How To Tell Good Carbs From Bad!
One thing that the media has done a good job with is presenting all sides to the carbohydrate story. By doing this, however, it leaves many of us dazed and confused. You might ask yourself, “Do I need to be watching my carbs like my friends are doing?” “How do I know what diet to follow?” “Should I go out and buy some protein bars?”
The answer to the carb-cutting question is “YES and NO”. Now that is a pretty wishy-washy answer for people who are usually pretty determined in their answers. The reason for the answer to this question is two fold. First of all, we at Caring Medical recommend that every person get a nutritional analysis from our Nutrition Education Center to determine what diet is best for your particular body type. We do testing and find out which of five “Hauser Diets” you should be following. The carbohydrate content of those eating plans varies depending on your test results. However, the second point that we need to make is this. When we are talking about various percentages of your diet coming from carbohydrates, we are not referring to things like Coca-Cola and cotton candy!
We are referring to “good carbohydrates” such as whole grains, legumes, beans, soy foods, dark colored vegetables, and fruits. These types of foods are in a form very close to how they were grown. Try to think FRESH. The fresher the better! Anything in a box or can is not optimal. The fresh forms of carbohydrates are rich in compounds that support good health, including fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals. Including these types of foods in ANY diet may help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and many major cancers. The time is NOW. You may think that you can eat whatever you want – you have plenty of time. You know what? How many times do you hear of a young person being diagnosed with cancer? Or a 35 year-old suffering a heart attack? Or a 48 year-old being diagnosed with diabetes? These diseases are attacking us at a younger and younger age. It’s time to do something about it. You are what you eat!
Highly processed and refined carbohydrates where all nutritional value has been removed are a totally different story. These foods really have absolutely no health benefit whatsoever. Diets of many Americans often contain far too many processed, non-nutritional carbohydrates. They may come in many different processed forms such as corn syrup, white flour, sucrose, glucose, and white sugar. These substances provide calories and little else. When you fill up on these types of foods, usually only one thing results – FAT!
The other day, my husband and I were having a nice dinner at a cute Italian restaurant on our way to a training weekend at Kettle Morraine Forest Preserve in Wisconsin. We were starving by the time we got there, so we were looking forward to putting a food to the delectable smells that were wafting out of kitchen. We were trying to be good and avoid the “highly processed refined carbohydrates” otherwise known as garlic bread. The waitress looked very strangely at us when we said we would like some sautéed mushrooms, onions and garlic as an appetizer. She said, “But you will be getting lots of garlic bread.” We said, “We know! But we would like the sautéed vegetables.” Now I love vegetables of all kinds, but these were outstanding. You should try it some time! Did we miss the garlic bread? Of course! Who wouldn’t? But our waist lines didn’t miss a thing!
Just remember this:
Refined starches, such as the white flour used for white bread, most crackers, and snack food contain complex carbohydrates that have been stripped of their fiber as well as their nutrients. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables provide complex (and some simple) carbohydrates, along with fiber, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and health-protective phytochemicals.
Coca-Cola is brown sugary chemical water. Cotton candy is pink sugar on a stick.
Should I be counting carbohydrates?
Back to the original question. Excess calories in any form will promote weight gain, and many of us consume excess calories in the form of refined carbohydrates. We consume too much of some of the good foods as well. This brings us to the issue of portion sizes. Everything is now in a “BIGGIE” size. Hamburgers are bigger. Fries packaging is bigger. Soft drinks are bigger. Muffins are bigger….all up to 40 to 50% bigger. This can sometimes represent an increase of 400-500 calories per serving, just due to the size of the serving. So take a look not only at what you are eating, but HOW MUCH you are putting in your mouth!
Some of our patients require a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet (Atkins-like) and do very well with it. Others find from their testing that they require a higher carbohydrate but moderate protein diet. Over-consumption of dietary carbohydrates may lead to insulin resistance and weight gain. Insulin resistance, which is becoming an all-too-common condition in which the body becomes less sensitive to its insulin signals and thus produces excess insulin, results from taking too many calories and being too sedentary - a direct result of having too much body fat. The problem of excess calories being deposited as fat is very often related to an excessive intake of refined carbohydrates.
The bottom line here is this. Many people consume too many calories – period. They just eat too much. However, some people, many people, consume too many refined, simple carbohydrates and sweets. These foods are very easy to overeat because they contain no fiber or water. As a result, a small package provides a lot of calories.
Reducing refined carbohydrates and switching to whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, and lean protein sources will definitely contribute to a healthier YOU! So yes, we all need to cut down on carbohydrates – but pick the right ones to cut out!!!
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