What are you eating?

Hardly an hour had passed, and already I felt lightheaded, abdominal discomfort, and a mild headache.  By two hours I noticed some blurry vision and incredible lack of focus and distractibility.  I took some Tylenol and sipped on black coffee, but still I don’t feel right.  I don’t feel bad, but I definitely don’t feel good.  Despite getting almost 8 hours of sleep (a sum I rarely achieve), I feel tired.  And strangest of all, I feel hungry…

Are these excerpts from a journal on my recent fast?  Actually, it’s quite the opposite: I wrote this after eating 50g of net carbohydrates from an isolated source of white potatoes.  Amazing isn’t it?  That the feelings commonly associated with starvation or intoxication were brought on by eating something as seemingly innocuous as potatoes.

Maybe it’s just because I typically eat a low carb diet and my body isn’t used to a bolus dose of 50g carbs?  Good thought.  But just yesterday–at the same time of day and under similar conditions–I consumed an equal sum of net carbohydrates provided by black beans.  No headache.  No mental clarity issues.  Not even any bloating.

OK, maybe it’s just a result of the glycemic index (GI).  The glucose spike and resultant insulin surge triggered by the higher GI of white potatoes vs black beans is clearly the culprit, right?  Doubtful.  Although my one hour blood glucose (BG) level was higher with potatoes than black beans, the 2 hour values were nearly identical.  Moreover, even though the 1 hours BG levels were high, they weren’t anywhere near dangerous levels and were even lower than I experienced after eating an equivalent carb load provided by white rice as part of this experiment last week.

So what is it?  If all calories (or all carbs) are created equally, how can you explain the markedly divergent symptoms I experienced?

Maybe it’s just the way that I am “wired.”  That is what best-selling author Rob Wolff suggests in his recent book Wired to Eat.  To summarize, he suggests that the reason so many diets fail is that they are “one size fits all.”  Strict Paleo may work for me, but others may find success with a completely different macronutrient profile.  In particular, Wolff suggests that each of us is unique in the way we process and metabolize carbohydrates, leading some individuals to thrive with exceptionally low levels (<75g per day) and others to do better with twice that amount.  The best way to find out where you stand, Wolff suggests, is to do a 30 day reset/cleanse followed by the 7 day carb tolerance test.  It’s an exceptional book and I urge you to read it and try the cleanse and test yourself.  However, if you’re interested in skipping right to the experimental side of things and diving into the 7 day carb test, check out his page and watch some of the highly informative videos.

Conventional wisdom has handed us the food pyramid (and its successors) and its reliance on a variety and abundance of carbohydrates.  While it may work for some, it has lead countless others (society?) down a path to weight gain, frustration, and chronic illness.  Many people struggling with obesity and chronic health problems do not realize that their condition may be due—at least in part—to their diet.  They are either unaware or unwilling to take a closer look at exactly what they eat and how it affects them individually.  The point is you don’t know until you try something different.

Have you ever thought about how the different foods you eat (even foods you have “always eaten”) affect you?  I urge you to take the time and pay closer attention.  The solution to some nagging health concerns–lack of focus, migraines, irritable bowels–may be right under your nose (literally).  Please comment below and share!