Ben, the “U”- shaped charts are interesting. However, there is another plausible theory for the poor outcomes of those individuals who eat too few carbs. I bet they are largely folks who also eat less total calories and less protein and fats. They may have underlying diseases like advanced heart and lung disease or cancer, or eating disorders or bowel disease.
That's absolutely right, David. We see similar U-shaped curves for other macronutrients, too, and the upward slant of the curve on the left - 'not getting enough' - is often all the things you mention: malnutrition, underlying illness that impairs appetite or absorption, etc.
In the case of carbs, the fact that the effect is stronger for complex or 'healthy' carbs than it is for total carbs (and most of what people eat is refined carbs or starchy vegetables) suggests the benefits of these complex carbs are real. It's not just a case of avoiding deficiency.
Of course, eating complex carbs from whole grains, vegetables, etc brings a lot more than carbs - vitamins, minerals, plant antioxidants, etc - and I think it's very likely these are key mediators of the protective effects.
I’ll feel less guilty now when I consume Whole Grain Brown Rice and the occasional piece of Seeded Bread! I think that the pendulum is always in motion. It seems to be swinging back toward a bit more moderation when it comes to healthy carbs.
I’ve known one or two people who did just that - not ideal dinner companions!
So, to answer both your questions, the reason we have molar teeth is to chew/grind out food. This breaks some cell walls, but mostly just breaks the food into smaller particles that our digestive enzymes can then get at. If we swallowed food in large chunks, some of it would pass right through the gut without getting digested. Our digestive enzymes have a limited ability to penetrate food chunks.
How does us chewing food differ from using a blender? Even if you’re a champion chewer, you’ll never get close to the efficacy of a blender to blast the food into tiny smithereens, releasing all the sugars and other intracellular contents and breaking down the fibre into such tiny fragments that our digestive enzymes can digest them rather than them reaching the colon largely intact to nourish our gut microbiome.
Our guts and teeth evolved together to process and digest food. If we mess with the degree of mastication - either by losing out teeth or blending our food to a paste - the natural balance is disrupted and our gut is faced with food in a form it’s not evolved to digest - too chunky, or too smooth.
So often we know what we ought to do for our long-term health, but it just feels like too much work for today. Then, one day, there’s a wake up call, and we wish we’d started years ago.
Whole fruit is whole, just more broken down and available for our bodies to use when “blenderized”. I think that what else you put in the blender is important. My usual potion is as follows: always organic when possible: frozen berry blend, one whole Lemon or Lime, a high quality protein powder, a knob each of ginger and Turmeric root, a bunch of Kale, Beetroot Powder, a half a cucumber, an apple, whole milk Greek yogurt, unsweetened green juice blend , a tsp. or 2 of pumpkin, sunflower and Chia seeds, water to cover, with a few ice cubes. It’s quite tasty and I get a lot of my 8 cups daily of veggies , protein and good fiber too.
I agree completely that what you put in the blender makes all the difference, and home made smoothies are a world away from the sugar bombs of supermarket smoothies.
However, our bodies see whole fruit and blended fruit quite differently.
Blending releases the contents of plant cells much more quickly than if they'd been digested in the body. The results is usually a sugar spike that we typically don't see with whole fruit. Sugar spikes trigger insulin spikes and together they're not ideal for our metabolism.
Fibre is a major benefit of eating lots of fruit (and veg). The principal benefit is that it reaches our lower gut intact and so feeds the microbiome. When fibre is blitzed in a blender, the fibre particles become much smaller, making them easier to digest, so less reaches the colon.
Some vitamins can also degrade over time. For a fresh smoothie, that's not going to make a difference. But if you make a big batch and store it in the fridge, some vitamin levels will fall.
Polyphenols, plant antioxidants, can be more readily absorbed from smoothies than from whole fruits. However, many of us include bananas in smoothies, and bananas contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase that breaks down the polyphenols. It works quick, too. Just ten minutes after blending you've lost half your polyphenols. By 30 minutes, you're down to 10%.
Adding protein and fat to a smoothie, as you do, slows down its release from the stomach, so that can help reduce sugar spikes. So, it very much depends on what goes into your smoothie, but from a health perspective, you likely gain more benefits from eating the components whole rather than as a smoothie. Equally, you'll gain more from a well-constructed smoothie than from a can of Coke!
I loved this article, especially the handy carb to fiber ratio. I thought I posted my question in here but I don’t see it. What about freeze dried fruit? Is it ok? Many thanks from your new subscriber!
