Beer Belly

[CGVT]

This is true to an extent. If there is already plenty of glycogen, there will be fat storage. If you carb load after a marathon, a good deal of these carbs are going to go to restoring glycogen, homeostasis, and bodily energy reserves. Not necessarily fat, but certainly associated with it.

After you burn up the glycogen, you will burn fat. There is no reason to carb load for anything. Your body adapts to burn what is provided. I have run half marathons on a diet of less than 50 grams of carbs per day.

 

[kroach01]

Not taking it towards me, I hear what you're saying and I appreciate it. My argument isn't that the BMI should be used as a crutch, quite the opposite really. My argument is that the BMI index is a gross generalization that may indicate one is "fat". I don't think people should use what I'm saying as an excuse, and I'm not using it as an excuse for them. I workout regularly, have been in contact sports my entire life, have a bodyfat percentage in the low teens, have regular physicals and am very healthy, and according to the BMI index, I'm borderline between "overweight" and "obese". If you have a high bodyfat percentage and have health concerns because of that, then hell yes, you are obese. But I don't think you need a chart to prove or disprove that. Nor do you need to use what I've argued here as an excuse not to workout because you have some fantasy that you look like Chris Hemsworth, when in reality you look like Chris Farley.

The usefulness of the BMI scale on a person-to-person scale in the range of 23-29 is relatively useless without clinical exam. The utility of the BMI scale is from a public health perspective -- its a way to calculate public health trends on a scale of hundreds of millions of people. Thorough clinical exams are really not possible at this scale, so they need something cheap and easy with RELATIVE accuracy at that scale.

 

[kroach01]

After you burn up the glycogen, you will burn fat. There is no reason to carb load for anything. Your body adapts to burn what is provided. I have run half marathons on a diet of less than 50 grams of carbs per day.

This is not what I was saying, but you're obviously correct.
I was speaking about after a marathon (done one myself as well) when the glycogen stores are depleted. If you carb load at this particular point, most carbs will be going towards rebuilding glycogen supplies and restoring homeostasis and not necessarily fat storage because these were depleted during the extensive exercise.
However, carb loading does help before races. I and many other can attest to this in traithlons and distance running/cycling. This is a different subject matter, obviously.
Obviously in a sedentary person carb loading will cause an insulin spike, which transports glucose in insulin-dependent tissues and will way more likely be converted into fat.

Also, in more athletic/fit individuals the sensitivity of the body to insulin is much greater, meaning insulin spikes are smaller for a given carb load.

Edit: The utility of carb loading is real in endurance races where glycogen stores are at risk/will be depleted (> 90 min)
http://www.livestrong.com/article/389533-carb-load-diet-before-a-race/
http://www.training4cyclists.com/carb-load-before-race/
http://runningtimes.com/article.aspx?articleid=23853
http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/Carbo-loading__Tips_for_endurance_athletes.htm
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2009/05/how-to-carb-load/
http://greatist.com/fitness/does-carb-loading-work/#

 

[Yooper]

After you burn up the glycogen, you will burn fat. There is no reason to carb load for anything. Your body adapts to burn what is provided. I have run half marathons on a diet of less than 50 grams of carbs per day.

I eat less than 25 grams of carbs per day, sometimes quite a bit less. I normally am at 20 grams of carbs or so. I don't run marathons, but I can bike and hike- and I easily backpack 9 miles or more carrying 40 pounds.

For me, it's been hard to get enough protein as I don't like dairy or eggs much. Pieces of cheese and boiled eggs are quick and easy, but I'm not a huge fan of the flavor. I am learning to try to enjoy it, though. I always eat protein first, along with fat, and then have some carbs if I want. For example, I'll eat a hard boiled egg, and then some berries if I'm having fruit.

Today I ate two pieces of cheese (about an ounce each), and a boiled egg. Then a huge stir-fry for lunch (veggies and beef), and then some grilled pork with horseradish, and lots of veggies for dinner. I had a small glass of red wine with dinner. Later tonight, I'll have several beers and some cheese for a snack. Calorie-wise, that's about 1800 calories, not counting the beers which would bring me to about 2400 calories if I drink my IPA or stout.

