Eating pasta is eating sugar!
When we eat that much pasta our bodies think we've eaten that much sugar, it really can't tell the difference! Same goes for similar amounts of cereal and rice and potatoes and bread.
I know they're all complex carbohydrates and sugar is simple, but guess what? Every type of carbohydrate gets broken down into simple sugars in our digestive tract before it is absorbed into our blood stream, and the speed with which each type gets absorbed does not depend on its initial structure.
It is WRONG to assume that complex carbohydrates are healthier than simple sugars.
And this information is not controversial or debatable. The glycaemic index of carbohydrates has been studied since the eighties and the extensive results are entirely conclusive - the complexity of a carbohydrate can not be used to predict it's affect on blood sugar levels.
So what?
Well these facts no less than demolish the foundations of the current nutritional wisdom - think about the common advice we receive, how often have you heard an expert recommend we eat more wholesome grains but cut back on sweets? They tell us to avoid sugar in foods because it causes an undesirably sharp rise in blood sugar levels, but this is exactly what also happens when we eat lots of grains, i.e. lots of breads and cereals and rice and pasta. Their advice is completely contradictory!
No longer can we label complex carbohydrates good and simple sugars bad, every different source of carbohydrate must be evaluated on its own merit - how much fibre does it contain? How many vitamins and anti-oxidants? And how much will my blood sugar rise if I eat this serving?
Next time someone tells you to eat lots of rice ask them why you can't just have a piece of chocolate cake instead? (And no chocolate cake isn't at the base of the Zone pyramid either, sorry.)
