Being anti-carb seems to be trendy these days, with protein-centric diets proliferating and a greater awareness of the health dangers of highly processed foods, which are often carb-heavy. But not all carbs are bad for you, and if you choose well they can actually be very healthy!
The key is to avoid those sugar- and white flour-laden snack foods full of refined carbs that spike your glucose levels and can contribute to weight gain, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These are the carbs that have earned their bad reputation, having been stripped of the fiber and natural nutrients they once had. They are made of smaller, simpler molecules that your body breaks down very easily. This quickly raises your blood sugar, which then drops
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like a rock, often leaving you hungry, fatigued, even shaky — and craving even more simple carbs. Instead, choose whole foods and minimally processed complex carbs that will better satisfy your hunger, keep you full longer, provide much-needed fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and promote your health for the long haul.
Their larger, more complex molecules tend to take longer for your system to digest.
Make it a habit to ditch the white bread, white rice, regular pasta, processed snack foods, sugary sweets and especially soda and other drinks full of sugar. Switch to smart carb choices, in their whole, natural form whenever possible.
Do your body a favor and reach for these and other whole foods — and you may just enjoy benefits like being hungry less often, weight loss, more stable blood sugar levels, lower risk of heart disease and overall better health!
• Whole grain foods such as 100% whole-wheat or other whole-grain breads, pastas and cereals (just don’t be fooled by products simply calling themselves “wheat” or “multigrain” or containing “wheat flour” — these are not necessarily smarter carb choices. Check the label for the terms “whole wheat” or “whole grain”)
• Whole white wheat bread — made with whole flour from a white wheat plant. It tastes more like white bread, but is nutritionally similar to whole wheat
bread. • Oatmeal • Brown rice, colored rice, wild rice • Corn, including whole cornmeal and popcorn • Quinoa • Vegetables — pretty much all of them, but focus especially on colorful, nutrient-dense veggies like leafy greens, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc. • Legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans • Most fruits, when eaten whole — including bananas, apples, blueberries, strawberries • Regular potatoes (not fried!), sweet potatoes and yams • Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and peanuts • Seeds, including pumpkin, sunflower and chia
Whole-grain wheat studies have increased over the years following the influx of cases of gluten intolerance and metabolic syndrome. Studies show that by eating whole-grain products can attribute to lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. In comparison to eating white bread, wheat bread reduces total serum cholesterol level, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, body fat, and abdominal obesity (Mohammad, 2013). It also improved overall levels of vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium that the body needs to
The new diet revolution has stirred up a controversial debate on whether the higher fat, lower carb diet is healthy in the long run for diet consumers. Some people say that it is not a healthy diet and that it includes too much fat, while others say it is the only weight loss diet that has finally helped them to take off a significant amount of weight. The diet became an instant craze since it has been proven that many Americans eat excessive amounts of simple carbohydrates such as rice, alcohol, sugar, white flour, and sugar. As a result of the surge in obesity and high calorie intakes, the Atkins diet aims to eliminate the simple carbohydrate consumption by replacing it with high fat, high animal protein foods such as bacon, sausage, butter, steak, eggs, and brie. These rich foods are allowed as part of the diet since it claims that you will lose weight fast while just following the routine.
In the last couple of decades, dieting trends have astronomically increased. The average dieter has trained his or her ears and eyes to react to the word ‘fat’. Low fat, reduced fat, fat free- these are all words that until recently have set alarms off ringing in the typical dieter’s head. Recently, new vocabulary, such as ketogenic, ketosis, and low carbohydrate have stepped into the dieter’s world and questioned, or rather challenged, the ‘fat’ free method of dieting. So, after you have devoured the entire box of ‘fat’ free cookies perhaps you will ask yourself....WHAT ABOUT THE CARBOHYDRATES???
Instead of thinking in terms of carbs being bad for you, period. It's best to think of them in terms of complex carbs and simple carbs. That's how they are classified, and if you can learn the difference, you can better control your own weight loss efforts.
Eat oatmeal for breakfast instead of sugary cereals such as Frosted Flakes or Coco Pebbles to help increase your whole grains. For lunch choose whole wheat breads for your sandwiches for a healthy alternative to white bread. Lastly, for dinner you could choose to buy whole grain pasta or brown rice. Eating more whole grains will also help to increase the amount of fiber in your diet.
