So, if, to be healthy, I'm supposed to stay away from "processed carbs", what does that mean?

SaltyNuts

Platinum Member
May 1, 2001
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For example. Take a baked potato. Isn't that just a root element that is pulled out of the ground? Doesn't it go from being pulled out of the ground to being on your plate with basically no processing whatsoever? But isn't that still "starchy" carbs, and thus something one should stay away from?

What about white rice? Isn't that just shook off the vine or whatever, dried I would guess, and shipped basically to your plate?

How do these things compare to chips or, let's say, white bread or hamburger or hot dog buns, for example? Health wise of course.

And, a kind of related question - are these things bad if you eat them in moderation, with lots of meat and fat? For example. Let's say I get a double cheeseburger from McDonald's. That's a lot of meat and fat. Does that not kinda-sorta counteract the "badness" from the buns? If I make it a triple cheeseburger, and peel off a little of the buns from the edges, does the far higher ratio of meat and fat to bun ratio make it, relatively speaking, healthier for you?

Many thanks in advance for any serious replies.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
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Stuff that easily breaks down into sugar. You do know that one starch molecule breaks into 5 sugar molecules, right?

Avoid white bread and cake and shit like that. Stuff thats been thru multiple machines.

Try more whole wheat (not just plain wheat), wild rice, oat bran, whey, green vegetables, fresh fruit, and if you need sweet things use a little bit of real honey, avoid white granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Look for products that say No Sugar Added. BUT, check the nutrition facts anyway because some things are naturally filled with sugar, like jams and jellies.
 

pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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You had me going but then you took it too far when you started talking about cheeseburgers.
 
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IronWing

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Eat the burger, not the bun. Carl's Jr, Wendy's, Whataburger, and Culver's will all prepare any sandwich w/o the bun upon request. Don't order fries. It's simple.
 

SaltyNuts

Platinum Member
May 1, 2001
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Stuff that easily breaks down into sugar. You do know that one starch molecule breaks into 5 sugar molecules, right?

Avoid white bread and cake and shit like that. Stuff thats been thru multiple machines.

Try more whole wheat (not just plain wheat), wild rice, oat bran, whey, green vegetables, fresh fruit, and if you need sweet things use a little bit of real honey, avoid white granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Look for products that say No Sugar Added. BUT, check the nutrition facts anyway because some things are naturally filled with sugar, like jams and jellies.


Thanks mate!

"Stuff that easily breaks down into sugar. You do know that one starch molecule breaks into 5 sugar molecules, right?"

Wait, for real? So if I eat a baked potato, and it says it has (just random number) 10 grams of carbs, that converts to 50 grams of carbs? With 5 times the calorie count? Seems weird to me.


"Avoid white bread and cake and shit like that. Stuff thats been thru multiple machines."

Got it, makes complete sense.

"Try more whole wheat (not just plain wheat), wild rice, oat bran, whey, green vegetables, fresh fruit, and if you need sweet things use a little bit of real honey, avoid white granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Look for products that say No Sugar Added. BUT, check the nutrition facts anyway because some things are naturally filled with sugar, like jams and jellies."

Few questions here. What makes whole weat as opposed to plain weat better? By whey, do you mean the whey supplement you add to milk that a lot of body-building related companies sell? What is better about real honey rather than sugar or powdered sugar? I understand honey is very high on sugar - almost exclusively sugar, what makes it better?

And I TOTALLY get the jams and jellies and what not - its like, you take a grape, actually many grapes, squeeze the fiber out of them, so you are left with the grape juice, and then condense it into a jam or jelly - here is your concentrated carbs!

Thanks Shorty!
 

SaltyNuts

Platinum Member
May 1, 2001
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You had me going but then you took it too far when you started talking about cheeseburgers.

If you have anything to contribute to the thread, I'd love to hear it! Otherwise, have a nice day!

P.S., are you such a dumb-dumb that you don't realize that meat and fat slow down the ingestion time of carbs, especially a *reduced* amount of carbs? Hence, at a minimum, reduced blood sugar spikes? With all due respect, I'm not sure you are qualified to be posting on this forum, much less any forum.
 

SaltyNuts

Platinum Member
May 1, 2001
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Eat the burger, not the bun. Carl's Jr, Wendy's, Whataburger, and Culver's will all prepare any sandwich w/o the bun upon request. Don't order fries. It's simple.


