Hi.......A quick question that countinuously bothers me. I live in the U.S. (Massachusetts) and am currently a Dietitian and ex-physical education teacher. (had to change careers secondary to Fibromyalgia). I have always had lots doubts about many of the U.S. government dietary guidelines, especially the food pyramid. I have kept a very opened mind with lots of the "Atkins Diet claims" and am finding the science behind it pretty interesting & convincing. I do lots of one on one nutritional counseling and sometimes find myself advocating some of Atkins food principles. However there is one question that always nags at me: Why is it that so many countries i.e. Asian countries are very healthy eating a high carb diet. Many healthy countries subsist on a diet very high in carbohydrates and for the most part the populations are lean and fairly healthy. Why?

I think it has to do with ancestry. Do you come from those that decend from horticulturalists or pastoralists, for example. I think some are able to eat carbs and others are sensitive for the same reason that some are able to ingest lactose and others aren't. Food and biology evolve at the same time, not independently. There are traditional populations of Andean Peruvians that live almost 90% on potatoes. They are not fat because they are adapted to it. Not everybodies body requires the same macronutrient types or percentages. I, for example, am 100% Scottish. My ancestors were pastoralists that subsisted on primarily meat and diary, plus whatever they could gather. Therefore I have no problem with diary. On the otherhand almost 60% of the world is lactose intolerant because dairy is not part of there traditional diet.

Native Americans are a contemporary example of a population that has recently experienced a major change in diet. Due to many social pressures the majority of Native Americans nolonger eat in traditional ways. They are suffering from numerous health problems as a result. There was a post about the thrifty gene a few weeks ago. It is this gene that is the cause of problems, so some think. Traditionally Natives lived for the majority of the year eating alot of fat. Their bodies adapted to this. Now that their bodies aren't getting the macronutrient amounts their bodies are used to they are suffering. Anybody interested do a search on Natives, NIDDM(non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus) and diet. It is very interesting stuff. Sorry for the long post............B

from my research and understanding I attribute the seeming contradiction to the fact that Asian diets often were accompanied by high physical exercise and low actual calories,

Asian diets do not seem to be afraid of fats,

I just think it all gets out of hand when there is the combination of a more sedentary lifestyle and abundance,

remember the reports of late about the supersizing of portions and the almost epidemic obesity in our country,

chemically our systems can handle some range but when we undermove and overeat we develop disease,

hurray for Atkins and others for bucking the paradyme,

julienne

I've also read that tea - especially green tea - acts as a sort of natural starch-blocker. (That was in one of Fran McCullough's books.) That might also be part of the puzzle.

And the relative absence of the kind of chemical junk that makes up so much of the SAD might also have something to do with it. I've always thought that it's not just the carbs -- it's also what we do to them that causes the problem.

RGale

Hi there. Do you like the books written by Fran McCullough? I'm thinking of buying her cookbook........B

I like her writing and her books have a lot of good information, but to be perfectly honest, I don't use her recipes. Most of them are too fussy for me, and they're often higher carb than I'd like. You can get some interesting ideas from them, though.

If I were you, I'd check them out of the library and have a look before I bought them.

--Ruth

DOn't be fooled into thinking that slim equals healthy.

Here's a link to a previous discussion on the subject. Diabetes is an epidemic in Asia.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...asia#post795195

Karen

Deane,

It might be the type of carbs that are being consumed, more legumes and less highly processed food. When a lot of this type of low GI carb is consumed they can lower the glycemic load of carbs that are higher on the glycemic index. So that say most of the day low gi veggies and legumes are consumed - but there is some white rice in the meals - the veggies and legumes are low gi and have a very low gi load when eaten with the white rice which has a high GI it lowers the effect of the gi load of the rice. In the Montignac plan, this is known as a compensation. Also the Aisian and Mid Eastern countries normally have a much higher fibre intake than North American (that is if they are eating in a traditional manner and have not been seduced by North American or Highly Modernized products)

Middle eastern diets also includge a lot of other grains and are actually more diverse than Western diets. Also, traditional Asian diets are more diverse. In these diets starches are side dishes and the bulk is made of of vegetables with some meat. There is no fast food eaten at all and very little sugars. It's when you tilt the balance to more processed foods (carbs and sugars) combined with the fats that the problems begin.

I've heard green tea helps keep the cancer rates down. Also the foods they eat are fairly low in calories and the portions are small.

Asian diets may be higher in carbs, but what kind of carbs? There's a huge difference between eating a lot of rice and eating a lot of sugar and refined flour. I lived with a Malaysian visa student for a year, and she ate a *ton* of vegetables, plenty of fresh meat (is this sounding familiar? ) and only small portions of rice or noodles. She rarely had any baked goods in the house, not even bread. No chips or candy. I also rented a room in a house owned by a Chinese couple, and noticed the same thing. Yes, there was always rice in the house, but meat, fish and veggies were their staples. Rice was just the side dish.

Food for thought.

Hi deane,

I live in a country where there are hardly any overweight people - and they also eat tons of potatoes, porridges and bread.

The differences from what I can make out are these:

They don't drink loads of sugar laiden soft drinks.
Their fat intake is 3 to 10 times that of the west.

I think sugar and lack of fat are what makes the western diet so unhealthy.

Robert

rice used to be the main 'staple' when times were worse and majority Asians could not afford those meats.......life is now better.

Chinese has a proverb for this loosely translated as "Big Fish Big Meat', apparently fish and meat were not the regulars of my ancestor's dinnertable.....

they eat some preserved meat and fish though, coz it's not cheap too.

In Mandarin, Chi1 Fan4 ="Eat Rice" means to have your meal...