A friend wanted to learn more about nutrition

A friend wanted to learn more about nutrition, specifically why the word carbohydrates is typically used incorrectly. So I did my best to explain...

What are carbohydrates? Plants. Whole food fruits and vegetables. One of the three macronutrients. What are the three macronutrients? Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates.

I'm doing something similar to 80/10/10, mostly whole food plants, I'm personally closer to 70% whole food carbs, 15% whole food fats, and 15% whole food proteins. 

There are no empty calories in my diet. No sugar, oils, and salt. And as a result there is very little of my diet that is in the "hyper-palatable" category. Yeah it's kind of boring...where's the taste?? You get used to it and then you can actually taste "whole" that adds no hyper-palatable substances that are not food.

Again, sugar, salt and oils have ZERO calories, which means they are NOT FOOD.

Carbohydrates are misunderstood because they are called junk foods, the kind of crap you get at fast food places. It's a misnomer to call "crap substances" carbohydrates.

What do the three macronutrients do? Protein builds the tissues, fluids and bones of the body. Carbohydrates and fats, the other two macros, provide the fuel the body burns. Apes are not adapted to burning fat, they can only burn carbs (plants). Humans can burn both fats and carbs for fuel. Why can we burn fats and carbs but apes can't? After all, they are our close cousins. The big human brain (that evolved slowly) allowed us to make tools and clothing, which allowed early humans to migrate gradually into colder climates. In colder climates humans ate animals and carbs. In extremely cold climates we ate only animals, only burned fats as fuel, because where are you going to find plants in extreme cold?

Calling the mixed junk we get in restaurants carbohydrates is misinformation. 

Basically at the extremes you have so-called carnivores and vegans. There are whole food people who eat some fruit but mostly animals, or whole food people that eat some animals but mostly fruits and vegetables. These people are eating "whole foods" consciously because they do not want to eat the empty calories that come from the substances, sugar, salt and oil, that makes "foods" hyper-palatable.

Hyper-palatability is an addiction. If you don't do too much of it you will probably be ok. People who are addicted to hyper-palatability will eventually get fat and sick. Yeah it's basically that simple.

If there was a version of Big Pharma whose job was to teach us nutrition we would be living in a different world. Their job instead is to keep us confused about nutrition.

A great way to learn about health and nutrition is do a water fast at True Health Center in Santa Rosa CA. Start by reading this book:

The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness

Now, a warning about this book: it is written by vegans.