'Comparison with ancestral diets suggests dense acellular carbohydrates promote an inflammatory microbiota, and may be the primary dietary cause of leptin resistance and obesity' - Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy 2012:5 175–189

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a few snippets from the article ...

"Whereas foods with living cells will have their low carbohydrate density “locked in” until their cell walls are breached by digestive processes, the chyme produced after consumption of acellular flour and sugar-based foods is thus suggested to have a higher carbohydrate concentration than almost anything the microbiota of the upper GI tract from mouth to small bowel would have encountered during our coevolution. This may stimulate differing bacterial species to prosper or be outcompeted, or increase some microbial metabolic pathways and waste products in preference to others. It is proposed that the effects of these enhanced carbohydrate concentrations will include a more inflammatory GI microbiota, initially causing leptin resistance, hence the greatly elevated leptin levels seen in Western populations when compared to those eating a wholly cellular diet."

"Once an inflammatory microbiota is in place, consumption of refined dietary fats and oils may effect a double hit by increasing the absorption of inflammatory PAMPs including LPS into the circulation (Figure 2), or stabilizing and preserving the inflammatory microbiota itself."

"Low-carbohydrate diets will reduce acellular carbohydrate consumption as a by-product of markedly reducing all carbohydrates. This is suggested to result in a larger reduction in the inflammatory nature of the GI microbiota, weight loss without conscious caloric restriction, and improved metabolic syndrome markers.86,88,106 However, low-carbohydrate diets retain some carbohydrates (usually less than 20–50 g per day), often with no regard to their density. This means what little carbohydrate is eaten may still lay the basis for an inflammatory microbiota, which is proposed to receive a second hit via additional energy for bacteria and increased LPS translocation from the elevated fat content that often accompanies a low-carbohydrate diet."

"Hence a grain-free whole-food diet would be predicted to restore the GI microbiota to the less inflammatory state that humans coevolved with."

"Westerners with higher insulin resistance might initially benefit from a low-carbohydrate form of Paleolithic-style eating. However, over time (and assuming no permanent diabetes-related damage) the resulting restoration of insulin sensitivity should mean a diet with a higher level of unrefined whole fruit and starchy root vegetables should be compatible with maintaining optimal metabolic health and stable healthy weight."

"The complexity of the microbiome and its interplay with the host is hard to overstate."

"A dietary pattern with carbohydrates exclusively from cellular low-density sources may remove the root cause of a range of our most prevalent diseases."

Thanks for the post

thanks for the article. a few thoughts before reading it. a few more after skimming. will have more after reading it more thoroughly.....

my few thoughts now: some genetics, some diet. diet causes obesity which causes insulin resistance and sensitivity --> diabetes. but too it goes the other way as well as i've experienced. had blood sugar issues since i was a kid: couldn't eat much sugar and had to watch high carb meals like pasta at lunch even when i was young, it would just put me to sleep.

but too, i wonder if i had stayed away from both the sugar and the complex carbs my whole life, if i could have postponed the diabetes even better than i am? back when i was in my teens and early 20s reading about all this stuff, it just said, "no sugar." and i said, "ah ha! that's what i already figured out long ago." too back then they said that grazing was the healthiest way to eat, and i sure did feel better eating smaller more frequent meals, and now i read that once they finally did the studies, it turns out that logic was backwards.

so, now, i eat practically no grains. i do eat beans every day, that's my one exception to the low starch diet. they are digested slowly in the large intestine and they just seem essential for my health. and i do eat root veggies too, as i figure they are low starch. otherwise my carbs come from other fruits and veggies.

well, i will read it more. i guess my first thought is that it doesn't surprise me. though when it comes to insulin resistance / sensitivity, there's also a strong genetic component.

but maybe after i read the article more fully, i'll see that it talks about that.

i can watch my husband eat all the things i used to eat: potatoes, pasta, etc and his blood sugar, lipids, and weight are fantastic.

while i shun all the obvious carbs and still my weight is a problem to the point that my liver is crying out for help.

but, i must admit that it is remarkable to see how different my numbers became once i gave up not only the white carbs, but most of the foods that are shown on those tables as being "bad" for me.