On Wed, 12 May 2004 02:28:55 GMT, "carbo_jim"
wrote:
It is a know fact that carbs are poisonous to humans, hence the atkins
revolution.

This propaganda is unfortunately foisted on those whose ignorance
will allow it.

Carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet. An unhealthy
diet that's missing important parts can cause weight loss, which is
why no-carb or no-[protein+fat+whatever] diets can result in lost
weight. The lost weight does not necessarily mean a healthier body.

Let me put it this way, your grandfather was just hunting and gathering right?

My grandfather bought his food and served on a ship in the navy. He
hunted other ships, and gathered...umm...medals?

Somewhere, pre-civilization, my ancestors did hunt and gather. Of
course, they hunted protein/fat and gathered carbohydrates. This was
many thousands of years ago; since then, and over an
evolutionary-length period, humans of many/most descents have eaten
bread very commonly, maybe even as most of their diet.

I don't think that, 4500 years ago, the Egyptians building pyramids
were having any "carbohydrate poisoning" problems, eating bread
often.

From http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/diet.htm :
:For the common people of Egypt, cereal foods formed the main
:backbone of their diet from the predynastic period onward.* Even for
:the rich, this staple mean generally consisted of a variety of
:different breads, often with other ingredients mixed in.

Other civilizations also ate bread, prospered, and later descended
to become you and me.

And as lean as they were, do you think that carbs were a dietary artifact, no?
No. It is a know proven fact now that the health of the ancients was due to low
carb hi protein (and yes even some fats).

Their alleged health was due to their exercise -- they had to run
all day to get their food. They didn't live very long, so their
bodies were younger and probably healthier when they died.

For biking I would encourage a solid breakfast of ham and eggs with coffee.

Carbohydrates are the fuel your body uses best. There's no sense in
depriving your body of it's optimum fuel when you're asking it to
provide high output. Of course, more important is experimenting to
find out what works for _you_ -- if you perform and/or feel better
on ham and eggs with coffee, then that's definitely what you should
have before a race. The best way to find out is to experiment.

All this talk about food is making me hungry. Gimme a cheeseburger,
with the bun!
--
Rick Onanian