In 2004 a low carbo diet fad spread  from the USA to Canada and other countries. Marketing organizations under brand names such as "Atkins" and South Beach diet. created the fad. Concerned that popular low-carbohydrate diets are nutritionally unsound, Health Canada responded with regulations that prevent manufacturers from making low-carb claims for their products... the new labeling rules were designed to be compatible with the Canada Food Guide, which recommends that adults get 45 to 65 per cent of their daily calories from carbohydrates. Based on a typical 2,000-calorie diet, that translates to 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates per day." 

Astrup et al reviewed studies of low-carbohydrate diets, only three randomized trials reported on diets sustained for more than 90 days. There was greater weight loss with a low-carbohydrate diet after 6 months than with energy-restricted diets.  However, in the two studies that were extended to 12 months, there was no difference between the two types of diets. Astrup recommended more studies lasting long enough to assess the diet's effects on cardiovascular risk factors, such as lipid profiles and glucose tolerance. More information is also needed regarding fiber and micronutrient composition, as well as effects on markers of kidney and bone health, nutritional adequacy, dietary compliance, quality of life and cancer risk. Until then, the preponderance of scientific evidence tells us that people who want to lose weight and keep it off, should switch to a new and permanent diet reduced in calories and fat in combination with physical activity. Lancet 2004;364:897-899.

Carbohydrates in Perspective

When food is reduced to three constituents, carbohydrates, fats and proteins, you get dumb nutrition. There are many other and more important ways to view food composition. For me, the most important question to ask is does it contain gluten (the proteins found in cereal grains)? It does not matter what the CFP ratios are, if a food contains gluten and I eat it, I am going to become very ill; if I ate gluten foods everyday, my life would be short and miserable.

Sugar has been blamed for all manner of health problems, often without justification. Many people who contact us with sugar concerns are misinformed and confused about the role of sugar in the body. They cannot differentiate among different kinds of sugar. They have not learned that glucose is the essential sugar, the key to life on planet earth. Glucose runs every cell alive on the planet. Glucose is a carbohydrate.

Glucose, like oxygen and water is essential to life, but too much in the wrong place, at the wrong time can be harmful.  The basic principle of  leading a healthy life is that the right molecules have to be delivered to the right place at the right time. This principle is used to formulate elemental nutrient formulas such as Alpha ENF. The idea is that  glucose and fructose supply the energy that the body needs; the sugars are combined with all other nutrients following an ideal proportioning plan.

If glucose utilization is impaired as in diabetes, then the rate of glucose absorption becomes critical. Small frequent doses will often be better utilized and high blood sugar peaks are avoided.

Carbohydrates are energy and structural molecules produced by plants. Glucose is the key molecule in living systems and life is built around glucose and its related sugars. Plant foods are essential to animal life and form the bulk of most human diets. Rice, wheat, potatoes, yams, cassava, soyabeans and corn are the world's most important staple foods. In the US, about 15% of agricultural production is devoted to vegetable cultivation. High-starch vegetables tend to be roots or tubers like potatoes, yams, turnips, winter squash, carrots, and beets. Yams and sweet potatoes are high-caloric root vegetables. Fruits tend to have a  high sugar content, mostly glucose, fructose and sucrose. Fruit juices have the highest free sugar content of all plant foods except for sugar cane which stores sugar in its stalk. The green leafy vegetables are more chemically diverse and interesting foods that supply less digestible carbohydrate but more vitamins, minerals, and non-digestible fiber. The seeds of 30 or so common legume species are important plant foods, since they are cheap, available and contain relatively high concentrations of proteins and fatty acids.