My Take on Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Low Carbs, and all of the Carb BS

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

With so much talk, confusion, and controversy in recent years about "carbs", I wanted to give you my take on good carbs vs bad carbs, low carb, and all the other "carb confusion" out there.  I'll also show you one of my favorite healthy carbohydrate choices.
First of all, although I'm not a "low carb" extremist, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle to ever lose any body fat is that they are over consuming processed carbohydrates such as:

• cereals
• pasta
• rice
• bagels
• muffins
• breads (even whole grain varieties are not ideal if you're looking to lose body fat)
• sodas
• juices
• candies
• crackers

It is extremely hard to lose body fat if you're over consuming any of these types of carbohydrates (even if you workout very hard). In addition to causing wild blood sugar swings and insulin surges which can promote body fat deposition, eating too many carbs also increases your appetite and cravings.
Note that I didn't include potatoes in the list of processed carbohydrates. Despite the trash talking they get from many fitness professionals, I think whole potatoes (not fries or chips!) are a nutrient-dense healthy food.
Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are "healthy" really are just excess calories that don't really deliver a whole lot of nutrient density... and many types of breads and cereals pretend to be "whole grain" with clever marketing while in reality the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to shoot your blood sugar through the roof.
My take on it is that the majority of people struggling to lose body fat would do much better following these types of carb guidelines:
1. Reduce your grain-based carb products in the diet (cereal, pasta, rice, crackers, etc) and focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and/or free-range meats and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and TONS of vegetables and fruits.  I understand that it's very hard for most people to give up entirely their breads, cereals, and pastas.  But don't worry, just save the grain-based carbs for a 1-day per week "cheat day", and you can still do just fine!
2. Instead of the grains for most of the carbs, try getting most of your carbs from vegetables, sweet potatoes, and a variety of whole fruits and berries (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit).
3.  If you're going to eat any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain... the germ and bran... this means that the best parts are getting oat bran instead of oatmeal, and using rice bran to add to your yogurt, cottage cheese, salads, soups, etc.  This way you get all of the most beneficial nutritious parts of grains without all of the excess starches and calories. 
Note on wheat germ --  although wheat germ is a nutrient dense food (compared to the nutrient-poor starch portion of wheat), beware of the gluten in wheat if you have any intolerance.  Many people have wheat/gluten intolerances and don't even realize it.  It could be worth it to get tested to see how your body is handling wheat.
Also, for best results with grains in general, try to stick only to sprouted grain products if you're going to eat any grains at all.  The sprouting of grains helps to eliminate some of the "anti-nutrients" in some grains, and also improves digestion of those grains.
4. To replace the void if you're used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources... try filling that void with more healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocados, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as raw grass-fed dairy and meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and proteins go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on fat loss.
With all of that said, here's one of my favorite carb sources that is high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants:
Sweet potatoes or yams
I always choose the orange varieties instead of the white varieties of sweet potatoes. One of the problems with sweet potatoes is the time it takes to bake a sweet potato for 1 to 1.5 hrs.
I cook my sweet potatoes in a different way that only takes 5 minutes and they come out delicious... and no, I would NEVER use a microwave (I talk more about why never to use a microwave to cook your foods in this article).
The easiest and quickest way I've found to cook up a sweet potato is to slice it up into thin slivers and put it into a pan that you can cover with a lid.  I add a touch of butter, virgin coconut oil (beneficial medium chain triglycerides), and about 3-4 Tbsp of water and simmer with a covered lid for about 5 minutes. 
When the sweet potatoes are soft, then add a little cinnamon and maybe a touch of the natural sweetener stevia (if you want a little more sweet flavor) and you're all set with a delicious healthy carb side dish to go with any meat dish.  Add a side salad and you've got the perfect lean-body meal plan.
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Are You Being Exposed to These Hidden Carcinogens in Bread, Cereal, Potato Chips, Fries, and More?

by Cat Ebeling - RN, BSN & Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Co-Authors:  The Fat Burning Kitchen


You've probably heard conflicting opinions out there in the nutrition world if breads, cereals, and other grain-based foods are good for you or not.  On one hand, you've got the mega-powerful multi-billion dollardollar food companies that make huge profits off of cheap grain-based foods and they attempt to convince the public that breads, cereals, etc are "healthy".

On the other hand, you've got the select camp of scientists, journalists, some nutritionists, etc that believe that humans are still adapted to eating more of a "Paleo" style of dietdiet, which greatly limits grains of all types, since grains historically never comprised more than a tiny percentage of the human diet until just the most recent agricultural age, which allowed mass production of grains for the first time in human history.

