Should You Go Light Or Heavy On Carbs?

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Carbohydrates are an important part of our diet (we do need them), but not all carbs are equal

  • Glycemic load is important, and when it comes to grains, non-wheat grains come with fewer potential health risks

  • A low-carb diet may help attain weight loss and even diabetic remission, but the evidence for this remains mixed for now

• Kegel exercises are a great way of guarding against urinary incontinence and prolapse, but it's easy to do them wrong, or otherwise not get the most out of them.

  • This International Women’s Day, today’s sponsor Elvie are offering 10almonds readers an extra discount on their Smart Kegel Trainer—check it out, and you’ll see why it makes such a difference!

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

🤫 A WORD TO THE WISE

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

TEDx | Dr. Jaime Seeman | Why Women Need To Get Serious About Strength (10:59)

Dr. Seeman breaks down the myths that dissuade women from getting serious about strength training. She’s a board certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist with a special interest in integrative medicine, exercise science and nutrition—and it shows:

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Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

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❓️ THIS OR THAT?

Vote on Which is Healthier

Yesterday we asked you to choose between a grass-fed beef burger and a Beyond Burger—we picked the Beyond Burger (click here to read about why), as did only 26% of you! Understandable, as often all-natural is best.

Now for today’s choice:

Click on whichever you think is better for you!

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🍚 MAIN FEATURE

Carb-Strong or Carb-Wrong?

We asked you for your health-related view of carbs, and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses

• About 48% said “Some carbs are beneficial; others are detrimental”

• About 27% said “Carbs are a critical source of energy, and safer than fats”

• About 18% said “A low-carb diet is best for overall health (and a carb is a carb)”

• About 7% said “We do not need carbs to live; a carnivore diet is viable”

But what does the science say?

Carbs are a critical source of energy, and safer than fats: True or False?

True and False, respectively! That is: they are a critical source of energy, and carbs and fats both have an important place in our diet.

Source: Low carb or high carb? Everything in moderation … until further notice

(the aforementioned lead author Dr. de Souza, by the way, served as an external advisor to the World Health Organization’s Nutrition Guidelines Advisory Committee)

Some carbs are beneficial; others are detrimental: True or False?

True! Glycemic index is important here. There’s a big difference between eating a raw carrot and drinking high-fructose corn syrup:

Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?

While some say grains and/or starchy vegetables are bad, best current science recommends:

• Eat some whole grains regularly, but they should not be the main bulk of your meal (non-wheat grains are generally better)

• Starchy vegetables are not a critical food group, but in moderation they are fine.

To this end, the Mediterranean Diet is the current gold standard of healthful eating, per general scientific consensus:

• The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It Good For?

• Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean Diet

A low-carb diet is best for overall health (and a carb is a carb): True or False?

True-ish and False, respectively. We covered the “a carb is a carb” falsehood earlier, so we’ll look at “a low-carb diet is best”.

Simply put: it can be. One of the biggest problems facing the low-carb diet though is that adherence tends to be poor—that is to say, people crave their carby comfort foods and eat more carbs again. As for the efficacy of a low-carb diet in the context of goals such as weight loss and glycemic control, the evidence is mixed:

Source: Low-carbohydrate versus balanced-carbohydrate diets for reducing weight and cardiovascular risk

Source: Efficacy and safety of low and very low carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes remission

Source: Current Evidence Regarding Low-carb Diets for The Metabolic Control of Type-2 Diabetes

We do not need carbs to live; a carnivore diet is viable: True or False?

False. For a simple explanation:

The Carnivore Diet: Can You Have Too Much Meat? 

There isn’t a lot of science studying the effects of consuming no plant products, largely because such a study, if anything other than observational population studies, would be unethical. Observational population studies, meanwhile, are not practical because there are so few people who try this, and those who do, do not persist after their first few hospitalizations.

Putting aside the “Carnivore Diet” as a dangerous unscientific fad, if you are inclined to meat-eating, there is some merit to the Paleo Diet, at least for short-term weight loss even if not necessarily long-term health:

What’s The Real Deal With The Paleo Diet?

For longer-term health, we refer you back up to the aforementioned Mediterranean Diet.

Enjoy!

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❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Elvie Trainer | Stops Your Leaks, Not Your Day™

Imagine it: you’re all dressed up for an important event, and you’ve taken every care with every aspect of your appearance, because you want everything to be just right. You’ve been looking forward to this and planning how perfect everything will be, and then right when things are about to get going, you spring a leak.

It might not be a big leak, but the amount of leak you were expecting and planning for was zero, and now you have to scramble at the last minute to try to cover your embarrassment.

Let’s skip back a bit. Back in the planning stage, was there anything you could have done to avoid this?

Kegel exercises make a big difference in keeping such incontinence issues at bay, but it's easy to do them wrong, or otherwise not get the most out of them.

That's where Elvie Smart Trainer comes in:

• It makes sure you have correct technique with every squeeze; it detects the directional pull, so you’ll be told (in the connected app) if you push muscles down instead of pulling up.

• Because of its optimized feedback system, it gives measurable improvements in as little as four weeks (based on exercising 5 mins per day, 3 times per week).

• It's small, comfortable, easy-to-use, body-safe, and yes, it's easy to clean too.
  

And it’s never too early to start. If you think this sort of thing couldn’t happen to you, well, just wait. Better yet: don’t.

PS: they're running a 20%-off sale on their website (through to the 10th of March), and 10almonds subscribers can get an extra 5% off (on top of the 20%) with the code EXTRAFIVE 😎

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

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📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships – by Dr. Sue Johnson

Let’s quickly fact-check the subtitle:

• Is it revolutionary? It has a small element of controversy, but mostly no

• Is it new? No, it is based on science from the 70s that was expanded in the 80s and 90s and has been, at most, tweaked a little since.

• Is it science? Yes! It is so much science. This book comes with about a thousand references to scientific studies.

What’s the controversy, you ask? Dr. Johnson asserts, based on our (as a species) oxytocin responsiveness, that we are biologically hardwired for monogamy. This is in contrast to the prevailing scientific consensus that we are not.

Aside from that, though, the book is everything you could expect from an expert on attachment theory with more than 35 years of peer-reviewed clinical research, often specifically for Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which is her thing.

The writing style is similar to that of her famous “Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations For A Lifetime Of Love”, a very good book that we reviewed previously. It can be a little repetitive at times in its ideas, but this is largely because she revisits some of the same questions from many angles, with appropriate research to back up her advice.

Bottom line: if you are the sort of person who cares to keep working to improve your romantic relationship (no matter whether it is bad or acceptable or great right now), this book will arm you with a lot of deep science that can be applied reliably with good effect.

Click here to check out Love Sense, and level-up yours!

Wishing you the very best International Women’s Day,

The 10almonds Team