Low Refined Carbohydrate Diet

Highly processed foods have become a staple of the typical Western diet. Many prepackaged and convenience foods such as crackers, cookies and hamburger buns contain refined carbohydrates. Evolutionary diets seek to eliminate refined carbohydrates from your diet, speculating that such foods may be the basis for many "diseases of civilization" such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and certain cancers.

Identification

Carbohydrates contain sugars, and they have a significant impact on your blood glucose level. Grains and sugars are refined when they go through an industrial process that separates the carbs into different parts and remakes them into a new product. For instance, during sugar refining, sugar is removed from its native plant, sugar cane. Removing the germ and bran from wheat refines white flour. Corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are also refined carbs that are ubiquitous in many foods because of their sweetening and preservative properties.

History

Nutritional evolutionists such as Dr. Michael Eades, creator of the Protein Power diet, suggest that early humans survived primarily on what they could hunt or forage. Humans didn't cultivate grains for millions of years in the history of human evolution, and refining carbs is a construct of modern, post-industrial society. Instead, pre-historic humans existed on animal protein and fat, as well as seasonally available fruits and vegetables that they could forage.

Theories/Speculation

Eades suggests that the relatively modern construct of grain agriculture and carb refinement is the cause of many of the health concerns of modern humans. Paleo Nutrition Diet designer Kurt Harris agrees, pointing out that evolution takes millions of years, but humans have only been cultivating grains for a few thousand years and refining carbohydrates for an even shorter period of time. The human body is evolutionarily incapable of processing refined carbohydrates, which leads to breakdowns in body systems.

"Good Calories, Bad Calories" author Gary Taubes furthers this hypothesis, suggesting that insulin is the primary reason that processed carbohydrates lead to health problems and weight gain. Insulin is a storage hormone. When you eat refined carbohydrates, your blood glucose levels rise and your pancreas releases insulin. When insulin is present in your bloodstream, your body stores the foods you eat as body fat. When insulin is absent, your body burns stored fat as fuel.

Research

A 2004 study in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" evaluated type 2 diabetes and intake of refined carbohydrates such as corn syrup and found a strong trend of upward rates of type 2 diabetes in populations that ate a high level of refined carbohydrates. A 2006 study reported in the journal "Nutrition and Metabolism" studied the effect of a Paleolithic diet on pigs by comparing a Paleolithic diet with a cereal-based diet that is nutritionally similar to how humans currently eat. The study found that the Paleolithic diet conferred higher insulin sensitivity and lower levels of c-reactive protein, which is associated with inflammation and autoimmune disease.

Considerations

Paleo Nutrition and other Paleolithic-style diets recommend eating as early humans did. Paleolithic diets suggest avoiding refined grains, sugars and processed foods, and instead eating mostly animal protein and seasonally available fruits and vegetables. Most diets also recommend avoiding dairy products. The USDA food pyramid recommends eating 3 to 6 oz. of whole grains and two to three servings of dairy products daily for adequate nutrition. Paleolithic diets do not meet these requirements. Check with your doctor if you are considering this type of diet. A more moderate approach might include reducing sugar, corn syrup and white flour, and instead eating whole grains.