> From:    "Robert A. McGlohon, Jr." <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: The American Society for Nutritional Sciences
> Gregg,
>   Seems these Piled higher and Deepers have a few lawyers in their midst;
> only an attorney could devine the difference between "giving dietary
> advice" and making a "nutrition statement," or, as your first post put
> it, a "position statement."
>    But I'll bite:  What's the ASNS's "position statement" concerning the
> Standard American Diet food pyramid?  Before I pay heed to this group's
> advice concerning a topic I know nothing about -- phytochemicals -- I'd
> like to know the "position" it takes concerning an issue I've already
> resolved for myself, viz: the efficacy of a high-carbohydrate,
> high-fiber, grain-centric diet.

Robert, anti-intellectualism has a long history in U.S. culture and
society.  It often comes with a dollop of humor.
  Anyway, the ASNS has no position on the food pyramid.  Mary Locniskar's
essay on carbs is typical of the ASNS's nutritional statements-- I find it
well-grounded, informative, and very apolitical.  If you wanted to "read"
something into it from the biases of our listserv, it says humans can do
well on relatively small amounts of carbohydrates.

"Carbohydrates are the principal dietary source of energy. They are
comprised of simple sugars and complex carbohydrates. The simple sugars
such as monosaccharides (i.e., one sugar unit) consist of glucose,
fructose, galactose and mannose. Disaccharides (i.e., two sugar units)
include sucrose, maltose and lactose. Oligosaccharides, such as raffinose
and stachyose in legumes, are composed of 3-10 sugars. The two major
forms of starch, amylose and amylopectin, are the major complex
carbohydrates or polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are long chains of
glucose units, such as starch (storage form in plants) and glycogen
(storage form in animals). Dextrins are fragments of starch from dry heat,
such as toasting. Dietary fibers are the nonstarch polysaccharides. Both
dietary fiber and oligosaccharides are not digestible by the mammalian
enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract. Other carbohydrate-related
compounds include organic acids such as citric acid and malic acid, and
polyols (i.e., sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol).

Deficiency: There is no absolute requirement for dietary carbohydrate.
However, in the absence of dietary sugars and starch, stored fat
(triacyglyceride) is released via lipolysis and is oxidized for energy.
This increases ketone body formation and may produce ketosis. A
carbohydrate-free diet is associated with an increase in protein
breakdown, dehydration and loss of cations. The effect of a low
carbohydrate diet can be overcome by a daily intake of as little as 50-100
g carbohydrate.

Diet recommendations: No formal diet recommendations for carbohydrates
exist as intakes are adequate in U.S. diets. The Daily Value for
carbohydrates used in nutritional labeling is 60% of total calories or 300
g/day for a 2,000 Calorie diet. In 1985, the U.S. average carbohydrate
intake for adult females was 177 g and for males 287 g. Assessment of
individual diets demonstrated that approximately 23% of the carbohydrate
came from fruits and vegetables, while 41% was from grain products.
Additionally, about half of the total carbohydrate intake was in the form
of mono- and disaccharides and the remainder was comprised of complex
carbohydrates.

Food sources: The monosaccharides, glucose and fructose, are found in
fruits and honey. Of the disaccharides, sucrose (composed of glucose and
fructose) is commonly consumed in the form of cane or beet sugar (table
sugar), but is also found in molasses, maple syrup and some fruits.
Maltose (two glucose units) is a component of sprouting grains, malted
cereals and some corn syrups. Lactose (glucose and galactose) is the
sugar in milk. Amylose is the dominant starch in wheat and rice.
Amylopectin is found in corn, potatoes and tapioca. Resistant starches are
those that evade digestion in the human gastrointestinal tract for one of
several reasons: (a) they are physically inaccessible to alpha-amylase;
(b) the starch is in granular form and is resistant to digestive enzymes;
or (c) retrograded amylose may form after cooling starch that has been
gelatinized by moist heating. Up to 7-10% of starch from wheat, oats and
potatoes and 20% from baked beans can pass through to the colon. Resistant
starch found in the colon is fermented by the microflora.

Recent research: Interest continues in the effect of consumption of
complex carbohydrates on maintaining normal glycemic index in patients
with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and normal lipid levels in
patients at risk of cardiovascular disease. Recently, it has been shown
that hyperactivity in children is not associated with sugar intake.

Toxicity: Toxicity does not occur from excessive ingestion of
carbohydrates in healthy persons.

For further information:

Macdonald, I. (1994) Carbohydrates. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and
Disease (Shils, M.E., Olson, J.A. &
Shike, M., eds.), 8th ed., pp. 36-46. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, PA

Freeland-Graves, J. & G. Peckham. (1996) Carbohydrates. In: Foundations of
Food Preparation, 6th ed., pp.
36-48. Merrill/Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

National Research Council. (1989) Diet and Health. Implications for
Reducing Chronic Disease Risk. National
Academy Press, Washington, DC."

authored by:

     Mary Locniskar, Ph.D.
     Associate Professor
     Nutritional Sciences A2700
     The University of Texas
     Austin, TX 78712
     Phone: 512-471-8937
     FAX:512-471-5844
     Email: [log in to unmask]

*********************************************************************
Cheers!

Gregg C.
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