Paul,

> In general, though, being overweight goes hand in hand with some
> measure of metabolic syndrome,

Right. I'm not sure why you would think I disagree, probably because I
didn't phrase my previous post clearly enough.

>and I'm not sure how much functional
> difference there is between starch and sugar, really, antinutrient
> issues like phytic acid aside.

Well the evidence apparently suggests there is quite a bit of
functional difference between specific carbohydrate forms, with us
westerners taking a beating metabolically speaking because of the
forms we ingest, like refined grains and white sugar, and I don't
think the WAPF recommendations are all that helpful in this area. We
have always had this information in front of us via NAPD but it kind
of gets lost or is given short shrift by some.

You can wade through the material of Staffan Lindeberg, MD, PhD
(http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/Home.html) or you can get the quick
and dirty over at the Whole Health Source blog and branch out from
there:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/search/label/Kitava

Excellent blog as is this: http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/

Neither author believes the evidence points to a lack of functional
difference among carbohydrates.

Michael
--
"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever
spent before, and it does not work... I say after eight years of this
administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started
-- and an enormous debt to boot."
- Henry Morgenthau (FDR's Treasury Secretary)