Why Carbs Got a Bad Rep. And What you Can Do About It.

My home-baked, white flour challah from last night.
(Today's french toast!)

 It’s all fat’s fault. It started with fatphobia, a fear of fat. Yes, back in the 80’s when Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Sinatra’s New York, New York were hits, Americans were instilled with a near fatal fear of fat-containing foods.  Meanwhile, carbohydrate was deemed safe and free to consume, without restraint. Ah, the good old days.

Heart disease became linked to saturated fat, and the message got oversimplified. Instead of saturated fats, the true culprit, all fats were grouped together as unacceptable.

And so food companies, ever interested in meeting consumer demand, supported our desire to eliminate the fat from most food products. Welcome Snackwell fat free cookies, fat free ice cream, reduced fat peanut butter—you name it.  Clients would declare, so proudly, that they had eaten 5 or 6 fat free sandwich cookies, clinging to the “free” part of the description. That they had consumed as much from these ”safe” cookies as they would from regular Oreos, never crossed their minds. They simply homed in on the fat content.

As fats were vilified, intake of carbohydrate-rich foods expanded, as did our waistlines. As you eliminate one of the three main building blocks of foods (fat) you are left with only two others (protein and carbohydrate) to fill the void. And we were given incentive to increase our intake of these items—they were “free” (of fats) and seemingly good for us. And their portions increased as well, as our guilt for eating them bottomed out.

So obscenely large I had to dig out my food scale and see what it weighed. Yes, 7 oz!

Unless you grew up in Brooklyn (which I happen to) a bagel was something Lenders made. It weighed about 2 ounces, the equivalent of two slices of pre-sliced bread. But even commercially baked bagels bulked up to 4 and 5 ounces, as in Dunkin Donuts, Finagle a Bagel, and Einstein.

No, not all bagels weight this much!

The thought of energy balance, of eating to meet your need, was absent, as larger amounts of carbs were eaten, regardless of hunger or need.

Finally the reality hit. Americans’ weight was climbing. In spite of having cut the fat, our weight, as a population, was increasing. (By the way, for those of you still fat phobic, this only further supports the fact that fats don't link with weight gain.) The culprit? Well, according to such authorities as Barry Sears (The Zone Diet) and Dr. Atkins (of restrict-carbs-to-make- ketones fame), the obvious conclusion was that carbs were bad. 


And boy did that message take off! They reinforced their messages with a distortion of a truth about carbs—that they increase insulin levels in the blood stream. They pathologized this situation, making it seem like a bad thing. Yes, insulin levels increase upon eating carbs. But a healthy body handles carbohydrate quite well, thank you. Yes, even diabetics can and should include carbohydrate as a chunk of their intake. (I say this as both an RD and a Certified Diabetes Educator.)

When panicked, we tend to not trust ourselves, instead latching on to information, even illogical and incorrect information.

Carbs don’t increase your weight. Period. 

Excess calories do. And the way we were eating carb-rich foods clearly resulted in taking in too many calories. And by choosing more processed, less filling carbohydrate-rich foods, it was quite easy to over consume them. For instance, eating a 5 oz. bagel was a breeze. But could you easily eat 2 ½ cups of cooked oatmeal? Because they’re the same, calorically.  And a 12 oz. can of apple juice? That’s about 3 ½ whole apples. Which would fill you up more? See the point. And the bagel pictured on this page (purchased from local bagel shop)? That’s like having 7 (yes, seven) slices of bread! But we tend to see foods as units—a sandwich, for instance, or a bagel, failing to recognize just how large the portion really is.

That isn’t to say that you should only eat high fiber grains, though. Truly, it’s simply about the portion. They eat white, processed pasta in Italy, and white baguettes in France, as part of their healthy Mediterranean diet. And the record shows it doesn’t cause weight gain. But they also include legumes, and fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. And they rarely eat in their cars, or on the train. And they tend to take time to eat. And I suspect they really enjoy those crusty baguettes and croissants. Get the picture?

Still struggling to trust the carbs? Make a substitution for a protein source, not an addition, just to prove it’s okay. Take baby steps. Once your worst fears don’t come true, do it more frequently. Start with foods you might see as healthier, to get started.

This one was too cute to cook. The rest got tossed with olive oil and baked!

