Hi, I’ve been wondering, from nutritious point of view why Huel powder has more carbohydrate than protein content, is there a justification for that ? Are carobhydrates still relevant despite what modern ketogenic diet says ?
Carbs are not the ultimate reason people get fat. If they were, then this would be impossible
https://www.drmcdougall.com/2013/12/31/walter-kempner-md-founder-of-the-rice-diet/
Yes, once you already have insulin resistance from eating simple sugars, dairy, or meat, then eating starches will cause a spike in blood sugar and a large insulin dose from the pancreas, because you are insulin resistant. People already insulin resistant can indeed fatten by eating too many starches, while still consuming the meat/dairy/sugars. The meat/dairy/sugars keeps the insulin resistance alive and then the starches keep spiking the insulin. You can get a temporary weight loss by embarking on a very low carb, high meat/dairy diet since the meals will contain very little carbs and the relative insulin response will be muted as a result. Weight loss will occur and blood sugar will even normalize while this low carb, high meat/dairy diet is maintained. However, you are probably still insulin resistant, but you don’t realize it since you are eating such preposterously low amounts of total carbs. The very day you re-introduce carbs back into the diet, the blood sugar will elevate and the weight will come back with a vengeance. Also, you may still be at risk for cardiovascular disease because of the high meat/dairy portion of the ketogenic diet. And you are now stuck forever eating this way for fear of rapid weight re-gain. You are now a prisoner of your own creation, afraid to eat healthy whole grains and beans.
However, it was not the starches that caused the insulin resistance in the first place. As we can see from the “rice diet” program ran at Duke University for several decades, once you force patients to eat only rice for a period of time (and thus remove the meat and dairy) the insulin resistance goes away and the patient’s diabetes improves and they lose weight.
Processed sugars, meat, and dairy are the original cause of obesity. Starches is merely the proximal cause. This rice diet program cured patients who were already fat and diabetic.
Not all carbs are bad. The natural starches, resistant starches, and fiber found in grains, tubers, legumes/pulses, squashes, vegetables, and whole fruits are good for us. The extracted simple carbs from sugar cane and sugar beets, concentrated and then added back into food are bad for us.
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“These data indicate that higher whole grain consumption is associated with lower total and CardioVascular Disease mortality in U.S. men and women, independent of other dietary and lifestyle factors. These results are in line with recommendations that promote increased whole grain consumption to facilitate disease prevention.”
This meta analysis highlights the dietary changes of south Asians as they migrate to Europe, and the accompanying change in their health. These changes occur within the same generation, leading us to conclude that genetics did not play a role. (As the article says “The process that immigrants from low-income countries (and often from rural areas), moving to high-income countries (and often to urban areas) go through, can be described as a more abrupt and radical form of nutrition transition.”) Rather, rapid exposure to new diet is the leading culprit. People from Asian countries, forced to live on simple starch based diets due to economic restrictions, now adopt the “wealthier” diet in their new European home.
" the main dietary trend after migration is a substantial increase in energy and fat intake, a reduction in carbohydrates and a switch from whole grains and pulses to more refined sources of carbohydrates, resulting in a low intake of fiber. The data also indicate an increase in intake of meat and dairy foods. Some groups have also reduced their vegetable intake. The findings suggest that these dietary changes may all have contributed to higher risk of obesity, T2D and CVD.”
Traditional diets had starches as a foundation: “Most of the traditional diets of migrants from low-income countries contain large amounts of carbohydrate-rich staple foods, mostly cereal grains. In India, commonly used grains are wheat, rice, sorghum, and pearl millet, with different consumption patterns of these grains in the various parts of the country (24). In an overview from India, the grain and pulse intake is shown to vary in the different states from a little over 300 to almost 600 g/day/Consumption Unit (CU) (33). The main staple in Pakistan and some parts of India is chapatti or roti made from Atta(whole grain wheat) flour; in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it is rice (34, 11).”
" The concomitant reduction in whole grains has occurred even for those adhering to traditional staple foods, for example chapatti, by exchanging the traditional Atta flour with white flour. Simmons and Williams found that this habit varied highly between different South Asian groups in Coventry, England, from 29% among Pakistanis to 93% among the Gujaratis (30). A study among Pakistani immigrants in Norway found a relatively low grain intake (190 g/day/adult woman), similar to that of ethnic Norwegians (37), and a large part was commercial Norwegian bread, often made with a very small proportion of whole grain (38).” Trading out the traditional whole grains (which contain the endosperm, germ, and bran) for refined grain flours of endosperm only and the resultant reduction of fiber, protein, small amount of fats, vitamins, and antioxidants.
“Many traditional diets contain generous amounts of pulses."
Carbohydrates are not essential (required in the diet because our body cannot make them). However, they are a great energy source, help keep you full, and as we eat foods not nutrients often come with various micronutrients. Quality is more important than the type of macronutrient.
The ketogenic diet is a different ball game!
Check out this article for more information: https://huel.com/pages/fats-carbs-protein-fiber-salt-what-do-we-need
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Thank you for all anserws! Dan, that page is not existing 