Right now, I'm completely full but not stuffed. But if "a calorie is a calorie" is true- I'd be fat. At 135 pounds, 2400 calories a day is way too much since I haven't exercised a bit since Saturday. I've been working all week, at a sedentary job.

That's pretty typical for me- lots of calories from protein, moderate amount from good fat, and as little as possible from carbs (but not giving up my beer!).

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I eat less than 25 grams of carbs per day, sometimes quite a bit less. I normally am at 20 grams of carbs or so. I don't run marathons, but I can bike and hike- and I easily backpack 9 miles or more carrying 40 pounds.

For me, it's been hard to get enough protein as I don't like dairy or eggs much. Pieces of cheese and boiled eggs are quick and easy, but I'm not a huge fan of the flavor. I am learning to try to enjoy it, though. I always eat protein first, along with fat, and then have some carbs if I want. For example, I'll eat a hard boiled egg, and then some berries if I'm having fruit.

Today I ate two pieces of cheese (about an ounce each), and a boiled egg. Then a huge stir-fry for lunch (veggies and beef), and then some grilled pork with horseradish, and lots of veggies for dinner. I had a small glass of red wine with dinner. Later tonight, I'll have several beers and some cheese for a snack. Calorie-wise, that's about 1800 calories, not counting the beers which would bring me to about 2400 calories if I drink my IPA or stout.

Right now, I'm completely full but not stuffed. But if "a calorie is a calorie" is true- I'd be fat. At 135 pounds, 2400 calories a day is way too much since I haven't exercised a bit since Saturday. I've been working all week, at a sedentary job.

That's pretty typical for me- lots of calories from protein, moderate amount from good fat, and as little as possible from carbs (but not giving up my beer!).

Your basically doing Keto dieting, personally i cant stand Keto..i tried it and once i went low carbs for a week and entered Ketosis (which takes several days to weeks on low <50g carbs) i had horrible mood swings, and horrible headaches. But there are tons of people on the fitness forums who do it and love it. It also makes your breath stink due to the high acetone levels lol...

 

[kroach01]

I eat less than 25 grams of carbs per day, sometimes quite a bit less. I normally am at 20 grams of carbs or so. I don't run marathons, but I can bike and hike- and I easily backpack 9 miles or more carrying 40 pounds.

For me, it's been hard to get enough protein as I don't like dairy or eggs much. Pieces of cheese and boiled eggs are quick and easy, but I'm not a huge fan of the flavor. I am learning to try to enjoy it, though. I always eat protein first, along with fat, and then have some carbs if I want. For example, I'll eat a hard boiled egg, and then some berries if I'm having fruit.

Today I ate two pieces of cheese (about an ounce each), and a boiled egg. Then a huge stir-fry for lunch (veggies and beef), and then some grilled pork with horseradish, and lots of veggies for dinner. I had a small glass of red wine with dinner. Later tonight, I'll have several beers and some cheese for a snack. Calorie-wise, that's about 1800 calories, not counting the beers which would bring me to about 2400 calories if I drink my IPA or stout.

Right now, I'm completely full but not stuffed. But if "a calorie is a calorie" is true- I'd be fat. At 135 pounds, 2400 calories a day is way too much since I haven't exercised a bit since Saturday. I've been working all week, at a sedentary job.

That's pretty typical for me- lots of calories from protein, moderate amount from good fat, and as little as possible from carbs (but not giving up my beer!).

I think there's a lot of truth in this. If you look at human history, the consumption of simple sugars in such high quantities as in recent decades is a relatively new phenomenon. It correlates highly with the "obesity epidemic."
That and the decreasing amount of physical activity due to the convenience of modern technology.
Though with respect to your theory about wheat being unhealthy I believe that the problem there derives largely from the fact that it is now so highly processed and devoid of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fibers.
In that vein I'm curious if there's a correlation between consumption of highly processed wheat and the incidence of colorectal cancer.