I can see your question. Dried fruit comes with almost all the benefits of whole fruit. It can have a little less vitamins, especially vitamin C, and it’s obviously a more concentrated sugar source making portion control important. While sugar in whole or dried fruit seems to lack the harmful impact of free sugars in cakes, pastries and even fruit juice, you can get through a lot of calories quickly if you’re not careful.
Since they’re sticky, tooth decay can also be a consideration
Overall, though, dried fruit (freeze-dried or otherwise) is a great way to enjoy fruits’ benefits.
Finally catching up and great work. I'll pass along a personable caveat. Some products can be deceptive. I like to eat crackers for the "mouth feel" and satiety (best way to enjoy those sardines in olive oil or tomatoes) but I eat whole grain ones (Thin wheat & Woven Wheat). They have 10 and 11% dietary fiber. One that spouse brought, Back to Nature Crispy wheat Crackers, with enriched wheat flour, no mention of whole grain with 4% dietary fiber.
On their box, no:
high fructose corn syrup
artificial flavor or color
NON GMO
Hydrogenated Oils
Also, Plant based and [contains: wheat] (picture eye roll here) Might as well eat Saltines (not me)
Cannot say I am perfect, like a pizza every once in a while. Might try anchovies next time to make it healthier.
Perfection is so overrated! Thankfully I don't have to worry about ever getting there.
My weakness is biscuits - cookies to you. It's not like I have to eat a packet until they're all gone, but, as a long ago TV advert used to say, a drink's too wet without one!
I could have worn your profile cone picture as my hat 😊😊. At 35, I had a joint crippling sudden arthritic attack, that practically pinned me down for three months in my small town residence then. In my home city, Chennai, my family doctor just waved it off with a course of Naproxen followed Indomethacin. At about 60, with no visible issues, my consulting cardio, based on test numbers, put me on Atorvostatin and Telmesartan. At 65, again numbers got my physician prescribing Metformin combinations. At 80 now, I am continuing both without having faced any episodes. So no major crippling health issues in the last 55 years. I am active, both physically and mentally, even managing to drive in the chaotic city traffic. Perhaps, I must thank that unworn cap.
Should we say that carbs get a reprieve now, after about 25-30 years of getting villainised ? On fats, the story has flipped. And what of proteins ? Are all food proteins good ? Is something hiding in them ? Just an hour ago, I read another post from another doctor/researcher how glycation of all our key proteins is the reason for all the downsides of aging. For example, glycation of collagen shrinks and stiffens your skin as you age. It may be true, but difficult to concur immediately. I know externally I am not what I was 25 years ago, but I also have seen people of my exact age looking considerably more shrunk, unsteady, uneven. I can vouch that they were also wearing the same nutrition hat all their time.
And I forgot to mention. The author was advocating low carb diet, saturated fats, keto/meat based diets, to counter the glycation effects. We don’t know how advanced multi cellular life began evolving - creatures eating plants or creatures eating creatures.
No politics involved, Frank. There are a pair of very similar studies that mostly show the same results, the Nurses’ Health Study, which is the one discussed here, and which recruited only women, and the Health Professionals Study which recruited only men.
The Nurses’ Health Study began in 1976 and is still ongoing. It has around 280,000 participants. The Health Professionals Study was designed to complement the Nurses’ Health Study by looking at men’s health. It started in 1986 and recruited more than 50,000 men. Though the original Health Professionals Study ended, a follow up study of around 20,000 men is still running.
Ben, the “U”- shaped charts are interesting. However, there is another plausible theory for the poor outcomes of those individuals who eat too few carbs. I bet they are largely folks who also eat less total calories and less protein and fats. They may have underlying diseases like advanced heart and lung disease or cancer, or eating disorders or bowel disease.
That's absolutely right, David. We see similar U-shaped curves for other macronutrients, too, and the upward slant of the curve on the left - 'not getting enough' - is often all the things you mention: malnutrition, underlying illness that impairs appetite or absorption, etc.
In the case of carbs, the fact that the effect is stronger for complex or 'healthy' carbs than it is for total carbs (and most of what people eat is refined carbs or starchy vegetables) suggests the benefits of these complex carbs are real. It's not just a case of avoiding deficiency.
Of course, eating complex carbs from whole grains, vegetables, etc brings a lot more than carbs - vitamins, minerals, plant antioxidants, etc - and I think it's very likely these are key mediators of the protective effects.
