joann's health&fitness blog

The bankruptcy of Atkins Nutritionals underscores the waning of the latest no-carb craze. Last year I had many people ask me for a list of all foods without carbs. A comprehensive list is not practical, but it's pretty easy to sum up. Animal foods--meat, including chicken and fish, as well as beef, pork, lamb, etc.--do not have carbs. The exception is dairy foods, which have the milk sugar, lactose. Butter and oils do not have carbs. Other than certain manufactured foods, that's pretty much it. What do they have? Meat has protein and fat, and oils are all fat. There are 3 macronutrients (if you don't count water): protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Vegetables and fruit are mostly carbohydrate, with smaller amounts of protein and usually a little fat. Grain products are mostly carb, with more protein and sometimes a little fat. The no-carb people often give salads a free pass, although they are mostly carb. Grains are usually forbidden, although they are nutritious and it's hard to get enough fiber without them.

Now if you want to say whole grains are good for you, and you should minimize refined grains, I would agree. If you want to say you should avoid refined sugars and highly sweetened products, I would agree with that too. But if you just say one should avoid "carbs," I can't agree. You would be avoiding fruits, vegetables, and whole grains--all important sources of nutrition. (Note you would be avoiding dairy products as well.) You would also be avoiding your body's preferred energy source, which is carbohydrate. You would probably also be eating too much fat. (You can't survive on protein alone, and that's all there is besides carbs and fat.)