 

[TheSlash]

Yep 20g of carbs a day is for sure keto. Metallic taste in the mouth, body running on fat instead of carbs, muscle sparing, good old Keto.. You're considered Keto, aka "no carb", not low carb at that stage. I'm curious on the beer though.... A normal 1.050 to 1.010 brew will run about 15 carbs. If you're not counting those if might be enough to keep you out of keto if you drank a couple a night.

 

[Yooper]

Though with respect to your theory about wheat being unhealthy I believe that the problem there derives largely from the fact that it is now so highly processed and devoid of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fibers.

I use to eat wheat (and other grains) but found out about some "antinutrients" (synopsis here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz29h0RLBUj) that are present and did some more reading about them. Industrialized farming, with grains, is feeding a hungry world, but it's only been in the last 10,000 years ago that humans starting eating grains at all, and only in recent history that they started consuming much of them.

I understand what you mean, but I really feel that wheat is basically inedible. We can eat it, and many of us don't suffer too many ill effects, but I think the huge increase in celiac disease, IBS, etc, comes from our emphasis on the food pyramid and adding more wheat and other grains to the diet in the last 40 years. This includes corn- corn is in EVERYTHING in the grocery store, I swear! A little is probably fine, in moderation, but it's become the basis of the US diet. And that explains much of the explosion of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (prediabetes), etc.

And don't get me started on "low fat" versions of food! They replace the fat with sugar in many of those "low fat" things. I tried to buy some yogurt the other day- and it was impossible to buy more than ONE carton of yogurt with no added sugar/sucrose/splenda/saccharine.

I really feel that sugar is the enemy, but wheat is right up there too in my opinion.

 

[Yooper]

Yep 20g of carbs a day is for sure keto. Metallic taste in the mouth, body running on fat instead of carbs, muscle sparing, good old Keto.. You're considered Keto, aka "no carb", not low carb at that stage. I'm curious on the beer though.... A normal 1.050 to 1.010 brew will run about 15 carbs. If you're not counting those if might be enough to keep you out of keto if you drank a couple a night.

No, I EAT about 20 grams of carbs a day. I drink beer, and don't count carbs with what I drink.

But at 20-25 grams of carbs a day, even without any beer, I don't throw ketones. A urine dip is negative for ketones for me, even at that small amount of carbs.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I use to eat wheat (and other grains) but found out about some "antinutrients" (synopsis here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz29h0RLBUj) that are present and did some more reading about them. Industrialized farming, with grains, is feeding a hungry world, but it's only been in the last 10,000 years ago that humans starting eating grains at all, and only in recent history that they started consuming much of them.

I understand what you mean, but I really feel that wheat is basically inedible. We can eat it, and many of us don't suffer too many ill effects, but I think the huge increase in celiac disease, IBS, etc, comes from our emphasis on the food pyramid and adding more wheat and other grains to the diet in the last 40 years. This includes corn- corn is in EVERYTHING in the grocery store, I swear! A little is probably fine, in moderation, but it's become the basis of the US diet. And that explains much of the explosion of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (prediabetes), etc.

And don't get me started on "low fat" versions of food! They replace the fat with sugar in many of those "low fat" things. I tried to buy some yogurt the other day- and it was impossible to buy more than ONE carton of yogurt with no added sugar/sucrose/splenda/saccharine.

I really feel that sugar is the enemy, but wheat is right up there too in my opinion.

No offense, but nutrition sites like that and vegan sites are a joke. The one medical study he linked too there at the beginning about grains in your intestine walls he just joked off like "LOL, the scientist said thats a good thing, i dont know about you but it sounds horrible! Grains tearing up my intestinal walls!".

Its retarded comments like that which make me discredit anything else he says.

Those pseudo science nutrition sites are full of garbage, if its published in a peer reviewed scientific journal I would give it consideration.

This is the particular part of the article i stopped reading at...

