Posted: 4/26/2005 5:03:18 PM EDT
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My friends and I are debating weither bread is bad for you. I say bread is an excellent source of carbohydrates. Then my friends ramble on how carbs is why people are fat these days ,and bread is the most horrible thing you can eat. I was taught in school that carbs are always good for you and bread is the best becuase its on the bottom of the food diagram. Who's right? If I'm right help me convence my husky friends otherwise. |
Bread is not bad for you. Being a fat ass is bad for you. Eating too many foods that are high in carbs, without enough exercise to burn them off, can cause you to become a fat ass. Here is the deal. Your body takes 7 calories of energy to burn up one gram of protein. It takes 7 calories to burn up one gram of fat. It takes 9 calories to burn up one gram of carbs. All foods not burned up will be stored as fat. Now, why do you think low carb diets work? Now, if you are going to eat stuff, eat stuff that is easier to burn off, if you don't want to end up "chunky". That would be foods that are lower in carbs and higher in proteins and fats. What you are looking to stay away from are highly processed foods, like white bread, white sugar, white flour, this also includes foods that have the ingredient high fructose corn syrup in them. If you want to eat carbs, eat thing like apples, bananas, fruits of all kinds. If you want grains, stick to whole grains. Eat things like whole grain breads and pastas, and brown rice. Oh, and don't forget oatmeal. One last thing, forget that food pyramid that you learned in school. It is a tool destined to turn you into a fat ass. It was written by legislators paid for by the food companies. Take a look around, they had your best interest is mind when they wrote it. |
Posts like this are why people should not look for diet advice on a gun forum. Here is the deal. Your body takes 7 calories of energy to burn up one gram of protein. It takes 7 calories to burn up one gram of fat. It takes 9 calories to burn up one gram of carbs. All foods not burned up will be stored as fat. Now, why do you think low carb diets work? OK wtf does this mean? Protein and carbs contain 4 calories per gram yet your body uses 7 calories of energy to burn them up? A gram of protein contains 7 calories of energy? (it does not) Stored carbs and protein require 7 calories to burn off? (this is not true either) Carbs are a fuel source for HIGH ENERGY demands. They cause a spike in insulin which tends to make people fat. If your sedentary you dont need many carbs. |
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The quality of the carbs makes a significant difference. The primary source of carbs for Americans right now is white breads, pasta, processed foods, and sugar-laden snacks. These foods, combined with a get-no-exercise lifestyle, can lead to significant weight gain. If you're active, your body can handle more carbs because it burns them for fuel. I think the South Beach Diet book is very helpful in outlining good v. bad carbs, and in determining what an individual's metabolism is best suited for. |
| Pretty good info. Carbohydrates are the cleanest burning energy source for ppl, the only by-products being water, carbon dioxide, plus a few FADH and 32 net ATP(not 100% sure on numbers) Refined carbs are the problem carbs because unlike longer polysaccharides, they are digested very rapidly causing a large insulin spike as a result. Sticking to polysaccharides like starch, cellulose(which humans cannot digest) and fiber are a better source of carbs than more refined mono and disaccharides like sugars. |
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I'm also confused by the "it takes 7 calories to burn a gram of protein" statement. I've never heard nutritional energy referred to that way. Calorie content of the macronutrients are: Carbohydrate: 4 k/cal per gram Protein 4 k/cal per gram Fat 9 k/cal per gram alchohol 7 k/cal per gram A serving with 20 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat and no protein would have 98 calories. A serving with 14 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, and 1 gram of carbohydrate would have 158 calories. Say your entire daily diet fits these proportions (not likely but just suppose..) and you eat 20 such servings. Low-fat diet = 1960 calories per day Low-carb diet = 3160 calories per day There are lots of other factors such as insulin response to refined carbs and fatty food being more filling but my money is still on low-fat with an emphasis on natural carbs (i.e., whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, etc...) I'm sure the body does expend some energy converting protein, fat, and alcohol to carbohyrate (what all food eventually becomes) but I imagine it's a mere fraction of the kilocalories the protein, fat or alcohol contains as energy. On the other hand, I could not agree more with the dietary recommendations that were in the same post. |