Wow, ironwing, its been awhile since you contributed to one of my threads. Well, maybe you never did. But I appreciate it. Question. Is this your diet that you recommend? That seems to be a no (or very low) carb diet. Is that what you go by? If so, what have your results been? If not, why are you recommending it?

Thanks mate.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
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Wow, ironwing, its been awhile since you contributed to one of my threads. Well, maybe you never did. But I appreciate it. Question. Is this your diet that you recommend? That seems to be a no (or very low) carb diet. Is that what you go by? If so, what have your results been? If not, why are you recommending it?

Thanks mate.
I don't have a hard core low carb diet but I try to reduce the carbs. The closer I stick to the low carb diet the better I feel and the better I maintain the weight I want to be. I eat very little in the way of baked goods and hamburger buns are an easy thing to jettison. They don't add anything to the burger but empty, mostly tasteless, calories.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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So, if, to be healthy, I'm supposed to stay away from "processed carbs", what does that mean?

...

Many thanks in advance for any serious replies.

First question: what is your definition of healthy?
 
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pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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If you have anything to contribute to the thread, I'd love to hear it! Otherwise, have a nice day!

P.S., are you such a dumb-dumb that you don't realize that meat and fat slow down the ingestion time of carbs, especially a *reduced* amount of carbs? Hence, at a minimum, reduced blood sugar spikes? With all due respect, I'm not sure you are qualified to be posting on this forum, much less any forum.
If you are trying to reduce your blood sugar you should not be eating triple cheeseburgers, bun or not.
 
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Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
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As a rule of thumb*, you'll be healthier if you eat less processed foods in general, not just carbs. The reason is that processing tends to remove a lot of nutrients that help the body regulate itself, and it also unbalances food towards simple sugars and saturated fats, while excluding fiber and unsaturated fats.

Manufactured foods are designed to be preserved longer, market better, and be addictive (though the food industry says that's not their goal, it's certainly an outcome). All of that leads to foods that may be cheaper and more consistent, but lead to higher blood sugar, inflammation (and all sorts of inflammatory diseases), obesity, and a host of issues for people who over consume processed foods.

Which isn't to say you can't consume processed foods and be healthy... if it's done in moderation.


* Some processing (cooking) does improve absorption of vitamins, minerals, photonutrients, etc, so it doesn't necessarily mean you should switch to a completely raw diet.
 

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
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For example. Take a baked potato. Isn't that just a root element that is pulled out of the ground? Doesn't it go from being pulled out of the ground to being on your plate with basically no processing whatsoever? But isn't that still "starchy" carbs, and thus something one should stay away from?

Potatoes have a high glycemic index (or glycemic load per serving - google it if you really want to know the difference) - they raise blood sugar rapidly - so should be avoided if you're diabetic or insulin resistant (or "prediabetic"). Eating them with the skin helps somewhat, as the added fiber helps to alleviate the severity of the sugar swing.

What about white rice? Isn't that just shook off the vine or whatever, dried I would guess, and shipped basically to your plate?

White rice _is_ processed. It's had the husk, bran, and germ removed. So, basically, most of the fiber. It's much like eating just the inside of the potato.

(And, seriously, anyone over the age of 12 should know this.)

And, a kind of related question - are these things bad if you eat them in moderation,

Not many foods are truly bad in moderation (IMO), unless you have underlying medical conditions. But a big caveat to that is that "moderation" means a lot of different things to different people. A couple hamburgers a month isn't likely to harm your health over your lifetime. But someone else might think one a day is "moderate", so long as they get a single and not a triple with cheese and mayo.

with lots of meat and fat? For example. Let's say I get a double cheeseburger from McDonald's. That's a lot of meat and fat. Does that not kinda-sorta counteract the "badness" from the buns? If I make it a triple cheeseburger, and peel off a little of the buns from the edges, does the far higher ratio of meat and fat to bun ratio make it, relatively speaking, healthier for you?

From the standpoint of its effects on blood sugar, yes. But does that mean you can safely eat more triple cheeseburgers because you leave off the bun?
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
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Thanks mate!

"Stuff that easily breaks down into sugar. You do know that one starch molecule breaks into 5 sugar molecules, right?"

Wait, for real? So if I eat a baked potato, and it says it has (just random number) 10 grams of carbs, that converts to 50 grams of carbs? With 5 times the calorie count? Seems weird to me.


"Avoid white bread and cake and shit like that. Stuff thats been thru multiple machines."

