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Carbs demystified Carbs?
Carbs? Cutting them out of your diet is not a good idea. Americans are confused about carbohydrates and no wonder. In the 80s, at the height of the low-fat craze, diet ‘experts’ told us we could eat all the carbohydrates we wanted as long as we avoided fat. And yet we got fatter. In the 90s, thanks in large part to the comeback of the Atkins diet, bread and pasta became the enemy and we could eat all the red meat, cheese, and eggs that we could stomach. And while some of us may have temporarily lost weight on a low carbohydrate diet, as a nation, we continued to get fatter. So what is the truth about carbohydrates, weight loss and optimal health? The answer lies in both carbohydrate quantity and quality.
Let’s start with carbohydrate quality, which is probably the most important factor. All carbohydrates (a list which includes bread, pasta, rice, cereal, baked goods, sugary beverages, fruits, vegetables, and even dairy) are eventually broken down into simple sugars, your body’s favorite source of fuel. How quickly foods are absorbed and broken down into simple sugars which enter your bloodstream, a value known as the glycemic index (GI), is an important criteria for evaluating carbohydrate quality. Whole, non-processed carbohydrates (vegetables, most fruits, and low-fat dairy) and carbohydrates that are high in fiber (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, cereals) tend to be have a low glycemic index, while refined, processed, and sugary carbohydrates like baked goods, juice, soda, white bread, white rice, and white potatoes have a high glycemic index.
Why does the glycemic index of food matter? High GI foods increase blood sugar very quickly, causing an exaggerated release of insulin which leads to a subsequent crash in blood sugar. This drop in blood sugar can leave you feeling tired and hungry, both of which can derail your diet. In addition, from a health standpoint, a high glycemic index diet has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, age related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in older Americans), Alzheimer’s disease, and certain types of cancer. So lowering the glycemic index of your diet is important for both weight loss and optimal health.
What about carbohydrate quantity? Americans eat several hundred more calories each day than we did 30 years ago, and the majority of the additional calories are due to sugary and refined carbohydrates. Cutting back on these unhealthy carbohydrates is a good idea both for optimal health and if your goal is to cut calories and lose weight. Research shows that, in the short term, lower carbohydrate diets outperform the rest, particularly if you tend to carry your weight around the midsection (the so called apple-shaped dieter), which is a common occurrence as women begin to near menopause and weight shifts from the hips and thighs to the belly. But low carbohydrate diets are not very liveable and most of the weight is generally regained within a year. In addition, for optimal health, cutting carbohydrates completely is not a good idea. Studies show that eating at least 3 servings of whole grains per day is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. So rather than cutting carbohydrates completely, try cutting back on unhealthy, high glycemic carbohydrates and eating moderate portions of healthier, low glycemic carbohydrates which can help you feel better, lose weight (permanently), and improve health.
by Dr. Melina Jampolis
Further Carbohydrates Resources:
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