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Originally Posted by moorejames  Anyone think the way we count calories is completely flawed?
The current definition of a calorie comes from burning food and seeing how much heat it gives off.
What's that got to do with the human metabolism?
Seems to me, the reason we count calories is to get an indication of a food's fuel source capacity.
Given that reason for calculating a food's "calories" wouldn't it make more sense to define a food's fuel source capability by it's ability to convert to glucose in the human body?
Looked at that way, carbs would have a much higher "calorie" content than fats and protein.
Cars burn fuel. Humans convert it through chemical processes using enzymes and hormones and insulin.
I think the whole concept of calories is flawed. People aren't cars.
(and yeah, I know that's what the glycemic index is all about, but we still focus on the heat generating capability of burning food: calories) |
James its just how they measure the energy in food by burning it
The body burns it as well just using a different means. - Its simply a unit of measure - dont get hung up on the how
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Originally Posted by DeusXM And of course this is the major flaw in his logic. Non-diabetics have spikes after eating too. When he first set out his diet plan we didn't have insulins that mimic the action of the bolus insulin release from the pancreas and so having no spikes at all was the best option. Now that we can reduce the duration and severity of BG spikes (as non-diabetics can), there's scope to move away from such a restrictive lifestyle.
In fact (although I'm not going to bother trying to start an argument here), the Bernstein plan isn't a lifestyle plan, it's just an existence plan. |
I agree - If you read some of the diabetes history books Bernstein's diet is very similar to the diet they used before insulin was invented - merely a sustenance diet - designed to keep you alive at all costs.
Its like the old joke .. A guy asks his Dr if he will live to be 80 - the Dr asks a bunch of questions like
"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking,"
"Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?"
"Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"
The answer to all the questions is "No, I don't do any of those things."
He looked at me and said, "Then why do you want to live to be 80?"
