You frequently speak about refined foods and how we are better off avoiding them. I'm not clear about what constitutes a refined food.

Avoiding refined foods in this day and age is pretty near impossible, but it's sure worth the effort, as the "naked" calories overstimulate the pancreas, which in turn oversecretes insulin. That in turn forces storage of any calories not immediately burned for energy (guess as what -- yup, fat), not to mention that blood sugar goes TOO low, causing irritability, shakes, fatigue and more appetite.

The "refined" carbohydrates are usually the "simple" ones (sugars) as opposed to the "complex" ones (starches). In the complex camp are vegetables, which are usually safe from refinement, but there are some exceptions. The grains are also complex, but since they spoil readily they get refined. Being refined highly concentrates their starches without any fiber to slow their release. Nutrients are also removed. Breads, flours, pastries and so forth all fall into this category, and 100 percent whole-grain varieties (that haven't been refined) are hard to find.

Refined carbohydrates have minimal fiber after processing, and the nutrients required for their own assimilation have also been removed, so the body steals the nutrients from body stores (if it has 'em; if not, you get symptoms of disease). Since the presence of fiber slows the release of sugar into the system, the body now overreacts to the chemical "hit" of sugar by oversecreting insulin. That in turn sends the blood sugar too low.

The insulin overshoot that causes LOW blood sugar most commonly results in jitters, shakes, irritability, headache, hunger, and fatigue.

As an aside, potatoes are not usually refined, but potato starch is a nearly pure starch that is high in calories and has no fiber (unless you scoop out most of a baked potato and eat the skin ... yeah, sure, lots of us do that). And this is a highly touted food for weight loss. Better yet, soak it in hot, rancid liquid fat (french frying), and you have one of the worst disaster foods anywhere. (Probably the only one worse is a doughnut: refined starch deep-fried in rancid fat and then covered with refined sugar ... aaaaaaaagh.)

In the simple carb category you're looking to avoid anything with refined sugar in it. That's an immense area. Sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, concentrated fruit juices (or any fruit juice over the whole fruit), and anything containing them is a risky enterprise for the weight-conscious individual.

Sugar is everywhere, so be on the lookout. Check the label on most cans of peas, green beans, corn, and other vegetables ... yep, it's often in there.

Good health,
A.N. Spreen, M.D.