Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs
I'm pretty sure everyone has heard the following phrase at least once in their lifetime in some form or other:
Essentially what I am trying to explain here is that in order to have a healthy diet, we need to be able to identify and know the difference between which carbs are "good" and which are "bad"...
A carbohydrate can be a simple carb or a complex carb.
The 3 main types of carbs are sugars, starches and fiber - and whether they are complex or simple is determined by their chemical makeup and how our bodys react to them.
SIMPLE CARBS
These are made up of quick digestible, basic sugars, and are an important source of energy for our bodies. Sugars can be naturally occurring - for example in fruit - or they can be refined/processed - for example in sweets. Added sugars have a few names like brown sugar, sweetener, syrup, fructose, glucose, maltose, trehalose, sucrose and honey. Our nutrition labels should state how much sugar a product has in a serving.
COMPLEX CARBS
These are basically our whole grains, legumes and veggies which contain starch. They have sugar molecules with longer chains and it takes the body more time to break these down and use as fuel or energy this leaves us with a more consistent supply.
THE BREAKDOWN:
So.... what exactly does the above all mean? It means that carbs ain't necessarily bad and that it all depends on the food source you are eating from. For example fruit and veg are amazing sources of vitamins and minerals which are necessary for your health... these also contain simple carbs (basic sugars) within their makeup. Fruits and veg are very different to other foods categorised as "simple" carbs. These other foods contain added refined sugars and not naturally occurring sugars.
The following are simple carbohydrates which you should limit or eliminate in your daily food intake (you can enjoy these in moderation, i.e cheat meals):
"Carbohydrates are bad for you/fattening. If you want to lose weight, cut out carbs."
Did you know that carbohydrates (aka carbs for short) come in GOOD and BAD forms?
Not all carbohydrates are bad for you, and everything you eat has some portion of carbohydrate within its makeup - no, vegetables are not CARB FREE.
In order to have a healthy, balanced lifestyle, we all need to consume some form of carbs throughout the day and carbs also have massive health benefits.
Can you tell the difference between a white bread sarmie and a 100% whole grain sarmie?
What about fries and a salad of spinach, cucumber, carrots, chickpeas?
Both choices in both options contain carbohydrates... but the second option includes good carbohydrates due to the whole grains and the vegetables, while the first options are more unhealthy (duh!).
Essentially what I am trying to explain here is that in order to have a healthy diet, we need to be able to identify and know the difference between which carbs are "good" and which are "bad"...
A carbohydrate can be a simple carb or a complex carb.
The 3 main types of carbs are sugars, starches and fiber - and whether they are complex or simple is determined by their chemical makeup and how our bodys react to them.
SIMPLE CARBS
These are made up of quick digestible, basic sugars, and are an important source of energy for our bodies. Sugars can be naturally occurring - for example in fruit - or they can be refined/processed - for example in sweets. Added sugars have a few names like brown sugar, sweetener, syrup, fructose, glucose, maltose, trehalose, sucrose and honey. Our nutrition labels should state how much sugar a product has in a serving.
COMPLEX CARBS
These are basically our whole grains, legumes and veggies which contain starch. They have sugar molecules with longer chains and it takes the body more time to break these down and use as fuel or energy this leaves us with a more consistent supply.
THE BREAKDOWN:
So.... what exactly does the above all mean? It means that carbs ain't necessarily bad and that it all depends on the food source you are eating from. For example fruit and veg are amazing sources of vitamins and minerals which are necessary for your health... these also contain simple carbs (basic sugars) within their makeup. Fruits and veg are very different to other foods categorised as "simple" carbs. These other foods contain added refined sugars and not naturally occurring sugars.
The following are simple carbohydrates which you should limit or eliminate in your daily food intake (you can enjoy these in moderation, i.e cheat meals):
- Cool drinks/sodas
- Sweets
- Cookies/biscuits
- Chocolates
- Ice cream
- High sugar energy drinks
- Pastries
- Sweetened drinks (includes most fruit juices and iced teas)
Moving onto complex carbs again - these are mostly seen as "good" carbs due to the structure of the sugars that they contain. The body takes longer to break these types of sugars down meaning that the amount of sugar released is lower and the rate at which they are released is more consistent - this ultimately helps with energy throughout the day.
Complex carbohydrates typically contain more vitamins, fiber and minerals than the simple carb variety (as long as you are choosing whole grains over processed/refined grains). Whole grains like whole-wheat flour, quinoa, brown rice, barley, corn and oats have more nutrients than processed grains which include your white rice and breads, pasta and baked items with white flour.
Your healthy diet, nutrient dense, complex carbohydrates which are good to include are:
- Whole-wheat breads, pastas, flours
- Brown and wild rices
- Barley
- Quinoa
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Beans
- Chickpeas
- Lentils ets...
When you buy items from the shop, it is important to take care and read the ingredient labels, checking if the items contain whole grains and choosing items with less sources of added sugars.
Lastly I leave you with this:
When trying to determine if a source of carbohydrates is categorised as good or bad, remember that the higher in sugar it is and the lower in fiber and vits and minerals, the worse it is for your body.
- Shan, xoxo
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