Carbs, fats, protein, mixing
Section 6 of the Q&A in The Harcombe Diet book deals with all your questions about carbs, fats, protein and mixing. The following are answered:
Carbs
Q) Why are carbohydrates the baddies?
Q) Why is sugar the number one baddie?
Q) How do I know real food from processed?
Fats
Q) Why is fat OK to eat?
Q) Are there good fats and bad fats?
Q) Why do you call fish and lean chicken fat? I’ve always thought of them as low fat.
Q) Do I need to trim the fat of my meat? (I hope not)
Q) I like tripe, is that OK? It is lovely with tomatoes on a hot day.
Q) Is it OK to eat full fat cheddar cheese? I seem to be eating quite a bit of it, especially if I feel peckish.
Protein
Q) Are olives classed as protein or carbs?
Q) Pulses: I’m a Vegetarian, but I’m not a big fan of things like Tofu and Quorn and had thought that pulses e.g. mung beans, would be a good substitute for meat? However, your book has pulses and beans listed as carbohydrates. Do they contain both? If so, how can I get some protein in my diet without mixing protein and carbs in one meal and not eating meat or Tofu/Quorn/soya?
Mixing
Q) Could I have cheese with a baked potato, or would I have to eat it separately?
Q) I’m doing Phase 1 and today I had egg, tomato, onion and brown rice for my breakfast, and then speaking to my friend (who gave me the book and is also following the diet) she said I’m not to mix the egg and rice together. Isn’t this just in Phase 2 or have I done it wrong already?
Q) Can I eat brown rice with meat?
Q) How come I can have olive oil with a carb meal?
Q) How long should I leave between a fat meal and a carbohydrate meal?
Q) If fruit were eaten as a snack, would I have to wait three to four hours before eating a fat meal? If I have an apple at 3pm, and want to eat dinner at 5pm, would it have to be a carbohydrate dinner?
