Carbohydrates, Insulin, And Weight Management
By Carol Chuang, MS, CHC, CMTA
                        

If you think that eating fat makes you fat, then you don't understand how the body works.
 
Weight loss merely by calorie and fat restriction does not guarantee fat burning. After a while, you will reach a weight-loss plateau, beyond which you simply can't lose any more weight.
 
Eating fat does not make you fat. A high carbohydrate diet is the reason for your weight gain, and insulin is the hormone ultimately responsible for body fat storage.

• When you eat a carb-rich meal, within a very short time, it is digested, absorbed, and converted to glucose in the bloodstream. Your pancreas rapidly produces a large amount of insulin to take the excess glucose out. It is converted first into glycogen, a form of starch, which is stored in the liver and muscles. But the body can only store a limited amount of glycogen, so all other excess glucose is stored as body fat - saturated fat. This is how you put on weight and this is why you have such a hard time losing fat.

• High insulin levels also suppress two important hormones - glucagon and growth hormone. Glucagon promotes the burning of fat and sugar. Growth hormone is essential for muscle development and building of new muscles. Both are vital for proper weight management. 

If eating carbs trigger an insulin response, does it mean that we should not eat carbs at all?
 
Not exactly.

First of all, some people have a higher tolerance for carbohydrates than others due to genetic differences in their ability to metabolize various foods into energy.

• Alcohol is processed by the liver which metabolizes alcohol into acetate, and finally into carbon dioxide and water. Although alcohol is not metabolized into sugar, the problem with alcohol is that it is processed in the body before the proteins, fats, and carbs, hence, it slows down the fat burning process. Therefore, over consumption of alcohol can ultimately add pounds to the body.

Moreover, alcohol itself has no nutrients and is high in calories (7 calories per gram), almost as much as fat (9 calories per gram) and much more than carbs or protein (4 calories per gram).

• Above-ground vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, kale, and spinach have the lowest GI and are nutrient-rich and low in starch. They are your first choice for carbohydrates.
   
  
• Beans, fruits, and root vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and winter squashes, are higher in carbohydrate content and GI. However, because they are a good source of fiber and are full of nutrients, they are your second choice for carbohydrates.
   
  
• Whole grains, such as rye, barley, quinoa, oats, wheat, and brown rice, contain fiber and nutrients but are relatively high in GI. Therefore, it is best to limit the consumption of grains in your diet to prevent excessive fat storage. Whole grains are your third choice for carbohydrates.

Insulin, Exercise, And Weight Loss

When you exercise, you want the body to burn fat. However, if your insulin levels are high during exercise, your body will end up burning sugar rather than fat. That explains why many people see very little or no results in weight reduction even though they exercise.

Professional athletes go on a low-carbohydrate diet when they train - they are essentially burning fat. The night before their event, they load up on carbs. The rise in insulin instructs the body to store glycogen in the liver and muscles, so that they can go into a sugar burning mode for enhanced athletic performance.

To lose weight, you want the body to burn fat - that means the insulin response must be moderated. Most importantly, eliminate the non-fiber carbs and the high glycemic foods. Instead, focus mostly on the fiber carbs - in particular, those with low and moderate glycemic levels.