulated','unnatural' amount.

And this is the real problem with *simple* refined carbohydrates:

the quantity of pure glucose 'suddenly' taken in!

 

Most books, most doctors, and most nutritionists

fail to make this `distinction' between " simple " and " complex "

carbohydrates.

 

With sugar, ingestion is far different from digestion:

 

just because you ate it doesn't mean you can use it.

This is why counting calories and food combining and blood typing

and the Zone and other passing fads are so irrelevant:

it doesn't matter what you eat; it matters what you digest.

 

 

Natural sugar doesn't cause diabetes; if you eat too much raw natural

honey, you just get sick!

----

As time went by, machinery got better and better at removing the outer

husks from the wheat and leaving behind only the white

inner " simple carbohydrate " , *devoid* of minerals and vitamins.

 

Same with sugar beets and cane.

 

Most sources estimate that today sugar makes up about 20%

of the calories of the average American diet!

Just imagine - that means that on the average, 20% of what Americans eat

has *NO nutrient* content.

 

Worse yet, it's physically " destructive " , as we will see.

 

 

The body has figured out many ways to try and keep the glucose

level within a certain range: 90 - 140 milligrams per deciliter.

(Guyton, p 863) The pancreas and the adrenal glands " work together " to

" fine-tune " blood sugar levels at all times.

 

As the blood flows by, the pancreas senses the high glucose content and

puts out insulin.

Insulin gets rid of the glucose in two ways, into the cells--- or

storage in the liver, in the form of *glycogen* .

 

The adrenals do the opposite; when blood sugar is too low,

they send a *hormone* called ACTH to the liver to get some of the stored

glucose out of storage.

 

The body is then ready for action.

 

A great system, evolved after countless millenia, perfectly capable of

balancing blood sugar,with a diet of " natural " foods.

Then manmade sugar came on the scene -a compound that *nature* would

never have 'invented'.

 

This new " chemical " , offering so much refined glucose to the

bloodstream without the benefit of the usual accompanying fiber,

minerals, vitamins and enzymes -

was an " assault " on a human " biochemistry " that had evolved

over the centuries.

 

All these precious stores of nutrients which the body had other

plans for, must now be 'mobilized' and used up in order to " deal with "

150 pounds per year of a devitalized non-food.

 

The illusion of energy from refined sugar is something that sugar

advertisers have capitalized on for decades.

 

 

That initial burst of nervous energy is immediately followed by a

body in " crisis " ... wasting energy trying to bring things back to

normal. These efforts make the body tired, sleepy, and run down.

 

The initial " blast " of energy is the " adrenal shock "

reacting to a 'non-food' in the system.

 

Refined sugar stimulates a whole range of " physiological " responses,

 

all of which are unnecessary,

 

all of which waste the energy of the cells and systems,

 

and all of which are followed by a condition of " exhaustion "

soon after the brief " rush " subsides.

 

Sugar cannot be digested.

 

Sugar " inactivates " digestive enzymes.

 

It " remains " in the intestinal tract, fermenting.

 

Some of the toxic mass gradually " seeps " into the bloodstream where it

'acidifies' the blood.

 

The body tries desperate " measures " to maintain the normal pH of the

blood.

This process " wastes " vitamins, minerals, and enzymes which should

have been used for normal " metabolism " .

 

See how sugar can age the body? Worn adrenals, used-up pancreas.

 

Another problem with an " over-acid " digestive tract is that the " good

bacteria " , the intestinal flora, are destroyed.

Their job was the final stages of digestion.

 

Without them, " rotting " and " stagnation " of food is promoted,

instead of " digestion " .

The half-digested carbohydrates leak into the bloodstream intact

causing problems in the bloodstream (CVD) joints (arthritis),

muscles (fibro,etc), organs ( heart disease, etc) - any place they

lodge.

 

Examples of diseases that come about in this manner:

 

- osteoarthritis - hepatitis - cirrhosis - kidney disease

- chronic fatigue - fibro - colitis/irritable bowel syndrome

- Candida albicans - chronic allergies

 

Candida albicans is a common yeast infection that goes all through

the body. Many researchers estimate that as many as 80% of American

women may have Candida. (Anderson) The #1 way Candida occurs is floral

" imbalance " — normal flora keep

Candida and other potentially " bad organisms " in *check*.

 

Not only does half-digested sugar " kill off " the " good " bacteria.

In addition, Candida " thrive " on it.

 

Besides enzyme destruction and acidifying the blood,

sugar " depletes " the body of **minerals**.

