Posted on Wed, Feb. 11, 2004

Excising carbs from your diet goes against the grain

By Kathleen Purvis, KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/7926475.htm

We're missing a grain of truth.

In our rush to embrace the health darling of the moment, the low-carbohydrate mantra of the "ABZ" diets -- Atkins, South Beach and Zone -- we may be throwing the baby out with the bread basket.

"Carbohydrates are not evil," says Elisabetta Politi, director of nutrition at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. "People should not fear carbohydrates as something unhealthy. (Consuming) a lot of carbohydrates leads to weight gain. But they're a good fuel."

Even as dietitians shake their heads at eating plans that severely restrict certain food groups, they're pleased with the basic message: Too much sugar and refined flour lead to weight gain.

But the other part of the equation, replacing refined flour with whole grains, may not be getting through.

"The public has somehow misunderstood the message," says Politi. "Americans need to be aware that carbs by themselves are not the culprit in weight gain and diabetes."

Jeff Ganoung, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co., has degrees in microbiology and chemistry and a master's degree in food science. His wife and bakery co-owner, Janet, is a biologist with a master's in nutrition. These days, they spend almost as much time explaining chemistry as they do grinding flour and baking bread.

"The carbohydrate message needs to be refined," says Ganoung. "What we hear is 'low carb.' What they mean is sugar (and refined flour). It's like saying, 'Motorcycles are dangerous, so don't drive motor vehicles.'"

Peter Reinhart of Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, a baking instructor and author, was the keynote speaker at the Bread Summit in Providence, R.I., in November. Bread bakers from across the country came together to consider the effects of the low-carb message.

"I've always been an advocate for whole grains. When I had my (first) little hippie restaurant in Boston, in the early '70s, it was all built on whole grains," he says.

"I don't think most people know what a carb is, in general. That's complex. What most people need to understand is what a balanced diet really is. You don't have to understand carbs to understand that."

So, here's one message dietitians would like you to hear: Increase the whole grains in your diet. Even the diet books, such as Dr. Arthur Agatston's "South Beach Diet," recommend them.

Only 7 percent of Americans eat the suggested three servings of whole grains daily, according to Nutrition News Focus, a daily newsletter by Dr. David Klurfeld, chairman of the nutrition department at Wayne State University in Michigan. Many of us probably get no more than one serving a day.

So what are whole grains, and why are they so good for us?

"A whole grain is any grain that all the constituent parts are there," says Ganoung. "If there is any refining, you can't call it whole grain flour."

Any white flour, even unbleached, unbromated flour, isn't a whole grain flour. Whole wheat flour still includes the bran and the germ.

"How the flour is made, that's the key," he says. "(Whole wheat bread) doesn't need to be multigrain, it doesn't have to be rough-textured, it doesn't have to be chewy."

There are 400 trace components in wheat, Ganoung says, including barium and vanadium, essential to heart health, and appreciable amounts of selenium, vitamin E and the full range of B vitamins.

"If you refine wheat, you're going to lose that. How are you going to get it back?"

Politi likes to see us getting the fiber in whole grains.

"There's a lot of evidence that fiber has health benefits," says Politi. Foods that are high in fiber stay with you and help you feel full longer, what dietitians call "satiety," and they help your blood sugar stay steady, keeping you from the "zoom and crash" of high-sugar foods.

"Whole grains don't raise your blood sugar as quickly as a refined grain," she says.

Brown rice, bran cereal, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread are all examples of whole-grain foods. But what Politi also likes people to hear is that there are other good "whole" foods. A baked sweet potato, for instance, isn't a grain, but it's whole in the way it comes to the table, versus a white potato that has been mashed up with butter or sliced and fried.

Seeds and nuts are made of proteins and fat, not carbohydrates, but they're wholesome and good to add to your diet.

"Whole has a meaning of not being altered by the food industry," she says. "You find an amazing number of foods that have been altered, because it's easier to prepare and preserve. Unfortunately, we're losing a lot of nutrients by processing food. And we don't know the effect of additives being added to food."

Cutting out carbohydrates is not only drastic, it's almost impossible. They're laced throughout our diets, not just in our pasta and bread.

"Starches, fruits, vegetables and dairy products all provide carbohydrates," says Politi. "The only food groups that don't have them are protein and fat."

So it's really not difficult, even if you don't like brown rice, to get more of the good carbohydrates in your diet.

"Start with oatmeal in the morning and then a slice or two of whole wheat bread at lunch," says Politi. "And then, if you like, have pasta or white rice at night. If you don't like whole grains, push the fruits and vegetables."

Aim for 24 to 30 grams of fiber a day, she says. "If you were to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables, and you eat them with the skin on, you'd get 10 to 12 grams of fiber right there."

So, while you're counting your calories, don't count out the carbs.

"It's important to know that not all carbohydrates are the same," says Politi.

"Eating SnackWell's fat-free cookies isn't the same as a slice of whole wheat bread."

[deleted several recipes here - all were high-carb; one had over 100 grams/serving - gotbeer]