# I want the skinny (excuse the expression) on low-carboyhdrate diets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644 "2006-01-05T21:56:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/21 "2006-01-06T23:13:53Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > If you say so, but I once read–in a grade-school textbook–that starch and glucose (not sucrose) have similar chemical structure. Ok, from [this article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch) > [@](#): > > Biochemically, starch is a combination of two polymeric carbohydrates (polysaccharides) called amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is constituted by glucose monomer units joined to one another head-to-tail forming alpha-1,4 linkages. Amylopectin differs from amylose in that branching occurs, with an alpha-1,6 linkage every 24-30 glucose monomer units. The overall structure of amylopectin is not that of a linear polysaccharide chain since two glucose units frequently form a branch point, so the result is the coiled molecule most suitable for storage in starch grains. Both amylopectin and amylose are polymers of glucose, and a typical starch polymer chain consists of around 2500 glucose molecules in their varied forms of polymerisation. In general, starches have the formula (C6H10O5)n, where “n” denotes the total number of glucose monomer units. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/22 "2006-01-07T02:13:30Z")
The point of reducing simple sugars in favor of starches is that while starches are just long chains of sugar, your body has to expend energy to break each linkage in order to use that sugar. And it had to expend energy to make the enzyme to do it. Fats and proteins are the same way. IMHO, extreme restriction is not good since your body does require a certain amount of simple sugar to make the machinery run. I firmly believe in calorie restriction over a certain nutrient restriction. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/23 "2006-01-07T10:39:30Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > But that’s where it gets tricky. When you eat a meal that high in refined carbohydrates, your insulin levels shoot up. Insulin is the hormone that tells your fat cells to open up and be ready to take on storage. Once the insulin has done it’s job often you’re left with too little blood sugar which makes you hungry (and often crave sweets) so you eat again and your insuling spikes again and you store some of that as fat and the cycle begins all over again. Nitpick – Insulin is actually used for all cells to recieve glucose from the blood stream (With the only exception being brain cells). The presence of insulin in the blood stream will cause the movement of glucogen into all cells. One of the primary storage places for simple sugar is the liver. The liver is also where the majority of conversion from simple sugars to fat takes place. Here’s some good info on a simple to moderate level [http://webanatomy.net/anatomy/nutrition\_notes.htm](http://webanatomy.net/anatomy/nutrition_notes.htm) ---
**Author:** ![sharkattack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@sharkattack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharkattack)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/24 "2006-01-07T11:20:31Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Well, I would like to know what is _complex_ carbohydrates and what is _simple._ > A major obstacle to sustained weight loss is, for me, psychological: I’m the kind of person who eats to compensate for other things lacking in my life. Mate, I hate to say this, (and this DOESN’T answer your question) but the bottom line is youre going to have to exercise. No diet is going to work unless you get out and push yourself. It sucks at first, but once you force yourself to run/ bike/ swim etc and keep it up for a few weeks, youll feel like a new man. It really works in making you lose weight, and psychologically it will do wonders. Try that, and then see how you do. I’m not a doctor, so of course someone will jump on me for this, but carbohydrates are fine ( without slabs of butter on them etc)…just force yourself to get out and increase your heartbeat. Today. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/25 "2006-01-07T21:29:14Z")
> [@sharkattack](#): > > Mate, I hate to say this, (and this DOESN’T answer your question) but the bottom line is youre going to have to exercise. No diet is going to work unless you get out and push yourself. It sucks at first, but once you force yourself to run/ bike/ swim etc and keep it up for a few weeks, youll feel like a new man. It really works in making you lose weight, and psychologically it will do wonders. Try that, and then see how you do. I’m not a doctor, so of course someone will jump on me for this, but carbohydrates are fine ( without slabs of butter on them etc)…just force yourself to get out and increase your heartbeat. Today. Well, I guess so. I had gone to a doctor early last year, for other reasons; he advised me to walk every day. I thus got into the habit of walking through our mobile-home park, which has 202 resident spaces; it usually takes 30 to 40 minutes to walk around all of the drives and get back home. I skipped it only during inclement weather, or when I was ill or had been out doing yard work during the day, or when I was otherwise occupied in the evening–with the Toastmasters or being an usher at a theater in the Torrance Civic Center. I got out of the habit about a year ago… I guess I’ll have to start it again, and get my bike back into running condition–the tires are flat. Besides I’m 6’2" and weigh about 300 pounds, and the streets around my place are not level (the drives inside the park _are_ level). ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/26 "2006-01-08T15:40:30Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > You need carbs to live (at least without being sick as a dog) but want to avoid spiking your blood sugar. I know that in a strict biological sense, this isn’t true, as glucose can be synthesized when needed - but you’re not the first person to indicate being sick. I’ve done extensive extreme low carbing - 10g a day or less for weeks - and rather than suffering ill effects, I actually felt better than I ever had. Originally, when someone told me they were sick, I chalked it up to psychological factors - how can you feel good eating all of this “bad” food? But maybe there’s something more to it. Why would I feel fine/great while others would get sick? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644/27 "2006-01-08T19:22:41Z")
Ditto here. I have eaten less than 20g of carbohydrates/day for several months. Not only did I not feel sick, I felt very healthy. And lost a lot of weight too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-the-skinny-excuse-the-expression-on-low-carboyhdrate-diets/338644.md?page=1)