To Carb or Not to Carb…is that the question?

Most people today get the majority of their calories from dietary carbs — especially in sugars and processed food. The research is proving diets high in sugar and processed foods are increasing your chances of getting diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and these behaviors are also linked to the obesity pandemic.

Carb” is short for “carbohydrate.” Like the other macronutrients (major nutrients), protein and fat, carbs provide your body with energy (calories), and like protein and fat your body requires all 3 for overall health. It’s a catch 22 right, should I or shouldn’t I eat carbs?

You need to eat carbs!!

You just need to eat the good ones more and the bad ones less. If you are trying to lose weight, stick with the good carbs and keep the carb value to under 50 grams. If you are just looking to get healthier, use an 80-20 lifestyle approach which is to eat the good ones 80% of the time and bad ones 20% of the time or less.

Most people don’t know the difference between a good carb and a bad carb, so when they are following the health guides and they suggest you eat 50 – 60% of your calories from carbs, everyone chooses the bad ones, to them a carb is a carb. Or they make the mistake and give up on carbs altogether, which leads to cravings, feeling sick and this is when diets go sideways.

What is a good carb?

A good carbohydrate is slowly digested; it has a high fiber content which results in a gradual increase in blood sugar.

Where do you find such a carb? Slow carbs are found in unprocessed foods, and the natural ingredients have not been removed during the making of the food. Examples include beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain foods like quinoa. Slow carbs help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, helps prevent obesity, and helps keep your digestive system healthy.

What is a bad carb?

A bad carbohydrate has lower fiber content and is quickly digested. Quickly digested foods cause a spike in the level of blood sugar and this spike is responsible for the increase of insulin, which is a hormone that makes the body store fat.

Bad carbs can be found in processed foods where the natural ingredients have been removed or changed during the processing or making of the food. For example, to make white bread the bran and the germ from the wheat grain have been removed to make the white flour for white bread. Other processed foods include things like cakes, cookies, and other items made from white flour, white processed rice, and some cereals.

Note: Cereals also contain sugars such as corn syrup, cane sugars, make sure you read ingredients, as most cereals are not healthy.

Remember, bad carbohydrates are the opposite of a good carbohydrate so they will increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Carbohydrates are essential for a healthy body, the question should not be; To Carb or Not To Carb, the question should be; What carbs should I be eating, to maintain my health or to assist in my weight loss goals?

Note: If you are following a low-carb diet you must add healthy fat to compensate. A very-low-carb diet must be high in healthy fat, otherwise, you will not get enough energy or nutrition to sustain yourself. More on healthy fats tomorrow.

Take away message: Carbohydrates are one of the three major nutrients found in food. Removing all carbs from your diet also removes healthy food like vegetables and fruits so remember, carbohydrates play a very important part in a healthy lifestyle.