A few years back, scientists found that high-fiber foods &#8220;bang up against the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, rupturing their outer covering&#8221; which &#8220;increases the level of lubricating mucus.&#8221; Err, that sounds positively awful. Banging and tearing? Rupturing? These are not the words I like to hear. But wait! The study&#8217;s authors say, &#8220;It&#8217;s a good thing.&#8221; Fantastic! So when all those sticks and twigs rub up against my fleshy interior and literally rupture my intestinal lining, I&#8217;ve got nothing to worry about. It&#8217;s all part of the plan, right?

Actually yes, that is all part of the plan, the science says so. His opinion on the process sounding bad, therefore it must be, is the textbook definition of retarded. His entire website is the definition of BroScience, which is so prevalent on fitness and nutrition websites and forums sadly.

 

[kroach01]

I use to eat wheat (and other grains) but found out about some "antinutrients" (synopsis here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz29h0RLBUj) that are present and did some more reading about them. Industrialized farming, with grains, is feeding a hungry world, but it's only been in the last 10,000 years ago that humans starting eating grains at all, and only in recent history that they started consuming much of them.

I understand what you mean, but I really feel that wheat is basically inedible. We can eat it, and many of us don't suffer too many ill effects, but I think the huge increase in celiac disease, IBS, etc, comes from our emphasis on the food pyramid and adding more wheat and other grains to the diet in the last 40 years. This includes corn- corn is in EVERYTHING in the grocery store, I swear! A little is probably fine, in moderation, but it's become the basis of the US diet. And that explains much of the explosion of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (prediabetes), etc.

And don't get me started on "low fat" versions of food! They replace the fat with sugar in many of those "low fat" things. I tried to buy some yogurt the other day- and it was impossible to buy more than ONE carton of yogurt with no added sugar/sucrose/splenda/saccharine.

I really feel that sugar is the enemy, but wheat is right up there too in my opinion.

Very interesting article, but i'm not sure all of it is true. Insoluble fiber is good because it promotes propulsion (peristalsis) of food through the GI tract. Sure, soluble fiber is better. I imagine humongous amounts would rupture the endothelium, but the lining turns over very fast regardless. We definitely need fiber. Low fiber diets is a major risk factor for colorectal cancer and diverticulosis.
IBS is a multifactorial disease, but I dont know if wheat is a major player.

Definitely going to surf the academic interwebs though because you've piqued my curiosity.

 

[TheSlash]

No, I EAT about 20 grams of carbs a day. I drink beer, and don't count carbs with what I drink.

But at 20-25 grams of carbs a day, even without any beer, I don't throw ketones. A urine dip is negative for ketones for me, even at that small amount of carbs.

You are getting carbs somewhere then as most people can stay in Keto at 75g carbs a day. I sure can. I've pushed 100 and shown ketones on the stick. At 50 or less you are either surely in keto, or getting carbs you dont realize.

But not like it matters much, a lot of people carb cycle and occasionally dip into Keto. You can pop out just as easily, I see no harm in that.

Oh and fiber changed my life. Psyllium husk at least 3 servings a day and not only do I poop like perfection, I'm more regular than the mailman. Mixed with some chia seeds and I would never have to buy TP again if it wasn't for the fiance.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

.

Oh and fiber changed my life. Psyllium husk at least 3 servings a day and not only do I poop like perfection, I'm more regular than the mailman. Mixed with some chia seeds and I would never have to buy TP again if it wasn't for the fiance.

I just pictured someone pooping out a chia pet.

Thanks for that.

 

[Yooper]

No offense, but nutrition sites like that and vegan sites are a joke. The one medical study he linked too there at the beginning about grains in your intestine walls he just joked off like "LOL, the scientist said thats a good thing, i dont know about you but it sounds horrible! Grains tearing up my intestinal walls!".

Its retarded comments like that which make me discredit anything else he says.

Those pseudo science nutrition sites are full of garbage, if its published in a peer reviewed scientific journal I would give it consideration.

This is the particular part of the article i stopped reading at...


