Part II: Good Food, Bad Food: Naturalpath Sits Down With the Authors of Skinny Bitch
Editor’s Note: Part II of Naturalpath’s interview with Rory Friedman and Kim Barnouin the authors of the NY Times Best Seller Skinny Bitch
1. What is the truth about carbs?
We love carbs, and we’re so sad they’ve gotten such a bad rap! Here’s the deal: There are good carbs and bad carbs. Good carbs are fruits, whole grains, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. They are gifts from the heavens and should be eaten daily. They give us energy and help us feel full and satisfied. Bad carbs are refined sugar, white flour, white rice, and other stripped grains (like white pasta) and should be avoided. They release quickly into our bodies making us feel tired, cranky, low-energy, and hungry.
2. Why is sugar the devil?
For starters, it’s in everything! It’s one thing to eat a cookie and get a dose of sugar, but sugar’s lurking in our breakfast cereals, breads, even our juices!
You’d think sugar would be pretty benign, since it comes from a plant. But unfortunately, it gets so processed and refined, any nutrients that were once there are stripped away. To boot, sugar creates an acidic environment in our bodies (just like meat, pasteurized dairy, coffee, and alcohol). And cancer cells thrive in acidic environments.
We’re not saying we don’t eat sweets. We’re human. And we’re pigs. We just try to buy stuff sweetened with more natural sweeteners, like agave, molasses, maple syrup, etc.
3. Ok, give it to us straight, Why is Atkins so bad?
Ugh! There is nothing more maddening than the high-protein/low-carb trend. The only thing that we agree with is that bad carbs need to go. No white flour, white rice, white pastas, etc. But that’s about it. The rest is crazy talk.
High amounts of animal protein are taxing on the kidneys, loaded with saturated fats and cholesterol, and linked to multiple cancers. In addition, animal products also have little to no fiber. (Fiber binds toxins in the body so they can be expelled.)
Good carbs—like fruits and whole grains—are effortlessly digested, devoid of fat and cholesterol, and have been linked to a reduced risk of multiple cancers. Unlike meat and dairy, fruits and whole grains are full of fiber, which means good detoxing for your body.
If you let common sense prevail and you don’t get swindled by clever marketing, it’s a no-brainer: Fresh fruits and whole grains are vital for your health. The rotting, decaying, decomposing flesh of animals is not.
4. So many people are claiming to be "lactose intolerant" these days, Why is this?
In a sense, we’re all lactose intolerant. Yes, we’re designed to drink our mothers’ breast milk when we’re babies. But that’s it. We’re the only species on the planet that drinks milk after weaning. And we’re the only species on the planet that drinks the milk of another species. There’s nothing in cows’ milk that we need. We can get adequate calcium (and absorb it more easily) from nuts, seeds, leafy greens, veggies, and legumes. The only reason we drink the milk of cows is because the dairy industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars convincing us we should. And unfortunately, doctors, nurses, and registered dieticians have fallen prey to their brilliant advertising.
We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that without milk, our bones will break. But studies done at Harvard, Yale, Penn State, and the National Institute of Health found that dairy intake had no positive effect on bone density. In fact, after looking at 34 published studies from 16 different countries, researchers at Yale found that countries with the highest osteoporosis rates also had the highest intake of meat and dairy products.
5. What is next for the Skinny Bitches?
We’re busy Bitches! Our cookbook, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, is coming out December 2007. And we’re not sure about the title yet, but we’ve got a how-to-eat guide for pregnant women coming out in 2008.
Tags: food, natural, organic, vegan
- Uncategorized
July 30th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I am glad that your diet works for you and probably a host of other folks as well, but let’s give Dr. Atkins a break. He’s dead now (we all will be someday regardless of diet) and deserves to rest in peace. He died at the age of 72 by hitting his head during a fall and the cardiac problems he faced late in life were not the cause of death nor were they diet related (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-10-atkins-statements_x.htm).
I used The Atkins’ Diet back in 1993 to lose about 80 pounds, and have only gained back about 25 pounds since then. My cholesterol dropped from 274 to 186 during those 12 months and my triglycerides normalized. All those other measured values also returned to “normal” according to the doctor. I also felt great within the first week and that feeling lasted the course.
Anyone who goes from an unrestricted diet to The Atkins’ Diet knows that fiber intake is generally increased because dark, leafy greens are a requirement that most are not consuming before starting the diet. He also allows brown grains and nuts in moderation, but only after the process of burning one’s fat reserves gets up and running. His diet was never all-meat-all-the-time as so many of his antagonists like to claim. However, not having restrictions on protein and fat allows an overweight person the opportunity to eat to satiety without self-destructing the weight loss process.
Now, I will admit that once off The Atkins’ Diet it is difficult to return to it. However, in my experience, that seems to be the case with any diet. Any ideas why getting back on any one diet seems difficult?