Go ahead. Give it a try. You’ll see that bad things don’t happen. I promise!

Food Finds: Cereals, Hot and Cold

I'm overwhelmed. As I move down the cereal aisle, hovering around the oatmeals I feel paralyzed. Where do I begin to decode the hidden information on these packages?  How can I guide you to navigate  the absurd abundance of food choices, in this single section of the cereal aisle, as well as in the many sections throughout the market?  There's the lower sugar, the high fiber, the weight control--the choices are endless. And if you read my NuVal blog entry you know I am not a believer in the "oversimplify" method, providing a single score or value to a product.

So here are the facts. If you are lured to oatmeal for its fiber content, motivated to help with constipation, forget it. Wrong type of fiber to help move things along. For that, try All-Bran Bran Buds, high in insoluble fiber, from wheat bran. It contains an unusually high amount per serving, and it tastes good. Only 1/3 cup and you get 13 grams of total fiber, 10 grams insoluble. The other 3 grams come from psyllium and oats, sources of soluble fiber. This is the type that helps lower cholesterol (if you are able to take in 7-13 grams of it per day) and helps slow the rise in blood sugar (really only an issue for those with diabetes, not for the rest of you). No need for a whole bowl of Bran Buds, either. Try mixing cereals or add some Bran Buds as a crunchy topping to yogurt.

Ok, back to the oatmeal. If you have time on your hands, about 30 minutes, my favorite is steel cut oats. For Americans, this cereal will look quite different than the Quaker you are used to. Think whole grain rice or barley cut with a sharp knife, then cooked. It has a chewy texture and is quite satisfying. A quick version could be prepared as follows:

Soak the oats overnight. Before going to bed, boil four cups of water in a pot, add one cup of oatmeal. Simmer 1 minute. Cover pot and store overnight in refrigerator. The next morning cook the oatmeal on low heat for 9 – 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

But beware of the serving sizes! On McCann's Irish oats, the steel cut type, 1/4 cup dry makes the equivalent of one serving, as compared to most cereal labels. For Quaker oats, AKA rolled oats, the package can be misleading regarding serving size. The heart symbol portion may seem like a wise choice, but for most of us, this portion would be excessively filling. Both varieties are healthy and tasty options, with zero sodium. Add a bit of brown sugar (or not, if you are diabetic and closely counting the carbs) and cinnamon for additional flavor. Dried fruit added during cooking is also a nice treat (dried cherries are my personal favorite). For either type of oats, you can cook multiple portions in advance and refrigerate, then microwave reheat. Or, you can have the convenience of microwaving the rolled oats. Just be sure to place in an extra large bowl and cover with plastic or a volcano will erupt in the microwave! Really! And if you must do the packages, you can mix and match, one plain and one flavored pack. With the exception of young kids, I don't know anyone who only needs one package.



Another hot cereal that ranks is Bob's Red Mill varieties--the 5, 7, and 10 grain versions (I think I've got that right). Grainier texture, it's a very satisfying hot cereal which, like most things, tastes even better with a bit of sweetener (and in this case, a splash of milk).


Given the cool temperatures these mornings, I should stop here. But cold cereals do give us a lot of options and are so convenient. So here are a few word about my favorites:


-Kashi Heart to Heart. Cheerios-like, but tastes sweeter, without them adding more sugar. Hmmm. I suspect they manage it by reducing the sodium, which is at a lower level than Cheerios. And you must try the warm cinnamon variety! Yum.


-Kashi Cinnamon Harvest. Think Shredded Wheat with flavor, but less sugar than frosted varieties. Quite good!

-Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls. Bad name, I must admit, because it makes us think shredded wheat, which will turn lots of you away. But trust me--it's delicious and nothing like Shredded Wheat.
These three choices are modest in fiber (about 4-6 grams) and overall tasty, yet healthy options.


-Barbara's Puffins. A particularly good choice for kids, and several versions are gluten free.


-Nature's Path Flax Plus Flakes. More fiber (the constipation-curing type) in a simple flake. And stands up to milk better than regular bran flakes.


So start with these. And tell me what you think. Are there others that are your favorites that might be worth mentioning? There are plenty of others I didn't mention, but could have, if I had the time and the space on this page.



As a final note, I must confess. I was raised on Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops, and Tony the Tiger I thought was GRREAT! 
Enjoy!