Actually yes, that is all part of the plan, the science says so. His opinion on the process sounding bad, therefore it must be, is the textbook definition of retarded. His entire website is the definition of BroScience, which is so prevalent on fitness and nutrition websites and forums sadly.

Well, it's a synopsis of a HUGE paper and research and is not complete. That's just the basic premise. There are studies, references and other sources cited. It is a well done and science based belief.

 

[TheSlash]

I just pictured someone pooping out a chia pet.

Thanks for that.

haha. If only they were that cute.

 

[Yooper]

You are getting carbs somewhere then as most people can stay in Keto at 75g carbs a day. I sure can. I've pushed 100 and shown ketones on the stick. At 50 or less you are either surely in keto, or getting carbs you dont realize.

But not like it matters much, a lot of people carb cycle and occasionally dip into Keto. You can pop out just as easily, I see no harm in that.

Oh and fiber changed my life. Psyllium husk at least 3 servings a day and not only do I poop like perfection, I'm more regular than the mailman. Mixed with some chia seeds and I would never have to buy TP again if it wasn't for the fiance.

Sorry to disappoint you. I know my body, and after being in the medical field for almost 30 years, I know the science. It could be my size, my hormone level, my thyroid activity, whatever- but I'm sure of the results. When I first went low-carb, I definitely threw ketones. But within about 30 days, my body adjusted and I'm perfectly healthy with no ketosis.

The first 30 days were bad, though. That was about 2.5 years ago, and I will never go back to the way I was. I was healthy, but not sleeping all that well, a bit heavier, had vague aches and pains at times, I felt sluggish in the afternoons, and sometimes had a little gas. I would feel stuffed after eating a typical high-carb meal, but then be hungry before bedtime.

Fiber is important. I won't bore everyone with my habits, but I will say that while I never eat grains or take fiber supplements, I eat lots of vegetables. A LOT. Vegetables provide plenty of fiber.

I don't eat seeds or anything like that, and I eat few nuts. I just don't like them, so it's not like I'm "against" them.

 

[kroach01]

Fair enough Yoop. It seems like what you're doing is working well for you anyways, so why do something different?

 

[TyTanium]

Your basically doing Keto dieting, personally i cant stand Keto..i tried it and once i went low carbs for a week and entered Ketosis (which takes several days to weeks on low <50g carbs) i had horrible mood swings, and horrible headaches. ...It also makes your breath stink due to the high acetone levels lol...

Dude, you gotta give it more than a week. All those symptoms go away within 2-3 weeks for most people as your body adjusts.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Dude, you gotta give it more than a week. All those symptoms go away within 2-3 weeks for most people as your body adjusts.

Im a programmer, i cant go a month at work not being able to think clearly because of pounding headaches, nor do i feel like downing tons of drugs to counteract it Especially when IIFYM and Intermittent Fasting works perfectly fine for me. Not to mention i got tired of eating so much meat and cheese. Give me a big bowl of pasta and a glass of milk any day...

 

[bottlebomber]

Im a programmer, i cant go a month at work not being able to think clearly because of pounding headaches

*cough* cop out *cough*

 

[TyTanium]

Im a programmer, i cant go a month at work not being able to think clearly because of pounding headaches, nor do i feel like downing tons of drugs to counteract it Especially when IIFYM and Intermittent Fasting works perfectly fine for me. Not to mention i got tired of eating so much meat and cheese. Give me a big bowl of pasta and a glass of milk any day...

Yeah, you just need to up your carb & salt intake a little and they go away within minutes, but I hear ya. Glad what you're doing is working.

 

[HIlife]

Well, it's a synopsis of a HUGE paper and research and is not complete. That's just the basic premise. There are studies, references and other sources cited. It is a well done and science based belief.

Science far and away supports a diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables as well as daily exercise. There is very little you can eat in the way of raw/unprocessed foods that is actually bad for you. As long as energy in &#8776; energy out you're in pretty good shape.