But let's forget about the "whole grain is healthy" propaganda camp vs the Paleo style nutrition camp (which I lean towards mostly, except for weekly cheat meals... because let's face it, breads and cereals are tasty, and even if we weren't meant to consume large amounts overall, I know I still want my weekly cheat meals!) ... Instead, let's focus on one particular nail in the coffin for breads, cereals, and the biggest offender, fries and chips...
The Carcinogenic Acrylamides (there's good and bad news)
You may have heard about "Acrylamides" and that their possible negative health effects as a Acrylamides, but maybe you were unsure which foods have the highest concentrations.  Well, fried starchy foods are one of the worst offenders!  Acrylamides are created mostly from starchy foods that have been subjected to a high temperature. That includes foods like potato chips, french fries, corn chips, cereals, bread, crackers, pretzels and more.
Basically any starchy carbohydrate cooked at a high temperature through any method of toasting, roasting, baking, or frying will contain higher levels of acrylamides.  Acrylamides generally don't form if a food is cooked using water.  It can also be found in toasted and roasted cereal grains and bread products -- again with the highest levels contained in those baked to a golden brown... so that brown crust on the bread actually contains the highest levels of this carcinogen.
And, sorry french fry lovers... the highest acrylamide levels have been measured in any type of fried potatoes.  Potato chips and french fries fried to a golden brown contain the highest levels of nasty acrylamides.
How bad are Acrylamides?
Acrylamides in foods were discovered in 2002 by Swedish scientists, and made some big headlines (at least in America) when they were first reported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) really has not acknowledged the negative impact of cancer-causing acrylamides, and food manufacturers, so far, are not putting warning labels on their products concerning the levels of acrylamides, either.
Acrylamides are cancer-causing chemicals that are created when foods are grilled, fried, baked or roasted at fairly high temperatures.  It is thought that an amino acid found in starchy foods, changes its form when heated to become acrylamide. High-temperature cooking methods, such as frying, baking, or broiling, have been found to produce the most acrylamides, while boiling and steaming produce far less.
Researchers in Europe and the United States have found acrylamides in certain foods that were heated to a temperature above 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit), but not in foods prepared below this temperature.
The World Health Organization, (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that levels of acrylamides in certain foods pose a "major concern" and more research is needed to determine the dangers.
In one study, it was found that women who consumed 40 micrograms or more of acrylamides each day had twice the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancerovarian cancer risk of women who ate foods with little or no acrylamides. 40 mcg is the amount of acrylamides in a small portion of potato chips.
Acrylamide levels in certain foods:

• Potato chips - 546 micrograms/kg
• French fries - 698 micrograms/kg
• breakfast cerealbreakfast cereal - 131 micrograms/kg
• coffee - 8.5 micrograms/kg

Take note that although coffee is listed here with very small amounts of acrylamides (due to the roasting process of the beans), it is theorized that the high antioxidant levels in coffee counteracts any negative effects of this small amount of acrylamides.
Are there substances that protect your body from acrylamides?
Considering that acrylamides are found in the highest amounts in foods you should be avoiding anyway, here is yet another big reason to avoid those foods. It's particularly important to stay away from the biggest offenders as much as possible:  French fries, potato chips, corn chips and cereals.
But let's be real... although they should be limited as much as possible, not many people want to fully give up these foods!  So with that said, how do we protect ourselves from possible harmful effects of acrylamides when we do choose to indulge?
The answer lies in antioxidants!
Researchers found that three types of antioxidants in particular -- tea polyphenols, resveratrol, and a substance found in garlic, slow down or counteract the damage that acrylamides can do to our bodies.
Polyphenols are found in all types of teas -- black tea, green teagreen tea, white tea, red tea, etc., but it is green tea and white tea that contain the highest levels of healthy polyphenols.  With that it mind, it might be a good idea to drink high antioxidant teas on the occasions that you are eating high Acrylamide foods.
Resveratrol is the famed antioxidant found in grape skins and red wine.  It is also found in peanuts that have red skins, like Spanish peanuts.  Again, you might hypothesize that a glass of red wine and the antioxidants within can help protect against the effects of foods with Acrylamides.
Diallyl trisulfide is a compound found in fresh garlic that has been roasted, smashed or minced. Besides fighting off the bad effects of acrylamides, it is also a potent immune system booster.  All three of these compounds are also extremely effective antioxidants.
Although these particular types of antioxidants were pointed out by researchers as potentially helping to inhibit negative effects of acrylamides, I wouldn't assume that other powerful antioxidants don't help too.  As you know, cinnamon, turmeric, and other herbs such as basil and oregano, as well as all berries are extremely potent sources of antioxidants that could potentially be protective as well.
The bottom line:  As much as you can -- avoid fried, roasted or baked starchy foods... especially french fries, potato chips, and corn chips; as well as processed cereals, breads, and crackers.
Not only are these specific foods empty calories with very little micro-nutrition density, they are also insulin increasing (can pack on belly fatbelly fat), and potentially cancer-causing foods.  Acrylamides are simply one more reason to avoid them.
On your "cheat meals" when you choose to eat starchy foods that may be high in acrylamides, make sure to wash it down with some high-antioxidant green teagreen tea, oolong tea, white tea, rooibos tea, or another great source of antioxidants.  Prograde Longevity is another great source of potent synergistic antioxidants that can also help to protect your body when you eat these foods.
If you don't already have a copy, make sure to check out our Fat Burning Kitchen program for our fully comprehensive system to transform your kitchen and your body into a fat-burning machine.


Please feel free to share this article with your friends and family to help protect their health.

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