Carbs - Amount And Type

TNT

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Can we talk about carbs? Amount and type. How much (percentage or grams) and what type(s) of carbs do you eat?

I think Ray suggests eating fruit and sugar, but avoiding starch?

I'm in a terrible quandary re. carbs. I did low-carb for years and messed myself up royally from it. Starting in 2017, I started eating high carb (60-80%) and felt sooooo much better. Much better sleep, more muscle, more energy, better mood, etc. Initially it was mostly fruit (plus some sweet veggies such as beets and carrots), then mostly starch (sweet potatoes -- no grains). But I've had some problems that I suspect are carb-related, including elevated liver enzymes and possibly increased autoimmunity. So I'm trying to figure out what to do about carbs -- what types and how much. Would love to hear what your experience has been in this regard.
 

somuch4food

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From the foods you named, it seems like your diet is high in carotenoids. Too much of those can impede on thyroid and vitamin A status.

There's the thread about Grant Genereux's theory that links autoimmunity to vitamin A and carotenoids.

How were you doing on high fruits? Personnally, I feel much better which starches. I would try to find what your own body handles better.
 
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TNT

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I've read Grant's theory, but I don't think Vitamin A is the issue for me. I felt great on high fruits, but as I said, I've got some issues that might be (keyword -- might) related to carbs and/or fruits, so that's why I'm trying to get feedback about this from people.
 

somuch4food

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It will be difficult to give feedback without more details. Carbs seem to be pretty personal.

If you were feeling good on high fruits, it might be worth it to try to reduce or eliminate starch.
 
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TNT

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@somuch4food , I'm not asking for "what should I do" feedback. I'm asking for people's personal experience with carbs -- the amount and type. So if you're willing to share how much and what types you eat, that's all I'm asking. If you're not willing to share that, that's fine, but I'm not asking for coaching.
 

olive

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I eat 2kg of purple sweet potato and snack on fruits (mostly pineapple/tomatoes) and juice (usually cranberry juice/coconut water) through the day. Total carbs come to 600-700g/day, which is a lot but I tend to burn through them pretty quickly - I know this because I test my blood glucose regularly. I think the avoidance of dietary fats while I eat/digest carbohydrates allows me to eat quite a lot without putting on excess weight (look into the randle cycle). I eat carbs during the day while insulin sensitivity is high. And fats four hours after my last carbohydrate meal, which usually means in the night.
I feel great and I’m never hungry. Because I eat large amounts of micronutrient dense carbs I can avoid having to rely on supplements. I have 3-4 solid bowel movements a day. Energy is high. Body temp is high, my girlfriend often refers to me as a heater.
 

CLASH

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@TNT
Depends on what you got going on in your gut. I cant eat a single sweet potato or yam without blowing up like a balloon and passing enough gas to put a cow to shame. I also get massive joint pain all throughout my spine. On the flip side I can drink 300-400g of sugar from fruit juice (grape, pineapple) without a problem.

I have done a few stool tests and each time my gut comes back positive with +4 klebsiella growth. Klebsiella is a starch fermenter, a known opportunistic pathogen and the suspected cause of both rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Its not the type of carbs you eat per say, atleast if your choosing between fruit and tubers, its the bacteria you house in your gut.
 

LiveWire

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I eat 2kg of purple sweet potato and snack on fruits (mostly pineapple/tomatoes) and juice (usually cranberry juice/coconut water) through the day. Total carbs come to 600-700g/day, which is a lot but I tend to burn through them pretty quickly - I know this because I test my blood glucose regularly. I think the avoidance of dietary fats while I eat/digest carbohydrates allows me to eat quite a lot without putting on excess weight (look into the randle cycle). I eat carbs during the day while insulin sensitivity is high. And fats four hours after my last carbohydrate meal, which usually means in the night.
I feel great and I’m never hungry. Because I eat large amounts of micronutrient dense carbs I can avoid having to rely on supplements. I have 3-4 solid bowel movements a day. Energy is high. Body temp is high, my girlfriend often refers to me as a heater.

Interesting

1. How old are you?
2. Is that you in the picture?
3. When you say you eat fats in the evening, what sort of meal is that?
4. Where do proteins fall into any of this? How much protein, when and from what sources?
5. How is the purple potato different from a regular one?
 
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olive

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Interesting

1. How old are you?
2. Is that you in the picture?
3. When you say you eat fats in the evening, what sort of meal is that?
4. Where do proteins fall into any of this? How much protein, when and from what sources?
5. How is the purple potato different from a regular one?
22

That’s me - about 12 months ago. I look pretty much the same now but my weight is up 1-2kg and my body fat is down enough to see some veins popping up through my lower abs.

