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        Nutrition Tip of the Month

      October, 2009

         Starch it, when you need it!!

If you want to get lean, lose those unwanted inches from your belly, hips, and love handles.... and see that body in the mirror you have been looking for?? One of the main contributing factors for hoarding body fat, is giving no consideration as to when, and what kind of starchy carbohydrates are in your daily diet.

The thing about starchy carbohydrates such as all grain based foods (breads, muffins, baked goods, dinner rolls, breakfast cereals,) rice, potatoes, certain legumes (beans), etc.. is that eventually, your body will not be able to process all of the energy that these calorie dense foods provide in a favorable way.  What do I mean by favorable??

Essentially, if one subsists on a starchy carbohydrate diet, one's blood sugar (blood-glucose levels) and ultimately blood fat ( lipid)  levels will rise to unhealthy levels. In addition to the rising blood sugar levels, the body will be forced to produce and store saturated fat in our least favorite areas. Yes, we are talking about belly, hip, thigh, upper back, and eventually extemity fat...( back of the arms, and legs).  I will spare my readers any further in depth physiological explanations about how fat is created in the body.  But, putting it simply, the more calories you put into your body, without the need or demand for them, the less the body is inclined to use them in a productive way.  So, what is the solution here?  I know we all love our carbs, and with good reason!!  Our carbs are our comfort and solace foods that make us feel better, no matter what is going on in our lives. However, the body has a capacity to utilize carbohydrates in a productive manner, such as convert them to muscle and liver glycogen (muscle fuel), beyond this utilization, the excess blood sugars get converted to fats, both in the blood and adipose sites in the body. How well one tolerates an excessive amount of carbohydrates and utilizes this excess to convert to glycogen, rather than body fat is essentially carbohydrate tolerance. There are certain factors that allows someone to more tolerant to carbohydrates and keep excessive body fat stores at bay. Certain body types, activity levels, and whether you get a good night sleep can all affect your tolerance to carbohydrates .

     Carbohydrate intolerance, and inefficient fat burning and metabolism.    

 

     are created by a         a diet  predominantly made up of higher glycemic (grain-based) carbohydrates.

                                         

Carbohydrate tolerance, and efficient fat burning                                 

are created by possessing a higher metabolic rate

                                                                         as result of increased lean muscle mass, and eating

                                                                        lower percentage of  lower glycemic carbs, along with at least ingesting 30 to 35% of your calories from animal and dairy proteins, and 20 to 25 %                                                                     of daily  total calories from healthy fats.