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Carbohydrates: Eating Them Right!

Afraid of carbs? Don’t be. Not only do you need carbohydrates to perform at your best, but new research also confirms that eating the right ones can help keep you healthy — and even help prevent weight gain. So instead of looking at a bowl of hearty chickpeas curry and chapati/dosa or brown rice as a big diet no-no, consider it a source of healthy fuel.

        Carbohydrates: Eating Them Right!-   What’s the difference between a sandwich made on white bread and one made with 100% whole grain bread?

        Or, the difference between Fried Fritters (pakoras/bhajji) and a side salad made with cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, and sprouted grains?

Carbohydrates: Eating Them Right!

Also Read: Why You Should Eat Seasonal?

All the foods above are carbohydrates. But the second option in both questions includes good carbohydrate foods (whole grains and vegetables).

The problem is many good carbs have been labeled bad and many fad diets recommend they be eliminated to lose weight, reduce fat, and improve lean mass. This potentially sets you up for nutrient deficiencies, reduced energy, and can impair exercise performance. 

Leaving out this important macronutrient from daily food intake is not the answer to losing weight or achieving a lean body. According to research, you may experience side effects as your body tries to make up for the sudden lack of fuel.

Carbohydrates: Eating Them Right!

Side effects of severe carb restriction can include dizziness, fatigue, nausea, weakness, and depression along with more serious health risks. 

Carbohydrates: Eating Them Right!

So, once we have that sorted out, the quintessential question that arises is that what are Good Carbs and what are Bad Carbs.

What Are The Good Carbohydrates?

Most of us know what the good carbs are: plant foods that deliver fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals along with grams of carbohydrate, such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. You can’t judge a carb as “good” without considering its fiber content (unless it’s a naturally low-fiber food like skim or low-fat milk).

Why Fiber in Carbohydrates Counts

Fiber is the part of plant foods that humans can’t digest. Even though fiber isn’t absorbed, it does all sorts of great stuff for our bodies.

Fiber slows down the absorption of other nutrients eaten at the same meal, including carbohydrates.

This slowing down may help prevent peaks and valleys in your blood sugar levels, reducing your risk for type 2 diabetes.

Certain types of fiber found in oats, beans, and some fruits can also help lower blood cholesterol.

As an added plus, fiber helps people feel full, adding to satiety.

To get some fiber into almost every meal takes a little effort. Here are three tips:

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Just eating five servings a day of fruits and vegetables will get you to about 10 or more grams of fiber, depending on your choices.

Include some beans and bean products in your diet. A half-cup of cooked beans will add from 4 to 8 grams of fiber to your day.

Switch to whole grains every single possible way.

Related: Intermittent Fasting, All You Need To Know

What Are the Bad Carbohydrates?

Sugars

“Added” sugars

Refined “white” grains

There’s no way to sugarcoat the truth: We are eating more sugar than ever before. In fact, the average adult takes in about 20 teaspoons of added sugar every day. That’s about 320 calories, which can quickly up to extra weight. Many adults simply don’t realize how much-added sugar is in their diets.

Sugars and refined grains and starches supply quick energy to the body in the form of glucose. That’s a good thing if your body needs quick energy, for example, if you’re running a race or competing in sports.

The better carbs for most people are unprocessed or minimally processed whole foods that contain natural sugars, like fructose in fruit or lactose in milk.

Related: Reasons You Should Never Diet

Avoid Excess “Added Sugars”

“Added sugars, are sugars and syrups that are added to foods at the table or during processing or preparation (such as high fructose corn syrup in sweetened beverages and baked products),” 

Added sugars supply calories but few or no nutrients.

“We are very aware of low-fat diets and because of that we’ve been eating more fat-free and low-fat products,” 

“But what many people don’t know is that in many of these products, sugar is being substituted for fat, so we’ve really been trading fat for sugar,” 

 Recommendation is that we get no more than 6% to 10% of our total calories from added sugar — that’s about nine teaspoons a day for most of us.

That is a lot of mumble-jumble for an individual to follow, let’s take the easy way to solve this problem.

It’s heartening to know is that the whole mess really can be boiled down to two basic rules…

Fill your daily diet with real food, that is, carbohydrates that look as if they actually came out of the earth. Eat whole corn cob, for example, instead of corn flakes. Reach for a whole orange instead of orange juice. Choose brown rice, not white rice. The less processed and refined a carb is, the healthier – and better for your waistline – it tends to be.

Steer clear of fake carbs. By fake, we mean food that is more a product of factories than of the soil. Fake carbs are foods that have been so overly processed – fiber stripped, nutrients stripped, water squeezed out, fat added, salt added, sugar added, calories added – that they are something “our great-great-grandmothers would not have recognized as food,” 

Also See: Use The 1% ‘Kaizen’ Rule To Reinvent Yourself

The best carbs will be whole real foods, typically not in a package, and include vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Choose your carbohydrates wisely: Quick pointers

Emphasize on fiber-rich fruits and vegetables

Choose whole grains.

Stick to low-fat dairy products.

Eat more legumes. (includes beans, peas, and lentils )

Limit added sugars.

All You Need To Know About Carbohydrates: Click Here

Carbohydrates are an essential part of healthy nutrition and our primary energy source. This doesn’t mean loading up on the bad stuff like pastries and cola but choosing good carbs to achieve optimal health and fitness. Carbs aren’t created equal and being able to identify the good from the bad will help you feel better about keeping them in your diet

Recommended Reads:

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs — How to Make the Right Choices

Carbohydrates