Don't be afraid any longer....let's talk about carbs

Carbs Explained

It’s time to get rid of the fear. Don’t be afraid of carbs. They’ve gotten a bad rap over the years. But the truth is you need them. They are good for you when you pick the right ones and eat them at the right time with other foods.

Most of the healthiest foods are carbs such as fruits, veggies and whole grain. Carbs are used by your body as their favorite fuel supply. Without enough carbs in your system, your body will shut down while doing a lot of exercise. Where we find ourselves in trouble is having too many carbs. When you have too many and you aren’t burning it off, these bad boys are stored as fat.

There are 2 different types of carbs: simple and complex.

What are Simple Carbs?

Think of simple carbs as just that….simple. They are your “white carbs,” white flour products and sugar. They shoot your insulin levels through the roof and then drop quickly. This is what we call a “sugar high” or a “sugar rush.” We’ll talk more about all the different types of sugar later. Simple carbs digest fast, are low in fiber, are refined and processed, make you hungry sooner, have added sugar and calories and these carbs convert into fat cells which adds up to weight gain. Kind of makes that bagel sound less delish right?

However, there is one exception to simple carbs....fruit!! Fruit is considered a simple carb, but because they also contain natural fiber they break down slowly in your body and provide necessary vitamins and nutrients.

What are Complex Carbs?

Complex carbs are healthy carbs that supply your body with a steady flow of blood sugar, giving you a stream of constant energy not a surge and a crash. These are your whole grains, whole fruit and whole veggies. 

Yes you can have pasta and bread!!  However, you need to choose whole grain pasta and bread instead of all the "white" varieties.  There are even fabulous recipes out there for pizza dough.  So you can have pizza too!!  (I'll have to share one of these recipes with you soon.)

Because they are full of fiber, they take more time to digest and break down.  This makes you feel fuller longer and give you more sustained energy. And because it takes longer to break down it slows down your body’s response to the sugar which doesn’t allow the crash and burn we talked about earlier. Being able to maintain a steady flow of blood sugar levels prevents weight gain.

As we've talked about before, eat the colors of the rainbow with whole nutritious food.  Stay away from all the "white," refined and processed foods and you are doing the best for you and your body!

 

Up next we'll talk about sugar.  Stay tuned!!

~Christina

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