The Healthiest Diet in the World

At the library, I discovered what is probably the most perfect cookbook ever. The Healthiest Diet in the World absolutely brims with helpful information of every shape, color and texture. I want this book. I will buy this book. This book should be on my shelf.

A sample:

Carbohydrates and Appetite (p. 276-7)
We noted earlier that although other cells in he body can get the energy they need from fats and to some degree proteins, the brain and central nervous system must be fueled by carbohydrates. Our early hunter-gatherer ancestors had to rely on the most easily available source of carbohydrate, which they found in fruit. This primal diet, rich in sugars, provided a readily available energy supply that encouraged the development of a large central nervous system. The corollary to this i that as the human brain and central nervous system grew, more carbohydrate was required to nourish it. Many researchers believe that this initial dependence on sugars has genetically programmed a fundamental taste for sweets into our food preferences.

The human appetite is extremely complicated. It still isn't clear how food intake is regulated by the body--in other words, how we know when to start eating and when to stop. There are apparently one or more receptors in the brain that receive signals telling us when we are satiated and when we are hungry. Some of these receptors, along with additional receptors in the liver, respond to insulin. Experiments demonstrate that even small declines in blood sugar can prompt people to request food. It follows that if the body's glucose-insulin response is at all impaired, the ability to regulate food intake may suffer.

Research supports the notion that all carbohydrates--both sugars and starches--quickly suppress hunger and boost satiety for a given period. Under ideal conditions this is true: The body responds to matching insulin levels to the glucose that is released from carbohydrate breakdown and our appetite diminishes. But sometimes this works against us, as when rapidly absorbed carbohydrates (sugars and certain starches) cause insulin to be released very early and more sharply. Depending on how your body handles this situation, two things can occur:

1. This quick insulin reaction will cause satisfaction to be short-lived and hunger will soon return. The natural response is to eat more.
2. Repeated spurts of elevated blood sugar encourage cells to become insulin resistant, setting the stage for the body to increase and reserve its fat reserves.

Did you get all that? Lots of information in there! Good information!