Fats come from coconut oil, eggs, red meat, cocoa and occasionally olive oil if I make a salad or pesto sauce. 20-40g a day.

I eat at least 20g of protein 4 times a day, at least three hours apart in order to spike muscle protein synthesis - based on this study: Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis. - PubMed - NCBI

So a usual day might go like this:
7AM - pea protein in cranberry juice + snack on fruits
8:30 - potato, spinach, tomato paste + coconut water
10AM - potato, sea bass
12PM - fruits + coconut water
4+ hour fast
4:30PM - shellfish
8:00PM - grass fed red meat
9:00PM - 90% dark chocolate

Purple sweet potato has no real benefit over the normal orange sweet potato as far as I know but I prefer the taste and texture. But sweet potato is undoubtedly superior to normal white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family and do not have issues with solanine - which becomes an issue pretty quickly if one wanted to consume a large portion of their calories from potatoes like I do.

I supplement with calcium carbonate and glycine with each protein meal.
 

Adrienlcrx

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@olive How do you cook sweet potatoes? With the oven? When I boil the purple or white sweet potatoes I have an unattractive porridge that requires a very long cooking time (1h) for a soft texture lol
 

olive

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@olive How do you cook sweet potatoes? With the oven? When I boil the purple or white sweet potatoes I have an unattractive porridge that requires a very long cooking time (1h) for a soft texture lol
I peel, then slice into thick circles, lay on top of baking tray lined with baking paper, salt heavily, then place in the oven at 180deg Celsius for 45-60 minutes.
 

EIRE24

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@TNT
Depends on what you got going on in your gut. I cant eat a single sweet potato or yam without blowing up like a balloon and passing enough gas to put a cow to shame. I also get massive joint pain all throughout my spine. On the flip side I can drink 300-400g of sugar from fruit juice (grape, pineapple) without a problem.

I have done a few stool tests and each time my gut comes back positive with +4 klebsiella growth. Klebsiella is a starch fermenter, a known opportunistic pathogen and the suspected cause of both rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Its not the type of carbs you eat per say, atleast if your choosing between fruit and tubers, its the bacteria you house in your gut.
Is there not anyway to try and kill this pathogen that is preventing you from eating starch?
 

LiveWire

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Messages
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22

That’s me - about 12 months ago. I look pretty much the same now but my weight is up 1-2kg and my body fat is down enough to see some veins popping up through my lower abs.

Fats come from coconut oil, eggs, red meat, cocoa and occasionally olive oil if I make a salad or pesto sauce. 20-40g a day.

I eat at least 20g of protein 4 times a day, at least three hours apart in order to spike muscle protein synthesis - based on this study: Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis. - PubMed - NCBI

So a usual day might go like this:
7AM - pea protein in cranberry juice + snack on fruits
8:30 - potato, spinach, tomato paste + coconut water
10AM - potato, sea bass
12PM - fruits + coconut water
4+ hour fast
4:30PM - shellfish
8:00PM - grass fed red meat
9:00PM - 90% dark chocolate

Purple sweet potato has no real benefit over the normal orange sweet potato as far as I know but I prefer the taste and texture. But sweet potato is undoubtedly superior to normal white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family and do not have issues with solanine - which becomes an issue pretty quickly if one wanted to consume a large portion of their calories from potatoes like I do.

I supplement with calcium carbonate and glycine with each protein meal.

Thanks for the detailed response Olive. Sorry to say that just hearing your age makes it all very suspect or rather almost irrelevant to me. This is not to disparage or diminish your experience or your conviction, it’s actually highly commendable but at 22 most people will be skinny and it has nothing to do with their diet.
 

Cirion

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Thanks for the detailed response Olive. Sorry to say that just hearing your age makes it all very suspect or rather almost irrelevant to me. This is not to disparage or diminish your experience or your conviction, it’s actually highly commendable but at 22 most people will be skinny and it has nothing to do with their diet.

This is a fair critique but I'll say I was very healthy at one point on a very high carb virtually zero fat diet at age 30, not quite the same foods as olive though, even less dietary fat than him. I literally was almost ingesting zero fat (I think less than 10g a day?). So I had virtually NO randle cycle problems. I lost my health since then for reasons other than that way of eating, but I just started an ultra high carb ultra low fat diet again, hoping to get back to my roots, we shall see.

I would like to add, I also weight trained pretty hard during this process. May or may not make a difference.
 
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