An article on BBC news suggests that “the colour of the carbs you eat matters – and as Dr Xand van Tulleken explains, it’s the beige ones you really have to watch out for.”
‘White’ carbs = sugar, including what’s in fizzy drinks and cakes.
‘Beige’ carbs = bread, pasta, potatoes and rice. Not as bad as sugar, but still not good for you, as much of it can still end up as body fat.
‘Green’ carbs = dietary fibre, found in fruit and vegetables, and which is good for you.
Dr Faisal Maassarani, on Merseyside, wants to get his patients to eat fewer carbs and thereby improve their health. He assembled a group of seven overweight patients, with health problems like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and carried out a few basic tests.
He then enlisted chefs from a local cookery school to prepare a feast for them, to show that healthy food could be tasty, affordable and filling, also made clear the possible consequences of obesity and diabetes (gangrene, strokes, heart attacks, ulcers and more).
Two weeks on, all seven patients had altered their diets as requested and opted for more green carbs. The diabetics had improved their blood sugar so dramatically that one of them was in part-remission. In two weeks his type 2 diabetes, which he had had for 17 years, was barely detectable. And six out of the seven lost half a stone or more.
The lesson here is that even small changes to your diet can make a big difference.