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I have constantly heard Paul Jaminent mention that in some cases high carbohydrate diets are better for some people. I'm not too clear on his reasoning, but I have been experimenting with a higher carbohydrate intake from sweet potatoes and white rice (close to 500 grams) the last few weeks and surprisingly my libido has returned after being non-existent for 10 months. Many of my digestive issues have also disappeared and my mood has improved tremendously. Does anyone know the reasoning behind this? Am I better adapted to a higher carbohydrate diet because of my Mexican ancestry, or do I have some kind of infection, virus, disease that benefits from a higher carbohydrate intake?

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8 Answers

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I think the questions should be in what circumstances is a high carb diet not beneficial? many people heal/control metabolic issues(diabetes,obesity,diseases) with very high carb diets and even people with type 1 diabetes apparently get benefits from high carb diets. The longest lived cultures all supposedly eat very high carb as well and a real paleo diet is a probably a lot higher carb then most people think.

The only (modern)hunter gatherers who subsist on high fat are inuits so unless your an eskimo your probably far higher likely to be adapted to a higher carb diet.

very high fat diets are therapeutic diets that are pretty unsustainable long term for average people unless you have epilepsy and are pretty deficient if not carefully planned,

just my 2 cents.

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Vey good point. For healthy fit humans high carb diets, if available, would be the default. It's just easier on the healthy body to function on high carb, obviously we're talkin paleo carbohydrate sources. High fat, high protein is more taxing on our systems. Cortisol is clear evidence there. Million and millions of fit healthy, un-metabolically deranged humans THRIVE on high carbohydrate diets. You don't even have to look that far, look right here in the US: fit healthy athletic folk function extremely well on high carb. – ben61820 May 29 2011 at 17:26
Sorry to sound like broken record, ben, but what clear evidence? Have you read, e.g. ketotic.org/2011/05/bioenergetics.html which shows "The overall message is that glucose's complete oxidation involves more complex I activity, ultimately promoting more ROS production by the mitochondria."..."ketones cause a decrease in the potential between the mitochondria and cytosol (ie. Emito/cyto) while increasing the ∆G of ATP hydrolisis, paralleled by the increase in ∆G QH2/NAD+ and ∆G[H+]. Increased efficiency." It sounds to me like burning glucose is more stressful. – Ambimorph May 29 2011 at 21:05
I acknowledge that some people seem to fare better with higher carb, but I don't yet accept the cortisol explanation. – Ambimorph May 29 2011 at 21:13
Ambi is correct.....it causes ROs but ROS is often critical to good health. That is how mitochondria signal biogenesis. Context my friends context. If your broken like a diabetic limiting ROS becomes critical. But if your anthony colpo......without it you'd die or underperform.....the real issue is what are anthonys long term issues with his choices gonna be. Guess we will see – The Quilt May 29 2011 at 23:26
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 What quilt just said is where I started with my comment. For FIT HEALTHY underaged people, that's what I said. For those people, there is absolutely NO detriment in eating paleo carbs. We evolved eating them. They fuel strenuous explosive activity, he most health-promoting activity, extremely well. Much better than fat-burning. Established fact. Run an N1 if you want too: get all good and fat- adapted and try sprinting against someone who runs on good carbs. Over. All you have to do is try it out. Quilt always says "context context" which exactly where I started. – ben61820 May 29 2011 at 23:40
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Well if you lost your libido it might me. Paul Jaminet generally recommends like 20% carbohydrate for people, he notes that there is such thing as a glucose deficiency and people eating only low carb vegetables for glucose probably aren't even getting any since gut bacteria eat it first. There is often too much need for glucose to be sufficiently met by gluconeogenesis, and gluconeogenesis can sometimes elevate cortisol levels, especially in the case of exercise.

However there is the propensity in the health and nutrition types to think in false dichotomies. 0 carb didn't work well, therefore eat a very high carb diet? Really?

Robb Wolf says to correlate carb intake with exercise level. Paul Jaminet says to make carbs 20% minimum.

