GOOD CARBS,BAD CARBS; THE BATTLE CONTINUES

Carbs (or carbo, carbohydrate - whatever it is you might call it), in its whole, natural, unadulterated state, comes packaged with beneficial fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals – a whole load o’ random, intelligent goodness, ma’am. 

It’s a common misconception that carbs intake increases body weight – whether the carbs are from sugar, bread, fruits and/or vegetables – the reason being that eating carbs raises the level of insulin in our body, which then lowers blood sugar and in effect, increases our appetite to eat more than we should – hence the advocacy of the significant reduction of carbs in our daily intake.

Ironically though, carbs is one of the most important sources of energy for the human body – rich in fiber, sugar and starch, it is easily the answer for the body’s daily nutritional needs to downscale the risk for chronic diseases, and to supply energy to the body in the form of glucose for organs, human cells and tissues.

Carbs make for a great breakfast meal

There’s really no way to turn this relative truth into something effective – fact is, we’re all blind unaware that we are eating more sugar than ever before.

The key to dieting is not to completely exclude carbs from your diet –
but to simply push aside food with high calories,
low nutrients and added sugar. 

Most of us are oblivious to the amount of added sugar in our daily consumption – caloric sweeteners, sweetened beverages and baked products. As we become more aware of the well being of our body, we consciously opt for more fat-free and/or low-fat products – unbeknownst to us that in many of these fat-free and/or low-fat products, sugar is being substituted for fat.

Fortunately though, there is a fuzzy logic to this delicious catastrophe – read your food labels. The nutrition facts labels on your food packaging isn’t just there for show, it’s there to help you sort the good and the bad carbs. Look for these keywords; total carbohydrate, dietary fiber and sugars.

The mechanical process of digestion depends largely on the complexity of the molecular structure of the food itself – the more complex the structure is, the harder the digestive system works to break it down and absorb it to the blood stream. Simple carbs include natural food sugars found in dairies, vegetables and fruits. Complex carbs include among others starchy greens, cereals and whole grain breads.

The key to dieting is not to completely exclude carbs from your diet – but to simply push aside food with high calories, low nutrients and added sugar.

It’s common sense, really – too much of a good thing is bad.