Got it, makes complete sense.

"Try more whole wheat (not just plain wheat), wild rice, oat bran, whey, green vegetables, fresh fruit, and if you need sweet things use a little bit of real honey, avoid white granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Look for products that say No Sugar Added. BUT, check the nutrition facts anyway because some things are naturally filled with sugar, like jams and jellies."

Few questions here. What makes whole weat as opposed to plain weat better? By whey, do you mean the whey supplement you add to milk that a lot of body-building related companies sell? What is better about real honey rather than sugar or powdered sugar? I understand honey is very high on sugar - almost exclusively sugar, what makes it better?

And I TOTALLY get the jams and jellies and what not - its like, you take a grape, actually many grapes, squeeze the fiber out of them, so you are left with the grape juice, and then condense it into a jam or jelly - here is your concentrated carbs!


Thanks Shorty!

Retarded troll
 
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CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
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"Processed" means "has gone through a process to change some attribute(s)."

Yes, it's vague. Digging up from the ground is a process, as is dehydrating, pulverizing, mixing with other foods, and cooking. The word is meant to be used in relative terms.

A whole grain is less processed than a grain that has had the germ removed and bleached to be white. A picked apple is less processed than a picked and peeled apple or apple sauce.

When it comes to starches and sugars, less processed means honey instead of high fructose corn syrup or table sugar, whole-grain wheat flour instead of white flour or biscuit mix, corn on the cob instead of corn meal or corn bread, etc.

Stuff that easily breaks down into sugar. You do know that one starch molecule breaks into 5 sugar molecules, right?
Wait, for real? So if I eat a baked potato, and it says it has (just random number) 10 grams of carbs, that converts to 50 grams of carbs? With 5 times the calorie count? Seems weird to me.
Number of molecules != number of calories. Also, 10g != 50g. The mass of the constituents would be about the same as the whole with any difference coming from the stuff that's already in your body.
 

nakedfrog

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Apr 3, 2001
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I don't have a hard core low carb diet but I try to reduce the carbs. The closer I stick to the low carb diet the better I feel and the better I maintain the weight I want to be. I eat very little in the way of baked goods and hamburger buns are an easy thing to jettison. They don't add anything to the burger but empty, mostly tasteless, calories.
They're an important textural component.
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
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Try more whole wheat (not just plain wheat), wild rice, oat bran, whey, green vegetables, fresh fruit, and if you need sweet things use a little bit of real honey, avoid white granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Look for products that say No Sugar Added. BUT, check the nutrition facts anyway because some things are naturally filled with sugar, like jams and jellies.

man marketing for whole wheat being "healthy" alternative to white bread is amazing, hook line and singer. You do know that whole wheat bread has sugar and molasses added to it. and if you compare the nutrition labels between sara lee white and whole wheat, the whole wheat has less nutrients.

also jams and jellies are not "naturally" filled with sugar. they are filled with sugar by the manufacturer or by granny making a delicious cherry jelly in her kitchen.
 

RandomWords

Senior member
Jun 11, 2014
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man marketing for whole wheat being "healthy" alternative to white bread is amazing, hook line and singer. You do know that whole wheat bread has sugar and molasses added to it. and if you compare the nutrition labels between sara lee white and whole wheat, the whole wheat has less nutrients.

also jams and jellies are not "naturally" filled with sugar. they are filled with sugar by the manufacturer or by granny making a delicious cherry jelly in her kitchen.
Whole wheat will have less nutrients because white bread has to be enriched by law with the nutrients removed and usually it is done so in a greater extent... however - there is something about the bran and germ layers they remove that are required for healthy digestion and balancing of the glucose mololecules... also... you can make your own wheat bread and have zero sugar amd molasses in it if you so desire.

As a simple explanation... otherwise i highly suggest you research the scientific studies on the differences.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
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man marketing for whole wheat being "healthy" alternative to white bread is amazing, hook line and singer. You do know that whole wheat bread has sugar and molasses added to it. and if you compare the nutrition labels between sara lee white and whole wheat, the whole wheat has less nutrients.
One key thing you get out of the wheat bread is fiber. Lots more calcium in the wheat, but no riboflavin. Otherwise not a huge difference.
https://www.saraleebread.com/our-breads/soft-smooth-100-whole-wheat-bread
https://www.saraleebread.com/our-breads/classic-white-bread
My mind doesn't go to "Sara Lee" when I think "less processed" in any case.