Debunking myths: CARBS

We hear a lot of conflicting information about nutrition. Some people are advocates of vegan diets, others of low carbs diet, paleo diet, ketogenic diet etc. It can be overwhelming and when we read about it, we can find so many different theories which all make perfect sense on paper. So… I thought I would share my experience of a low carbohydrates diet with you, which I have followed for about two years. Why did I do it? What were the short-term effects? What were the long-term effects? What does research show? And my advice on how much carbs to eat, which carbs to eat and at what time of the day.  

My experience- Why did I go on a low carbohydrates diet?

My experience with a low carb diet has been very interesting. I suffer from autoimmune issues, which main cause is inflammation in the body. If you look up at what creates inflammation, what will come up is sugar, all grains (wheat, rice, oats, buckwheat etc), corn, pulses, and legumes.  Indeed, a diet high in grains raises Omega 6 levels in the body when what you want is more Omega 3, as Omega 6 are inflammatory and Omega 3 anti-inflammatory. As a result, in 2011, I adopted a paleo diet. The Paleo diet is based on all meat and fish, eggs, vegetables (excluding the ones above), fruit, nuts and unrefined sugars like honey, dates or maple syrup. It worked really well for me and my inflammation markers went down. However, when my digestion plays up and I get bloating and IBS or IBD symptoms, I follow a candida diet/very low carbs for a few weeks and it settles things. It also really helps to shed some body fat and get leaner. For me, this miracle diet consists of meat, fish, chicken, eggs, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, and good oils.  

The short-term effects – amazing!

This diet worked wonders for me in the short term. My stomach issues settled, I had absolutely no bloating or IBD symptoms, I was full of energy, my skin was clear and I became super lean. As you can imagine, I thought I had found the holy grail and I decided that would be my way of eating going forward. No more bananas, dark chocolate, dates or yummy Paleo cakes for me as they contain sugar from the natural sweeteners I use, like maple syrup, dates or honey. But who cares when you feel so good?!  

The long-term effects – not so good…

So medium term, i.e. a couple of months into this way of eating, I noticed my portion size increasing and a sense of never feeling full. I started gaining weight as I was snacking too much -on nuts mainly!- and would not feel satiated. But as this diet worked so well a few months before that I wasn’t ready to question it yet. I found myself cutting down on fruit massively and basically following a very low-carb on a daily basis. I would have salmon and eggs in the morning. Chicken and salad for lunch and something similar in the evening or fish/meat if I went out. I snacked on nuts. I ate absolutely no sugar, starchy carbs or fruit. I did this for 2 YEARS! That definitely was a mistake for me as I noticed quite a lot of undesirable side effects. It took me a while to understand where it came from. When something works for us, we find it hard to question it at a later stage. The reality is I had taken it too far.

Side effects of very low carb diets

I am naturally very curious – and nerdy- so I spent hours researching what the physiological effects of a very low carbs diet were. Here is what I found. I definitely experienced these sides effects, unfortunately. – Not eating carbs is bad for your brain. I started feeling depressed.  Indeed, serotonin (the hormone for happiness), is produced in the presence of insulin. Insulin can only be released when we eat carbohydrates. Too much insulin stimulation is dangerous and can lead to diabetes, but not enough leads to low levels of serotonin and a bad mood! I was down and couldn’t work out why. No matter how much exercise I would do -which normally lifts the mood- or nice things I would do in my life, I was in a low mood. It turned out I wasn’t producing enough serotonin, the happy hormone 🙂 – It can also lead to weight gain for a few reasons. The first cause of weight gain is low serotonin levels. Serotonin is not only a feel-good hormone, it also is a natural appetite suppressant. I kept feeling unsatisfied for that very reason and I found myself eating more. The second cause was the impact on my thyroid. Low carb diets can lead to low thyroid levels. If your thyroid levels are low, your body burns less and you gain weight. I got some blood tests done and they showed my thyroid levels were low. After reintroducing bananas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and the occasional dates/honey sweetened treats, they came back to a normal range. – Finally, the worst side effect for me was bad sleep. As explained above, low carb diets lead to low serotonin levels. Serotonin reduces cortisol levels (stress/being alert hormone) and allows the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone). Without insulin, we don’t produce enough serotonin or melatonin.

How to play it,  based on my experience and research

Here is what I would recommend doing, based on my experience:

1. Do not cut out all carbs. Have nutritious carbs like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas, dates, quinoa, rye bread etc. Check out my basic good carbs soup recipe.
2. Have some good complex carbs at night. I am talking about the ones mentioned above. Bananas help you sleep better and carbs in the evening will increase your insulin levels, lower your cortisol levels and make you feel relaxed. So you can have a good night of sleep – which helps with weight loss, see my article on sleep!
3. Limit high glycemic index food to avoid blood sugar spikes and try to stick to slow release carbs.

  The bottom line is: moderation is always a good idea! Favorite