Let’s talk about carbs, baby. Other monikers: sugar/starch/polysaccharide/anything that ends with the suffix ‘-ose’. It is one of the favorite macronutrients along with fats, proteins and water. Carbs are found in most foods in varying levels and are a supply of glucose to our cells. The most energy-dense carbohydrates are grains and starchy root vegetables, as well as liquid sugar sources such as honey and syrups. High amounts of energy are needed by bodies actively growing or replenishing dwindling supplies, such as children or athletes. Not full grown adults with more sedentary lifestyles. You may see where I’m going with this.
Ancestrally, humans were nomadic and existed mostly on fruits and vegetable sources of carbohydrates along with animal products (proteins and fats). It’s not until humans settled in one place and domesticated grains that agriculture and concentrated sources of calories became available. This coincided, or caused (depending on which theory you espouse) “civilization” and the population increase we experienced and continue to experience to the present day. I digress, but I think that it’s the feedback loop of calories creating more people who need more calories to survive that propels both overpopulation and famine, but thats a bigger topic that we’d need a bottle of wine for.
Luckily, nature has provided a way to get appropriate levels of carbohydrates in a nigh nutrient package -> vegetables and fruits. This is not news to most of us, but here’s just another way of thinking about it. Green vegetables are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and relatively low in carbohydrates. Changing the main part of our diet from grains to greens will result in an overall decrease in insulin-spiking glucose while increasing health-boosting components. Also, you can eat as much as you wish of green vegetables and fruit and never feel deprived. Any doctor/ nutritionist/dietician you consult will tell you to eat more vegetables and less processed sugar, but Big Ag will continue to try and sell you sugar (processed wheat, corn, HFCS etc.) and keep the lucrative national addiction going. Be aware.
Switch your grain intake to green intake and you may never have to worry about that final stubborn 5 pounds again.