 

Most of the " damage " to the body resulting from sugar can be traced to

one of these events.

 

Many life functions of cells and tissues are dependent on the

presence of minerals.

 

The action of many vitamins are dependent on the presence of

minerals.

 

First, we have seen the importance of chromium for insulin to

operate. A double threat is happening with chromium:

 

- chromium is " depleted " as the body " attempts " to metabolize and

remove white sugar - as the stores are used up, there won't be enough

chromium left to

allow the 'available' " insulin " to work.

 

For this reason, many people who are being 'diagnosed' diabetic may

be just chromium 'deficient'.

 

Even if insulin is present, it cannot operate on sugars without

chromium as a co-factor. (Appleton, p 61)

 

Very often chelated chromium supplements together with 'eliminating'

refined sugar from the 'diet'

can 'normalize' a patient who was 'incorrectly' labeled as diabetic.

 

White sugar causes sharp " drop-offs " in blood sugar level after it

is " removed " from the blood, because it has " destroyed " 'digestive

enzymes' necessary for " breaking down " the other food that is still in

the tract, " waiting " to be absorbed.

 

 

Natural fruit sugar from organic fresh fruit is generally low on the

glycemic index (23). (Miller, p.29)

Fructose from organic fresh " whole fruit " is quickly and easily *used*

by the cells and thus removed from the blood.

 

Here we see one of the common errors of 'Junk Science' and the

" Everybody's-A-Nutritionist " phenomenon.

 

Some " experts " will say that it's bad to drink natural fruit juice

because of all the sugar. Such a notion is completely without

foundation, and shows no

understanding of whole foods, the importance of enzymes, or the

Glycemic Index.

 

Fruits contain within them the " enzymes " such as 'maltase' and

'invertase' necessary to break down their fructose into " usable "

glucose.

The glucose is then either used as fuel or stored.

 

People don't get diabetes because they drink too much orange juice.

They get diabetes from drinking a six-pack of cola every day, or

box of donuts, or a quart of ice cream.

 

Fruits are loaded with whole food vitamins, minerals, cellulose and

natural antioxidants. These are fundamental nutrients.

 

Alternative-Lite holistic practitioners making recommendations for

cancer patients who have refused standard treatment sometimes tell the

patients to " avoid fruits " because

" cancer loves sugar. "

 

Such " unfounded " advice is not only " incorrect " ; it " deprives " the

patient of an important " source " of nutrient forms which is are

essential for fighting cancer and boosting the immune system:

antioxidants.

 

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates never even mentions

diabetes. (Dufty, p.7

 

Before refined sugar came on the scene, diabetes did not even " exist " .

 

The English physician Thomas Willis first identified and named

diabetes in 1674, after England's annual sugar consumption had gone

from zero to 16 million lbs. in the previous 200 years.

 

But Willis was unable to say anything bad about sugar since he was

King Charles' personal physician, and Charles was making a ton of gold

off the sugar trade. (Dufty, p.

75)

 

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Years of loading up on " indigestible " sugar wears out the pancreas.

 

You'll remember that insulin, produced by the pancreas, is supposed

to " allow " sugar to be " taken into " the cells and used.

 

When the body is young, the pancreas works well.

 

Excess sugar in the teen years gets the pancreas used to

continually dumping lots of insulin into the bloodstream to get

ready for the day's sugar load.

 

Since insulin only lasts about 15 minutes, the pancreas may have to

work all day long.

 

Here's where the rollercoaster first begins: all that free

insulin will serve to abnormally lower the blood sugar on those

occasions when the person forgot to eat his usual 10x normal sugar

intake.

 

All that insulin, and all it's got to work on is a " normal " level of

blood glucose.

 

Enter hypoglycemia - low blood sugar.

 

The body gets accustomed to excesses of both sugar and insulin. For

awhile.

A few years later, when insulin no longer can keep up with the

incoming daily sugar fix, the pancreas finally " gives up " .

 

Unused sugar builds up higher and higher in the blood.

The kidneys try their best to excrete it, causing the classic 'sweet

urine' sign.

 

That's what diabetes is: constantly " high " blood glucose.

 

The idiotic solution is to take a " drug " to " get rid "

of all that extra glucose, instead of simply to *stop* eating 10 or 20x

as much sugar as the body can " handle " .

 

The medical approach is always the same: if an imbalance cannot be

corrected by a new drug, any natural remedy like sensible eating,

is called " unscientific. "

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrs-

Dieta-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html