Let's not forget infectious disease, their impact can be a factor as well.
Most likely, but hope springs eternal!
Thank you Dr.,
Really an interesting article!
I’ll feel less guilty now when I consume Whole Grain Brown Rice and the occasional piece of Seeded Bread! I think that the pendulum is always in motion. It seems to be swinging back toward a bit more moderation when it comes to healthy carbs.
I’m glad you found it helpful!
We’ve conflated processed white flour, pasta, sugar, rice, etc. with the healthy whole-grains that are the backbone of a healthy diet.
If the pendulum swings back to a healthier place I suspect it will only be as it swings to some other fashion that has no scientific evidence base!
Does putting a variety of whole fruit in a blender and making a smoothie reduce the nutritional value?
Hi John. You’ve probably already seen my reponse to MimiAlexa. If you wanted to read more, there’s an article about fruit juices and smoothies in the archive - https://benjonesmdphd.substack.com/p/have-we-got-smoothies-all-wrong-195?r=4ujq59
I really liked the breakdown of your reply!
I’m happy to hear that. I was worried you might shout at me!
And, not trying to be a real smarty pants, but, if we swallowed big chunks of fruit and veggies that would be better?
I’ve known one or two people who did just that - not ideal dinner companions!
So, to answer both your questions, the reason we have molar teeth is to chew/grind out food. This breaks some cell walls, but mostly just breaks the food into smaller particles that our digestive enzymes can then get at. If we swallowed food in large chunks, some of it would pass right through the gut without getting digested. Our digestive enzymes have a limited ability to penetrate food chunks.
How does us chewing food differ from using a blender? Even if you’re a champion chewer, you’ll never get close to the efficacy of a blender to blast the food into tiny smithereens, releasing all the sugars and other intracellular contents and breaking down the fibre into such tiny fragments that our digestive enzymes can digest them rather than them reaching the colon largely intact to nourish our gut microbiome.
Our guts and teeth evolved together to process and digest food. If we mess with the degree of mastication - either by losing out teeth or blending our food to a paste - the natural balance is disrupted and our gut is faced with food in a form it’s not evolved to digest - too chunky, or too smooth.
That's good question.
So chewing isn’t basically blenderizing?
What is Coke😬
Perfect! If only no one else knew we’d all be a lot healthier.
Like it says: an addictive drug!
I must be one of the lucky few as I don't like the taste!
Having a CAC level of 2157 I don’t really care about what something tastes like anymore. If it is good for me, I will most likely do it!
I love that pragmatism!
So often we know what we ought to do for our long-term health, but it just feels like too much work for today. Then, one day, there’s a wake up call, and we wish we’d started years ago.
Whole fruit is whole, just more broken down and available for our bodies to use when “blenderized”. I think that what else you put in the blender is important. My usual potion is as follows: always organic when possible: frozen berry blend, one whole Lemon or Lime, a high quality protein powder, a knob each of ginger and Turmeric root, a bunch of Kale, Beetroot Powder, a half a cucumber, an apple, whole milk Greek yogurt, unsweetened green juice blend , a tsp. or 2 of pumpkin, sunflower and Chia seeds, water to cover, with a few ice cubes. It’s quite tasty and I get a lot of my 8 cups daily of veggies , protein and good fiber too.
I agree completely that what you put in the blender makes all the difference, and home made smoothies are a world away from the sugar bombs of supermarket smoothies.
However, our bodies see whole fruit and blended fruit quite differently.
Blending releases the contents of plant cells much more quickly than if they'd been digested in the body. The results is usually a sugar spike that we typically don't see with whole fruit. Sugar spikes trigger insulin spikes and together they're not ideal for our metabolism.
Fibre is a major benefit of eating lots of fruit (and veg). The principal benefit is that it reaches our lower gut intact and so feeds the microbiome. When fibre is blitzed in a blender, the fibre particles become much smaller, making them easier to digest, so less reaches the colon.
Some vitamins can also degrade over time. For a fresh smoothie, that's not going to make a difference. But if you make a big batch and store it in the fridge, some vitamin levels will fall.
Polyphenols, plant antioxidants, can be more readily absorbed from smoothies than from whole fruits. However, many of us include bananas in smoothies, and bananas contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase that breaks down the polyphenols. It works quick, too. Just ten minutes after blending you've lost half your polyphenols. By 30 minutes, you're down to 10%.