One of the most notable examples of a “fad diet” is the South Beach Diet, which is known for restricting carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet is a popular fad diet created in 2003 by cardiologist Arthur Agatston and outlined in his best-selling book, "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss." According to Dr. Agatston, the South Beach Diet is lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein and healthy fats, but does not require one to count carbs. In fact, the South Beach Diet claims that “its balance of good carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats makes it a nutrient-dense, fiber-rich diet that you can follow for a lifetime of healthy eating. Instead of counting carbs, the South Beach Diet uses the glycemic index and glycemic load to determine which carbs you should
Carbohydrates are biomolecules that consist of a chain or ring of carbon atoms attached to hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The simplest formula for carbohydrates is (CH2O)n. Carbohydrates are important to organisms for a variety of reasons. They are used to form the structural components of the cell, aid in energy storage, and serve as intermediary compounds for more complex molecules. Carbohydrates are classified as either monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides. Both monosaccharides and disaccharides dissolve easily in water. Carbohydrates are produced in plants through the process of photosynthesis and animals obtain these carbohydrates by eating the plants. ("BIO 1510 Laboratory Manual," 2016)
Having 2 slice of wholegrain bread will add vitamins and carbohydrates in your body. There are many ways to eat whole grain bread. You can top it off with peanut butter, honey or jam and eat it with some fried eggs for good supply of protein also. You can grab a slice of while grain bread few minutes before hitting the gym and your body will be very active and energetic
Carbohydrates are liked by many and can be addictive. The reason behind weight gain is that people tend to overeat. Everything in life is about balance and moderation. Eating healthily with a balanced meal, carbs included, paired with moderate exercise will help you keep fit and lose the weight you need.
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
When choosing carbohydrate-rich foods for your diet, always select unrefined foods such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain products, as opposed to refined, processed foods such as soft drinks, desserts, candy, and sugar. Refined foods offer few, if any, of the vitamins and minerals that are important to your health. In addition, if eaten in excess, especially over a period of many years, the large amounts of simple carbohydrates found in refined foods can lead to a number of disorders, including diabetes and hypoglycemia (low sugar). Yet another problem is that foods high in refined simple sugars often are also high in fats, which should be limited in a healthy diet.
The only reason you should not have some non-nutritious is because they can cause problems with your body. It can cause weight gain, the sugar can cause diabetes, and it could cause a loss in your metabolism. Just because you are not overweight from sugar does not mean you can not have heart disease. It could
One negative aspect on carbohydrates in diabetes. Diabetes is not caused just by carbohydrates, however when you are not consuming the right types of carbohydrates and you are consuming way too many of them, your body has an excess amount of glucose left over. This is where a normal human’s insulin jumps in and try to regulate the high amount of blood glucose. Overtime, your body will begin to lose the ability to produce insulin because it is constantly working and spitting it out to control normal levels. This is when diabetes is diagnosed. The most common type is type two which is typically linked with obesity. Nowadays, type two is just as severe as type one can be. Type one is not diagnosed due to a bad eating habit, it is genetic and the body just does not make insulin, oppose to type two when the body tissue has lost sensitivity to the insulin. Junk carbohydrates, as I like to call them (popcorn, chips, soda, etc.) are stored in the body as fat. Which then leads to obesity and an unhealthy diet. This is why it is important to make sure you are consuming the RIGHT type of
Junk food has been proven to be unhealthy long time ago. Junk food started to grow more and more recently and spread fast all over the world. Junk food reveals any food with high calories and low nutritional value. A big problem with junk foods is that satiation value of them is low, that means people need to eat a large amount of that unhealthy foods to feel full. So it is like eating a lot of poisons for a long time, what do you think the result will be on the health condition of the humans? Another problem of junk foods tend to replace other healthy foods; people who drink a lot of soda there is no room for healthy natural fruit juice in their stomach, people who are snacking on cookies, they’re not eating fruits and healthy vegetables (WebMD
As enticing as they all are to gorge on, choosing what is good for you is important. It’s not about privation but the addition of fresh natural and unprocessed natural foods, being aware of which is good and bad for the body.