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 I dont buy Pauls advice at all....Robb is closer to the correct biochemical answer.....but still does not source the high cortisol etiology – The Quilt May 29 2011 at 15:52
Yeah I would assume that one can go below 20% carbs so long as there isn't a great need for gluconeogenesis. But like you said, who is that? I know I've used quite a bit of glucose already this morning with demanding reading material. – Stabby May 29 2011 at 16:43
I am a soccer player, so I burn through a lot of glycogen daily. I know Paul recommends a minimum of 20% of total calories as carbs, but I have heard him mention in the comments many times that some people might benefit from a higher percentage of carbohydrates, I'm just not sure who he is referring too or in what conditions would it be beneficial – ROB May 29 2011 at 17:10
If you are a soccer player with low libido that was resolved by eating more carbs, apparently. You don't want too little fat since that will kill your testosterone levels. So eat carbohydrate until you have good energy levels and then no more. – Stabby May 29 2011 at 17:41
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I don't see why anyone should bother with macros at all. With paleo type diets, the main effect is from improving the quality of food, not ratios. Dump the fructose and don't worry about starch. Your body is a much better satiety regulator when food is not garbage.

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Depends upon your goal. Your correct for healthy decent life.....not so sure for healthy longevity – The Quilt May 30 2011 at 11:15
I will agree with that last sentence, Kirill. I totally agree that after a while of eating good, clean whole foods (paleo, essentially) urges to eat crap simply disappear. It takes a while, I been at this for about 6 years, but nowadays its just so simple, so straight forward. Food is whole, tasty, simple, eaten with people you like, makes you feel good - all that steers one clear of snickers bars, etc. – ben61820 May 30 2011 at 12:50
Depending on your definition of "crap", there are a lot of diets our there that diminish your desire for "crap". – Thomas Seay May 30 2011 at 15:07
@thomas: most def you're right. I guess as long one eats whole unprocessed foods for long enough they will lose the urge and interest in consuming today's processed convenience garbage food like soda, bagged potato chips, breads that don't go stale, etc. – ben61820 May 30 2011 at 18:23
I'd say paleo is the best way to go about it, by def it's not the only way. I leanred it all on WAP, which is essentially paleo with properly handled grains and dairy yknow. But the point I suppose is just "back to basics", understanding what is food and what isn't. – ben61820 May 30 2011 at 18:24
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I think that goes without saying: if you have diabetes or metabolic issues, then a high carb diet is out of the question. Also, if your libido is low, you might wanna try high carbing.

Now, my question here has to do with those without diabetes. Should you be on a high carb (safe starch) or low carb diet? Let's also put aside those who exercise and have constipation problems. For them, a high carb diet could help.

My only problem with a safe-starch / high carb diet is: doesn't this still elevate your insulin? Your BG is gonna rise and your insulin will be deployed much more so than in a low carb diet. Supposedly, elevated insulin levels may result in cancer development, inflammation, AGEs, and leading to overall accelerated aging.

One of the supposed benefits of a low carb diet is that it will FLATLINE your insulin. So doesn't this benefit alone make a LC diet preferable than a HC diet? Again, for those without the above exceptions.

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 Assuming no diabetes, even if you are LC you are still going to have a basal level of insulin, and you are still going to maintain a normal level of blood glucose. We don't know how much carb restriction it would take to see any measurable benefit in terms of longevity, and how many years it might extend your life. Also consider that LC populations don't have extraordinarily longer lifespans than HC ones. It might not be worth enduring a LC diet if all you get is a few extra years, if that. – bluetooth.enabled May 30 2011 at 4:18
Namby flatlining insulin is critical for longevity but it does sacrifice performance......that is the tradeoff one makes for the other – The Quilt May 30 2011 at 11:12
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 excellent comment, bluetooth. A little addition: LCarbers will also experience insulin spikes from a bolus of protein-intake, and dairy-intake. just the facts. If one was indeed eating almost all fat solely then I believe you would see extremely constant levels of BG and insulin, but I would bet most in the LC world are eating enough protein and dairy to fluctuate insulin. – ben61820 May 30 2011 at 12:54
in other words The Quilt's comment makes excellent sense in principle, but is the relative magnitude of the triggers and the effects such that this tradeoff is relevant in real life (without junk food/illness)? – donat May 30 2011 at 13:27
--not that I find it unlikely, I'm just wondering. In fact I can think of a couple of arguments in favor of the assumption – donat May 30 2011 at 13:43
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Well, Rob, this is my experience as well, however there was no way I was going to let it go on for long. It would appear that from your experience, it's not a question of just waiting it out. I see Danielle is having similar issues. Danny Roddy gives a mention to this issue briefly in this article and promises a longer article soon. My ancestry isn't Mexican. It's French. I don't have any reasoning really. I could speculate about cortisol, etc, but it would just be speculation. Thank goodness it is easily corrected with larger quantities of carbs.

