Carbs from Heaven, Carbs from Hell: Discover the Carbs That Tack on the Pounds & Those That Don't

by James D. Krystosik

If you are confused about what to eat and what to avoid, you're not alone. With all of the conflicting information -- and misinformation -- regarding diets, making the right choices is not easy. The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0757001777
• ISBN13: 9780757001772
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Square One Publishers
• Length: 289 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

It's working!

Dr. Krystosik's book was the key I needed to finally begin to lose weight. It's not a diet, rather it's a change of lifestyle. And a pleasant one at that. I am not hungry and I am seeing numbers on my scale that I haven't seen in years.

Finally...Learn if a Food is HEALTHY? Or if it is"POISON"!

Kudos to Dr. Krystosik for finally addressing the importance of carbs in our diets! I went on a quest several years ago to solve my hypoglycemia. On doctor's orders, for 2 years I ate NO carbs. Although the hypoglycemic symptoms GREATLY decreased, I suffered through an increase of new symptoms like: infections, headaches, cysts, anxiety, & chronic fatigue. I did lose weight, but so much that I couldn't maintain a normal weight. At one time I was 105 lbs and I am 5'6" tall. I was "sickly"! Then, I had the opportunity to take the IgG allergy test Dr. Krystosik recommends in his book and found that the carbs I was allergic to were: corn, gluten grains, and sugar. I began eating potatoes, beans, non-gluten grains and flours, fruits, honey, etc. ALL my symptoms disappeared in a very short period of time! My weight stabilized. Most importantly, now I feel GREAT! If I had read this book several years ago, it would have saved me so much time, frustration, aggravation, money, and discomfort! I applaud Dr. Krystosik for his personal and professional efforts to solve the link between what we eat and how we feel!!! As the mother of 5 children, I only wish that the FDA would adopt Dr. Krystosik's insightful eating plan, as I hate the idea that America's children are being fed so much "poison"...simply because the decision makers for their diets are misinformed! I strongly recommend this book not only to those trying to solve weight issues, but also to anyone who suffers from ANY chronic symptom! Dr. Krystosik's book proves, that what you eat, STRONGLY affects how you feel!!!!!!!

Some great insights and debunking but still some flaws

It is a brave man who takes on the low carb fad and Dr Krystosik meets it head on. He picks apart the Atkins diet and exposes its terrible health consequences. Corrupt Medical Profession Not satisfied with that he brutally exposes the medical profession's institutionalized prejudice against any treatment that does not fit into their orthodox paradigm. A paradigm which, seemingly, has abandoned its Hippocratic ideals of allowing the body to heal itself. He excoriates the American Medical Association for carrying out a systematic dirty tricks campaign to discredit alternative, yet scientific, practices. To be fair, many good medical doctors quietly practice `integrative medicine', which incorporates neighboring sciences such as nutrition. Alternative Food Pyramids Dr. Krystosik has an interesting chapter where he comprehensively demonstrates the foolishness of the USDA food pyramid. In its place he sets out alternative pyramids, each based on an ethnic diet that has a healthier profile: Latin-American, Asian and Mediterranean. Carbohydrates from Heaven So what is a "Carbohydrate from Heaven"? If you ask Joe Blow, "What food-groups do fruits and vegetables belong to", he would be hard put to tell you. In fact they are carbohydrates and most of Dr. Krystosik's `carbs from heaven' are indeed fruits, salads and vegetables. However, on the basis of his ethnic pyramids, he also includes whole grains, potato and beans. Carbohydrates from Hell Dr. Krystosik's `carbs from hell' are refined, processed grains, French fries and sugars. However, Dr. Krystosik admits, even heavenly carbs can become `hellish' if they give you illnesses such as ulcerative colitis, gluten sensitivity, leaky gut, gas, allergies, behavioral disorders, migraines, and hidden food intolerances. Dr. Krystosik leaves silent the fact that these maladies are almost always triggered by grains, potato and beans (rarely by fruits, salads and vegetables). The problem of blood sugar control is well explained and the glycemic index (G.I.) of foods is tackled. This is a brave move: inconveniently whole grains and potatoes have glycemic indexes as bad as sugar. Dr. Krystosik tries to exonerate them by claiming, incorrectly that: "The glycemic index does not take into account the positive effects of fiber." On the contrary, these foods are tested with all their fiber intact. Dr. Krystosik invokes another notion: that anyway, the effect on insulin levels is what is really important. However he does not mention that in this case, potato comes off even worse: its insulin index is 25% worse than even white bread. Exposed In fact Dr. Krystosik is valiantly trying to defend a position that is too exposed and it leads him to say some unwise things. For example he claims: "during the Ice Age, people only lived into their mid twenties". This is not only wrong but counter-intuitive. If parents died off while their children were still infants and toddlers, it is hard to imagine the tribe survivin