Refined Carbs and Diabetes II

One of the things I found amazing about the refined carbs study is how high carbohydrate consumption has been in the U.S.  For example, the study shows that in 1909, the average carb consumption was 500 grams per day.  And what was the rate of diabetes and obesity back then?  Very low.  The paper goes on to show that this was because the carbohydrates that were consumed were mostly unrefined.

This evidence shows that a diet high in unrefined carbs combined with a high activity level avoids at least avoids two major health problems, obesity and diabetes.  Whether such a diet is optimal for total health, including cancer risk and other issues, is subject to debate.  But the idea that low-carb diets are necessary for avoiding obesity and diabetes is simply not true based on historical evidence.   

Comments

[Charles]

Matt, I'm with ya there.

But the question, as I see it, is not what WON'T cause obesity and diabetes, but what WILL cause obesity and diabetes in large numbers of people.

And I think what we're seeing is that diets high in refined carbs and low in fats will tend to cause obesity in populations. Once that's accepted, I imagine there are a lot of diets that we can come up with that won't cause the same problems.

I know that may seem like I'm quibbling...