Carbs, beyond the white flour

One of the main functions of my job is to make sure that clients have an understanding of "Healthy living", This deals with so much more than just food, i work on the person as a whole "The Whole Person" to address physical needs and desires, to integrate my clients in the community in such a manner that they are aware of nature and it's effects on food which directly affects us all as individuals. In this post i will be discussing Carbohydrates (Carbs), something everyone knows about, yet know so little about. The other day a friend told me that they couldn't eat pizza because of the carbs however, the bowl of pasta at the restaurant was not even given a second thought. I realized that in our heads we create the good carbs and the bad carbs. She thought because the pasta had broccoli and shrimp in it that it diminished the amount of carbs that was being taken in. When in fact she only intertwined GOOD carbs with BAD carbs.

**DISCLAIMER** When i use the term "Bad carbs" i'm basically referring to something that you don't want to make a part of your everyday diet. I know each  body works differently.

So exactly what are Carbohydrates you ask?

Carbohydrates in the simplest definition is a component of food that supplies energy (calories) to the body. The three broad categories of carbs are sugars, starches and fibers. We will review each level of carbs in depth to leave a clear understanding of their roles in our bodies.

SUGARS:

Sugar is arguably the worst kind of carb. Sugar acts as all carbs do by burning quickly and causing a blood sugar drop. How fast and how drastic the blood drops completely depends on the KIND of carbs consumed. Pure sugar is considered the WORST, followed by REFINED CARBS, such as white bread (or any bread with white flour), PASTA AND WHITE RICE are the next worst.  When  i use the term "REFINED" i am referring to the process of stripping a whole grain to it's lowest and least nutritional value, being heavily "processed".

Starches:

Most starches are long complex chains of simple sugars. They have many subsidiaries which makes them very complex in relationship to those starches that are complex and resistant. Resistant starches are those that are not digested in the small intestine and will usually cause very little to no blood level rise. While most starches are indeed beneficial to the body it is recommended that they be consumed in moderation. Because grains are normally put through a number of different stress levels to create some of Americans favorite meals and snacks, by the time the food is actually consumed it breaks up directly into sugar within the blood stream. Grains ( wheat, rice barley and oats), corn, potatoes, beans are all highly starchy foods which has the tendency to directly turn into sugar.Grains are made into cereal, cakes, pie crusts, bread and a number of different things after being highly processed. Yes some starches are good for you, including those that are natural such as corn, potatoes and some grains, but they must be consumed in moderation due to the breaking up of sugar.

FIBER:

Fiber is a BIG one! It's something that we all need, we all want but we all aren't getting enough of. Sometimes it is very difficult for meat eaters to get a healthy serving of fiber because a lot of their meals are dominated with meats because there is this idea that meat is the ONLY way to obtain any protein. Many meat eaters will balance their plates with the meat and the starches forgetting completely about fiber. Fiber is only found in plants such as grains, fruits beans and vegetables. Fiber provides few or no calories but are high in the health benefits that they offer. Fiber is known to keep the digestive system on track while reducing the chances of cancer and diabetes. For those who find it a difficult task to obtain fiber by eating there are a number of fiber supplements that can be taken.

**DISCLAIMER** Those who are on any sort of "diet" please note that fiber because of it's low to no calorie content is perfect for filling and maintaining blood sugar which are two very important factors in weight control.

There you have it Foodies! Carbs aren't just pasta and bread. With portion control you can enjoy carbs without a lot of the negative effects experienced by overindulging.

Eat like a Foodie!

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