But you would do better to eat a bowl of spinach than a bowl of brown rice. Both contain carb energy, but the spinach is significantly more nutrient dense. A cup of rice has 3.5g of fiber, whereas a cup of spinach has 4g, plus far more vitamins and minerals than the rice.

Nevertheless, there is a growing school of thought that doesn’t believe that we really need dietary fiber. See this link for a glimpse of this idea. For me, the jury is still out on fiber.

Processed carbs from the grocery store like boxed cereal, pasta and bread are like Skittles without the artificial colors because they have been processed, which strips out any nutrition they might have had. Sometimes these products are then fortified, but synthetic vitamins are very poorly absorbed and utilized by the body.

Whole grain cereal crops are devoid of vitamin C and beta carotene (except for yellow maize). They have poorly absorbable vitamin B6, and the phytate levels in grains impairs the absorption of most minerals, especially zinc and calcium. Whole grains have also been implicated in blocking the utilization of Vitamin D, though the mechanism for this is not yet known.

Additionally, they contain low levels of essential fats and have quite high omega 6/omega 3 fatty acid ratios. Excessive consumption of cereal grains are associated with a wide variety of health problems.

It is processed grain carbs that are eaten far too often (USDA recommends 6-11 servings a day!!!), in combination with all the added sugar and Omega-6 yellow seed oils in the Standard American Diet that is making us all fat and sluggish.

The best carbs are whole vegetables and fruits, which humans have enjoyed without problem for as long as we have existed. Second choice would be a moderate amount of whole grains that haven’t been processed much, like brown rice, soaked and sprouted wheat berries (that you perhaps grind into flour yourself), whole oats soaked in whey to remove the phytates, etc.

I’m not trying to be snarky and I agree that sugar and processed carbohydrates are pretty much the worst things you can eat. But it makes me nervous when facts are oversimplified as broad generalizations.

Also, what about fiber? I thought most people don’t get enough fiber in their diets because animal products don’t contain it at all.

Your learning journey has been fascinating!