I can make up a scientific argument as to why oranges are the worst food you can eat but it doesn't mean you should just believe me. Some people are intolerant of some foods, those people should not eat those foods.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

This is like sitting ring side watching heavyweights going punch for punch for 12 rounds. Very entertaining!!!

 

[TheSlash]

Except the winner gets nothing. There should be prizes for fighting on the internet....

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I drank a bottle of Ommegang Dubble last night and lost another couple pounds....

 

[TrainSafe]

This is like sitting ring side watching heavyweights going punch for punch for 12 rounds. Very entertaining!!!

Makes me think of this great comic.

Disclaimer: The poster is not making references to any one in this thread. No offense is intended. I've actually learned trememdous amounts about several styles of weight management and nutrition in the past several days from everyone here.

 

[TyTanium]

Yeah, I've really enjoyed and learned a lot from this thread. Thanks all for the good info and level-headedness. :high-fives:

 

[kroach01]

deleted, duplicate

 

[kroach01]

Highly recommend the documentary "Forks over Knives."
Quite scientific and informative, though can be dry and overwhelming to the uninitiated.

Yooper, sorry to bring this up again, but I don't believe wheat is so much to blame in the big picture. Which is not to say they have no part in the blame! I have done quite a bit of research the past few days on this topic and wanted to share what I have been reading if anyone finds it of value.

I think the prevalence of processed corn in our diet, directly or otherwise, is a factor that is a bigger problem than grain, simply because we consume more of its refined product. It's not the sole problem for sure, but its in just about everything we eat. High fructose corn syrup, devoid of nutrients except empty calories, corn in chips, corn-fed beef (which makes the meat itself have much higher saturated fat content and serious health problems for the cow -- http://www.livestrong.com/article/529194-nutrition-of-grass-fed-beef-vs-corn-fed-beef/) which also makes our milk, corn fed chicken and everything really. Its unhealthy for cows and increases the amount of fat in the meat over traditionally grass-fed cows. Just look in the pantry and see what has processed corn in it!
http://articles.cnn.com/2007-09-22/...refiners-association-soybean-oil?_s=PM:HEALTH
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4439943&page=1#.UISasYabHRs

Now kids can get soda, chips, and candy in schools and often prefer these to school lunches, which are usually not healthy either and largely are corn based. It is cheaper to feed kids high-density corn-based products because they are subsidized, while healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are not.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/3/437

Interestingly, the current generation of kids might actually expected to live less than the previous generation for the first time in american history due to the effects of American diet.
http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2012/05/largely-preventable-health-conditions-hamper-u-s/

Most food in America is corn. Almost everything in grocery stores has processed corn, and has an extremely high calorie density. Most important is calorie density because you can eat much less of it to get the same caloric value of, say, broccoli. Which means your stomach doesn't perceive being full nearly as fast. Stomach stretch receptors are a key pathway in signaling your brainstem that you are full and should stop eating.
http://freshfru.it/post/27596382690/when-our-stomachs-are-full-with-fruits-and-plant
Consumption of calorie-dense foods also means the pancreas secretes insulin in "peaky" intervals, then disappears quickly. Or it stays high altogether, along with glucose levels. This has been strongly implicated to cause insulin resistance, a key part of metabolic syndrome and later type II diabetes.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glycemic-index-diet/MY00770
http://www.longactinginsulin.com/index.php/tag/insulin-spike/
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/glycaemic-index-of-rice-varieties
http://www.life-enhancement.com/magazine/article/1877-glycemic-control-best-for-weight-loss (see section about glucose and insulin spikes)
Needless to say, consuming more empty calories in calorie density foods means more fat storage.
Heck, the corn grown in the grain belt is completely unpalatable unless highly processed! It's sometimes not even profitable to grow corn without government subsidies. I understand this goes back to food policy back in the 1970s (and of course before) where the government fiscally encouraged the amount of food yield based on subsidies. This allows companies to make corn-based products, which are nutritionally deficient and calorie dense, on the cheap relative to healthy foods.
http://www.calpirgstudents.org/medi...port-junk-food-instead-fresh-food-report-says
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/ag-subsidies-fund-junk-food-report-says/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Butz#Secretary_of_Agriculture