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 get a salivary cortisol level and I bet you see it is. I also will tell you when you engage to treat your cortisol....you will find paleo does work for you.....but it wont til you figure out why your cortisol is up. That was my own personal struggle and when I fixed it....the effect was ridiculous. Neurosurgery has a a way of driving up cortisol even when I did not feel the stress because I was conditioned to it. – The Quilt May 29 2011 at 15:51
I had one done a couple of years ago (it's in my office at work now, so I don't have it handy). I get a cortisol spike in the middle of the night. Don't know exactly what to do about it, but the low-carb diet exacerbated it. Meditation also didn't help too much. – Thomas Seay May 29 2011 at 21:27
I can..........and that tells me why paleo is not working for you. You fix that and watch out – The Quilt May 29 2011 at 23:23
Can you point me in the direction of how to fix it? I honestly don't know how, besides the usual stuff, like reduce stress, etc. – Thomas Seay May 30 2011 at 0:50
Yes. Contact me and I will give you many strategies....and even a test you can get to track your response to treatment. But you will need to get a new current test so we can see where you are now. Then direct care toward stopping the spike – The Quilt May 30 2011 at 1:50
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Upping muscle mass is easier with high carbs.

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 I definitely agree with you. From just my own experience, i saw good increase in both muscle mass and an increase in my max poundages with the iron. After adding a lot of starch regularly into my daily eating. – ben61820 May 30 2011 at 12:48
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If youre a hunter gather in New Guinea........and you dont exert yourself often and have no internet or western lifestyle to hype up your cortisol levels.

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to down votes quilt you a in the crossfade of the paleopopulism. Dont bother some who downvote you dont even have heard before on New Guinea or even now who lives there, thats the fate of worse eduction sponsered by mcD and SodaPop and HappyMeal. Its a comman joke in europe also in britain to joke on this simple thinking americans who rant easily on everything without reading or listening to it. Wish the kids become better schools and good education. Thats what i realy wish. That people get good education and a safe place to grow up happy and healthy. – oak0y May 29 2011 at 17:28
I'm a big boy with broad shoulders. Thanks for the support – The Quilt May 30 2011 at 1:49
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Adequate starch intake is beneficial or even necessary for lean and/or active people with normal glucose metabolism. It's also pretty much essential if you want to build muscle without eating pounds and pounds of meat every day (which I, personally, feel is unnatural and unhealthy).

People like me. I've gained both muscle and fat on a paleo/primal grain-free diet, but I am still underweight, have lowish body fat, and have trouble building strength and muscle in my arms and shoulders (being a pear-shaped kind of girl). I tried VLC for a while, about a year ago, and just didn't feel well in several ways...

I also am a very active person. I work on my feet, I don't drive a car so I bike and walk places, I have a large vegetable garden to maintain, and two dogs to exercise. Additionally, I love yoga and am currently training to be a yoga instructor. I burn a lot of sugars every day! If they're not there to burn, I don't feel well.

Now, for a congenitally thin person, I have more trouble with my blood sugar than seems to be usual (just like my daddy). My fasting blood sugar is always on the low side and from my symptoms I suspect that it dips lower than normal if I 'fast', and spikes up have an adverse affect on my whole body (migraines, etc). I have to be aware of my daily carb intake and activity level and adjust accordingly, otherwise I will crash and feel like hell. So unless I was running a marathon or lifting hundreds of pounds in the gym each day, I couldn't safely be eating 400g per day of potatoes like some paleo people do (although most of them seem to be running marathons or lifting heavy). But 100-250g is just right, depending on my activity level.

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