I’m sure you heard about carbs already. Carbohydrates are basically sugars. And I mean all kinds! Not just sweets, bread, pasta, but also fruit and vegetables. Carbohydrates are where you get your energy from.
Carbs are vital because the brain and neurons generally can’t get the energy to function out of anything else.
What you need to remember about carbs!
- Eat the green stuff!
- Reduce the quantity of carbs to lose weight.
- Avoid processed sugars to keep healthy.
- They should represent 40-60% of your diet
Good Carbs
Where can I find carbohydrates?
Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Most such foods are high in starch!
What happens if I eat too much of this?
- You guessed it! You gain weight!
- Your blood glucose levels spike, and after a while they fall back and you feel depleted of energy.
- Diabetes, Hearts Diseases and other conditions linked to obesity.
But what if I avoid them?
- You’ll lose weight. You won’t have enough energy to carry out your daily task so your body will burn stored fat for fuel.
- If you avoid them for more than 3-4 days, you’ll go into a state of Ketosis. This is what the Atkins diet is based on. The body starts producing glucose out of fat and protein and stops asking you to eat some sugar. So, you’ll lose weight.
- If you avoid them for too long, you’ll be depleted of all those vitamins and minerals that you get from fruit and vegetables. And you need those!
Good carbs vs Bad carbs
- Good would be the fruit and vegetables. The greener they get, the healthier they are!
- Bread and similar products are somewhere in the middle. They still give you a lot of benefits.
- Bad carbs are sweets and everything that contains refined sugar! Do your best to stay away from those!
- September 21st, 2009
- Nutrition
Now, if I could just get up...
The Institute of Medicine recommends 45-65% of daily calories be from carbohydrate. The only reason to have more is if participating in very strenuous physical activity, like a triathlon (and that’s only for a short time rather than as a lifestyle). Having less carbs (under 45%) as a lifestyle would mean having too much fat or protein, which is linked to many diseases, and an imbalance of vitamins and minerals.
Calories are calories, no matter where they come from: carbs, protein, fat, and alcohol. You don’t gain weight from eating too much carbohydrate necessarily but too much food in general.
No food should be avoided if you enjoy it. It’s okay to have sweets once in a while. It’s not something to have everyday though. There’s no such thing as “bad” foods or “bad” carbs.
Thank you!
You’re right… There is no real “bad” or “good” when it comes to food and carbs. It would be so simple if it would… But there are foods that don’t give the consumer reasonable benefits… So “bad” is a short and easy way of saying “food you should substitute with a healthier choice!”.