Adding protein and fat to a smoothie, as you do, slows down its release from the stomach, so that can help reduce sugar spikes. So, it very much depends on what goes into your smoothie, but from a health perspective, you likely gain more benefits from eating the components whole rather than as a smoothie. Equally, you'll gain more from a well-constructed smoothie than from a can of Coke!
What about freeze dried fruit?
I add protein powder to my oxymoronic "chunky smoothies".
I love the idea of chunky smoothies! The perfect middle ground between whole fruits and smoothies perhaps?
Oh, and I do leave my smoothie a bit chunky as I like to chew on the pieces of citrus skin and ginger, especially
Citrus skin and ginger! That sounds like a very grown-up smoothie.
I loved this article, especially the handy carb to fiber ratio. I thought I posted my question in here but I don’t see it. What about freeze dried fruit? Is it ok? Many thanks from your new subscriber!
Hey Vicki, hello!
I can see your question. Dried fruit comes with almost all the benefits of whole fruit. It can have a little less vitamins, especially vitamin C, and it’s obviously a more concentrated sugar source making portion control important. While sugar in whole or dried fruit seems to lack the harmful impact of free sugars in cakes, pastries and even fruit juice, you can get through a lot of calories quickly if you’re not careful.
Since they’re sticky, tooth decay can also be a consideration
Overall, though, dried fruit (freeze-dried or otherwise) is a great way to enjoy fruits’ benefits.
The swaps you suggested are so easy yet so effective! Thanks!
Thanks, Nikki. I appreciate that coming from someone who has to carefully watch where their carbs are coming from.
Finally catching up and great work. I'll pass along a personable caveat. Some products can be deceptive. I like to eat crackers for the "mouth feel" and satiety (best way to enjoy those sardines in olive oil or tomatoes) but I eat whole grain ones (Thin wheat & Woven Wheat). They have 10 and 11% dietary fiber. One that spouse brought, Back to Nature Crispy wheat Crackers, with enriched wheat flour, no mention of whole grain with 4% dietary fiber.
On their box, no:
high fructose corn syrup
artificial flavor or color
NON GMO
Hydrogenated Oils
Also, Plant based and [contains: wheat] (picture eye roll here) Might as well eat Saltines (not me)
Cannot say I am perfect, like a pizza every once in a while. Might try anchovies next time to make it healthier.
Perfection is so overrated! Thankfully I don't have to worry about ever getting there.
My weakness is biscuits - cookies to you. It's not like I have to eat a packet until they're all gone, but, as a long ago TV advert used to say, a drink's too wet without one!
I could have worn your profile cone picture as my hat 😊😊. At 35, I had a joint crippling sudden arthritic attack, that practically pinned me down for three months in my small town residence then. In my home city, Chennai, my family doctor just waved it off with a course of Naproxen followed Indomethacin. At about 60, with no visible issues, my consulting cardio, based on test numbers, put me on Atorvostatin and Telmesartan. At 65, again numbers got my physician prescribing Metformin combinations. At 80 now, I am continuing both without having faced any episodes. So no major crippling health issues in the last 55 years. I am active, both physically and mentally, even managing to drive in the chaotic city traffic. Perhaps, I must thank that unworn cap.
Should we say that carbs get a reprieve now, after about 25-30 years of getting villainised ? On fats, the story has flipped. And what of proteins ? Are all food proteins good ? Is something hiding in them ? Just an hour ago, I read another post from another doctor/researcher how glycation of all our key proteins is the reason for all the downsides of aging. For example, glycation of collagen shrinks and stiffens your skin as you age. It may be true, but difficult to concur immediately. I know externally I am not what I was 25 years ago, but I also have seen people of my exact age looking considerably more shrunk, unsteady, uneven. I can vouch that they were also wearing the same nutrition hat all their time.
The picture is far from clear.
And I forgot to mention. The author was advocating low carb diet, saturated fats, keto/meat based diets, to counter the glycation effects. We don’t know how advanced multi cellular life began evolving - creatures eating plants or creatures eating creatures.
No politics involved, Frank. There are a pair of very similar studies that mostly show the same results, the Nurses’ Health Study, which is the one discussed here, and which recruited only women, and the Health Professionals Study which recruited only men.
The Nurses’ Health Study began in 1976 and is still ongoing. It has around 280,000 participants. The Health Professionals Study was designed to complement the Nurses’ Health Study by looking at men’s health. It started in 1986 and recruited more than 50,000 men. Though the original Health Professionals Study ended, a follow up study of around 20,000 men is still running.