How To Tell Good Carbs From Bad

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How To Tell Good Carbs From Bad

 

 

Think of your body as a car. Carbs are the gas.

 

But not all carbohydrates are super premium. When nutrition experts advise

us to get at least half of our calories from carbohydrates, they don't mean

cotton candy.

 

Whole grains, starchy vegetables, beans, soy foods, green vegetables and

fruits — foods served as nature grew them - are the carbohydrates that pack

the highest nutritional octane. They're rich in compounds that support good

health, including fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals. A dietary pattern

based on these foods lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and

many major cancers.

 

Highly processed carbohydrates, which are stripped of their nutritious germ

and fiber, are another story. Unhealthful diets often contain too many

carbohydrates processed into concentrated forms (corn syrup, white flour)

that provide calories and little else. The bottom line: When you fill up

with carbohydrates, only nature reliably pumps out high octane.

 

Here's a quick carbohydrate primer:

 

 

Refined starches, such as the white flour used for white bread and most

crackers, are complex carbohydrates that have been stripped of their fiber

and nutritious germ.

Whole grains, fruits and vegetables provide complex (and some simple)

carbohydrates, along with fiber, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and

health-protective phytochemicals.

Cotton candy is pink sugar.

 

 

What Is a Carbohydrate?

 

It all starts with the sun. Plants use solar power to combine carbon dioxide

with water to create carbohydrates (carbo means carbon; hydrate means

water); this is photosynthesis. The basic unit is glucose, a single

molecule, which is referred to as a simple carbohydrate. Glucose is a form

of sugar. Plants then use their chemical skills to make different kinds of

carbohydrates from the single glucose molecule:

Other sugars. For instance, a small change to glucose turns it into

fructose, the main sugar in fruits.

Complex carbohydrates, also known as starches. Plants form long chains of

glucose molecules.

Fiber. These are even more complicated forms of carbohydrates, used to build

various plant structures. Like starch, they contain energy, but our bodies

lack the digestive enzymes to break them down. Nevertheless, fiber is

essential to health.

 

 

Aren't Carbohydrates Fattening?

 

It's a dominant nutrition myth of our time. Excess calories will promote

weight gain, and many of us consume excess calories in the form of refined

carbohydrates. But there's little evidence that carbohydrates themselves

promote weight gain — or that restricting them will help in long-term weight

management. The truth is almost the opposite.

 

The high-protein/low-carbohydrate crowd contends that dietary carbohydrates

cause " insulin resistance " and weight gain. The reality is that insulin

resistance, an all-too-common condition in which the body becomes less

sensitive to its insulin signals and thus produces excess insulin, results

from taking too many calories and being too sedentary - a direct result of

having too much body fat. The problem is excess calories, regardless of the

source.

 

The kernel of truth in the anti-carbohydrate movement is that many people

consume too many calories from carbohydrates, particularly refined starches

and sweets. Both foods are easy to overeat because they contain no fiber or

water. As a result, a small package provides a lot of calories.

 

So yes — cutting back on these refined carbohydrates often helps control

calories, but don't switch to meat, as some folks would have you do. Switch

to whole grains, vegetables and fruits (rich in fiber and water). They're

healthier — and more filling, making it easier to control calories.

 

 

 

Language is an _expression of thought. Everytime you speak, your mind is on

Parade Exodus 20:8-11 & Hebrews 4:9

 

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