What Is Carbohydrates?
Unfortunately, thanks to misleading information about nutrition a lot people assume that bread, rice or potatoes make them fat. Of course a diet rich in refined carbs such as white flour, white bread, donuts, biscuits, cakes, lollies, candy and soft drinks leads to weight gain; it can also increase the risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and can have a negative effect on our mental health. Sugar is also addictive. The more sugar we eat, the more we crave it. The best way to eliminate this craving is to cut sugar completely from our diet or limit consumption to a minimum.
Let’s have a look why carbs are good for our body and health, what kind of carbs we should choose, and what the common myths are about carbs.
SIMPLE CARBS
These give you a quick burst of energy as they are rapidly digested.
Choose:
- Fresh fruit
- Dried fruit
- Honey and maple syrup (in moderation)
_Advice: A c_ombination of carbs with protein will give you energy you need, keep you fuller longer and help you to stabilize your blood sugar level. So add some Greek yogurt into your fresh fruit salad or enjoy your favorite piece of fruit with handful of raw nuts.
Avoid:
- Table sugar
- Soft drinks
- Corn sugar
- Candy
COMPLEX CARBS
These take all day to burn through your system and they provide you with steady energy for a few hours. Eating complex carbs for breakfast will help you avoid mid-morning and afternoon slumps.
Choose:
- Green vegetables (kale, spinach, collard greens, chard, broccoli, cucumber)
- Starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, corn)
- Legumes (peas, beans, lentils, chick peas, soybeans)
- Whole grains and foods made from them (brown and wild rice, whole grain pasta, whole meal bread, oats, quinoa etc.)
Avoid:
- White flour
- White bread
- White rice
- Pasta
- Baked goods (muffins, donuts, cakes, pies etc.)
- Breakfast cereals
- Quick oats
HEALTH BENEFITS
Whole food sources of carbohydrates are rich in dietary fiber, which help improve your digestion, keep your blood sugar level stable and promote healthy weight. Carbohydrates are a great source of energy and they help you to optimize your metabolism. Certain carbs like oats, pumpkin, bananas and brown rice may have a positive impact on the quality of your sleep. Our brain also needs carbs for its optimal function. Carbs help to improve our concentration, balance the nervous system and boost our mood.
MYTHS
“Carbohydrates make you fat.”
“You can’t eat carbs for your dinner.”
“Low carb diet is perfect for weight loss.”
“You can’t eat any fruit if you want to lose weight.”
Free Guide To Get You Going Plus Recipes
Low Carb Diets
Low carb diets became very popular recently and a lot of people think that avoiding carbs is the best and easiest way to achieve your dream body. At the beginning of my healthy lifestyle journey, my husband and I tried a low carb diet together. It worked quite well for Roman; after a few weeks he lost a couple kilos, but he was tired during the day and less productive in his job. On the other side, I felt really terrible. I felt sick physically and mentally, with no energy and I could feel the lower back pain.
That was the point when I realized that this is not the diet for me and started to educate myself, so in the end this experience was very helpful. And what I want to tell you: No, low carb diets are not the best choice! A Low carb diet can be actually dangerous for you and may negatively affect your health. The lack of carbs may increase your risk of kidney stones, high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease. So don’t be scared of carbs. The right carbs are good friends, which will provide you energy and help you feel healthy, amazing and happy.
So remove bananas, corn or potatoes from the blacklist and enjoy and love your carbs. Cheers :).
Most people who are interested in cutting carbs out are doing so to lose weight. Anecdotal and scientific research suggests that it’s a pretty good strategy to take to drop some pounds. Carbs are also hiding out in fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, milk, legumes, and plenty else. With that being the case, you can imagine that cutting your carb intake to virtually nothing would be very difficult indeed and there’s research suggesting that it’s potentially dangerous. Here are some of the things that would happen if you ditched carbs to consume butter, bacon, and bourbon to your heart’s content.
If you try a very low-carb diet and notice that all of your pants are loosening almost immediately, someone is going to piss on your parade by telling you that what you’ve lost is merely water weight.
You’ll lose water weight first; the reason you shed water weight first is that carbshold a lot of water. People tend to forget that food is a main source of water. The other main reason is that when glucose is gone, the body looks for stored forms of it. “This stored form is called glycogen and utilizing or metabolizing it utilizes water.” This is why on any low-carb diet, you lose water first, the loss of stored glycogen truly is what is releasing all that water.”
The effects of the loss of water weight shouldn’t be discounted, though. First of all, the water loss can be significant; five, ten, or even 15 pounds in some cases, What the real noticeable loss does, is motivate people to commit to a program of working out consistently. It’s like a preview of the changes that can happen with a dedication to your diet and your workout plan.”
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