The Alkalizing Diet. Istvan Fazekas

chapter 8.)

      Recall that complex carbohydrates are simple sugars that are chained together. When the body breaks apart the sugar chains and uses them for fuel, the net result is sugar hitting the blood; the more starch you eat, the more this turns to sugar. This is what happens when you get “pasta intoxication” and feel very sleepy after the huge ravioli, potato gnocchi, and garlic bread feast. For diabetics, this is an extremely poor choice and could even be dangerous.

      Usually both water and fiber occur in nature with carbohydrates. This helps slow down the rate at which the starch becomes glucose in the blood. The reason whole grains are steadily recommended is that the fiber of the husk and endosperm helps the body to efficiently process the starch and move it out of the gastrointestinal tract after assimilation. The fiber and water also help slow down the rate at which starch gets converted to blood sugar, minimizing, although not necessarily eliminating increased blood sugar spikes.

      Things get thoroughly complicated when you mix too many different nutrients with a lot of starch (either in amount or in variety). All types of digestion chaos ensue, and it is possible that animal proteins will be on the deficient end of digestion, leaving you with meats that may ferment in the intestine. This is certainly a possibility with a person living with chronic constipation, a smoking habit, eating large amounts of refined and processed convenience foods, and having an inactive physical lifestyle. This is a true recipe for disease.

       Desirable Starches:

      • Whole grains (This means they have not been refined; they do not have the bran removed)

      

Naturally acid-forming: Brown rice, spelt, barley, oats, rye, corn

      

Naturally alkaline-forming: quinoa, millet, amaranth

      • Root Vegetables

      

Beets, carrots, ginger, potatoes, radishes, yams, sweet potatoes

      • Ground, stalk, or stem vegetables

      

Artichokes, asparagus, bamboo shoots, broccoli, pumpkin, squash, turnips

       Undesirable Starches:

      • All refined bread products (that is, white bread)

      • White rice, instant rice

      • White potatoes in excess and especially without the peeling

      • Any other intestinal clogging material (ICM)⁵

      The Group Three collection of complex carbohydrates used to be called roughage but now goes by the less exertive name dietary fiber. There are two major types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.

      Soluble fiber is fiber that dissolves in water. When you eat a plant, say an apple, it is the apple pulp that is the soluble fiber. These fibers form a gummy, jelly-like material when mixed with water in the intestines and are credited with lowering blood cholesterol levels and slowing the absorption of sugars into the blood, which is very beneficial to people with blood sugar imbalances, diabetes, and hypoglycemia. It is the soluble fiber that primarily produces methane and other gas byproducts of digestion, creating flatulence.

      Insoluble fiber is the part of the plant, mostly the cell walls, which our digestive system cannot metabolize into energy. These fibers do not dissolve in water but rather absorb water like tiny sponges and help initiate peristalsis⁶ in the intestinal tract. It is well known that many pathologies, from hemorrhoids and constipation to colon cancer, can be prevented by the regular intake of foods high in insoluble fiber, often called whole foods.

       What Your Blood Recommends

       They Say It’s in the Blood¹