My opinion is that the serious problems in health we are seeing (higher cancer rates, morbid obesity, diabetes type II, HTN, etc etc..) are from the unrestrained consumption of high calorie density foods - the consumption of which causes "peaky" insulin spikes, or simply persistently high levels of glucose which insulin everntually fails to manage, and does not stimulate the brain telling it that it is full - and the lack of physical activity. Americans like things fast, cheap, and easy. It's all of these to stop at McDonald's and grab an extra large #1 with a coke than it is to prepare a meal of vegetables, fruits, and legumes. Speaking of which, the meal is almost all highly processed corn and meat. The beef is corn fed, the milk comes from corn-fed cows, the soda contains largely high-fructose corn syrup, and the fries are fried in highly processed corn oil (or rapeseed or soy).
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/we-are-what-we-eat
http://www.lifechek.com/webimages/obesity_cancer.gif
http://www.cutthewaist.com/impact.html

In addition, the consumption of these highly energy dense foods also increases the amount of inflammation in the body, measured commonly as CRP (C- Reactive Protein), amongst other things. It has been proven that diets high in saturated fats and energy dense foods causes a dramatic increase in CRP levels.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/5/1211.full
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=46339
These inflammatory processes are how atherosclerosis forms, measured by CRP. Specifically, LDL cholesterol is not easily removed from the blood by the liver. This means it spends high amounts of time in the blood, and it has a higher chance of becoming oxidized, which is a very harmful process. Oxidants damage vessel endothelia, and cause migration of inflammatory cells to the area by signal molecules (cytokines) released by the endothelium. These proliferate over the indigestible oxidized LDLs eaten up by macrophages, which become foam cells, and attract platelets to form over them. This mass then narrows the artery. If the fibrous platelet cap is thin, the plaque is easy to break apart and may cause strokes. If thick, it can cause things like angina (chest pain) during exercise and pain in the lower legs when walking.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11795267
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/91/9/2488.full
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/545748 (esp. third slide picture)
http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/www-learn/labmeeting/labmeeting_014.pdf
http://www.angiologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/eng_atherosclerosis.jpg

TLDR; Consumption of energy-dense foods and lack of exercise are the problems here. They cause countless morbid, fatal, and extremely expensive diseases. Since corn is so prevalent in everything, is extremely cheap due to subsidies, and must be processed into calorie-dense forms it is the main culprit. We can debate the percentages of fats/carbs/proteins, but I think the basic message is eat more unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables, and exercise.


I'm sure there are some errors here and that I left a good deal out, like the exercise (or lack thereof) side of the equation. This was just in my free time between studying for a shelf exam and writing some H&Ps.
My apologies if it is received as rambling, excessive, or confusing.
I only hope my area of study and work can help other people better understand these processes. If everyone already knows this, my apologies again


Edit 1: Changed "grains" to "wheat"

 

[theexternvoid]

I didn't mean for this to turn into a general health thread, but since it did...

I don't eat any meat, never have since the day I was born. I also shy away from the dairy and eggs. I love carbs and beer, though usually my lunches are a carb / protein mix, like rice and black beans, or rice and lentils, etc. I avoid refined sugars, like cake, and absolutely no soft drinks. I avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup, etc. Most of my carbs are complex carbs.

As a result, my cholesterol is awesome: LDL is 40, HDL is 66. (It's almost impossible for vegans to have a cholesterol problem since 99.9% of cholesterol intake comes from animal products.) My blood sugar is not too high. Actually it might be too low, if anything, so a low carb high protein diet would probably be very bad for me. I rarely get sick, and I have good energy. I am on the high end of a healthy weight, but not overweight yet (as measured by risk for hyperbolic syndrome). Though I am also a couch potato, so maybe that's why I'm on the high end.

It is much the opposite of Yooper and some other posts, but it works for me.