It’s kinda tough to get a good baseline of what people are talking about without real numbers - like I’d personally rate my carb consumption as “moderate” - I don’t eat meat so it’s tricky to meet my Calorie needs by cutting out rice and increasing my bean consumption. OTOH the added sugars in my diet are practically zero.

I eat a handful of grains a day. Sometimes I make an exception for oatmeal. Anymore, is too much for me. I don't eat added sugar regularly.

> I don’t eat meat so it’s tricky to meet my Calorie needs by cutting out rice and increasing my bean consumption.

Other than eggs and dairy, there is really no good vegetarian protein source. That's my personal opinion. Vegetarian protein comes with a variety of issues.

White rice has a higher glycemic index (GI) than sugar (sucrose).

I first understood this when I noticed that by avoiding white rice for lunch, I was more energetic in the afternoon. Unfortunately, in Indian culture, it's very common to eat rice at every meal and the corresponding sugar drop is a huge contributor to brain fog / lethargy, as well as the extremely high levels of insulin resistance (and pot bellies) commonly found amongst most Indians. I had to undo a lot of my childhood programming to get out of the constant consumption of rice. Rice is fine sparingly and in moderation, but not in the way it is commonly consumed across asian cultures.

Yeah and a peeled potato has a dramatically higher glycemic index than straight fructose. Glycemic index is an interesting metric, but it's far from the end-all be-all, especially if you aren't diabetic.

A peeled potato is similarly bad for you if eaten in the same density as rice in Asian cuisines. The typical Asian dish is served with the equivalent of 3-4 potatoes of rice.

Yeah, that kinda underlines my point, that without actual numbers, even “moderate rice and no sugar” isn’t particularly meaningful. (FWIW, I don’t eat white rice or other non-whole-grains.)

Because sugar is half fructose which is processed in the liver when over eaten. Insulin doesn’t come into it for fructose

I wonder if that is really true globally. You can't really escape carbs in some cuisines like Asia and some of them are really doing just fine.

See: The China Study. They are apparently doing much better than the west.

Yes this is because they walk. It really has nothing to do with food if you're at the activity level of the typical American (which is zero, to be clear).

What you're saying makes no sense without context. You say "we" but someone who's extremely active vs extremely sedentary are going to require different macros to compensate.

You can get energy from fat. No human on hacker news except for elite athletes are running multiple miles per day continuously in the way our ancestors may have. And honestly, you still don't really need sugar for that as your body adapts.