Carbohydrates: Friend or Foe?
Carbohydrates - Yay or Nay?
Of all the bad nutritional advice I see, my biggest pet peeve is how carbohydrates have been demonized in our culture. What isn’t promoted in the mainstream media is how scientific studies show that people who eat carbohydrate-rich diets - especially those with plenty of beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables - have a lower risk for heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and obesity*.
*Don’t just take my word for this! My expert sources are always linked - and always peer-reviewed.
Let’s start with the basics: What is a Carbohydrate?
All food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Your body needs each of these macromolecules to be healthy and function. Like all macromolecules, carbohydrates have a job: they are the main source of fuel for the brain and muscles. Maybe somewhere in your life a science teacher made you learn about cellular respiration, which is the body’s way of making energy. Basically, during cellular respiration glucose and oxygen enter a cell and ATP (or energy) is produced. Carbohydrates provide glucose for your cells to make energy.
That sounds pretty important right? So why all the bad press? Not all carbs are created equally. White or refined sugar is tasty but has no nutritional value and foods that contain simple carbohydrates - like soda, candy, white bread, and cookies - contain loads of sugar. These simple carbs break down quickly and can cause spikes in blood sugar. Furthermore, what your body does not use for energy is stored as fat (a survival mechanism from long ago). This is where carbs got their bad reputation and how the “carbs make you gain weight” narrative was launched.
Conversely, complex carbohydrates - found mostly in whole plant foods like rice, quinoa, oats, vegetables, and beans - are nutrient-rich powerhouse foods that contain loads of fiber and are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. These take longer for your body to break down, so they provide your body with long-lasting energy and do not spike your blood sugar or lead to weight gain. In fact, they have been found to keep you full longer and have even been found to prevent many diseases including heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.
What about fruit, isn’t it loaded with sugar?
This is one of my least favorite nutrition myths. Whole fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients. Your body even processes the sugar in fruit differently than sugar in cookies and cakes. Translation: fruit always gets the green light. Some fruits and some fruit juices can spike your blood sugar levels more than others (pineapple, watermelon, and a few others) but in most cases the health benefits still outweigh the costs. If you are concerned about blood sugar, stick more to fruits that are lower on the glycemic index like apples, stone fruits, and berries.
Surely I should avoid bread though, right?
In simplest terms, breads made with whole grains (whole wheat flour, whole barley, and whole grain oats) are heart healthy and also provide a variety of vitamins and proteins. In fact, they can even help regulate blood sugar levels and help keep your digestive system healthy due to their high fiber content. The trick to choosing a healthy bread is learning how to read the label - stay tuned for a blog post on that! But for now, the cheat sheet is: look for whole grains (not multi-grain) and be sure your bread is high in fiber (3-4 grams per slice) and protein (3-4 grams per slice) as well as low in sugar, salt, and fat.
Interested in learning even more about how carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy diet? Check out some of my favorite blogs and podcasts:
Good vs. Bad Carbs Podcast All About Bread Carbs and Your Health
Sources:
Kahleova H, Dort S, Holubkov R, Barnard ND. A Plant-Based High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet in Overweight Individuals in a 16-Week Randomized Clinical Trial: The Role of Carbohydrates. Nutrients. 2018; 10(9):1302. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10091302
Malik VS, Li Y, Tobias DK, Pan A, Hu FB. Dietary Protein Intake and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in US Men and Women. Am J Epidemiol. 2016 Apr 15;183(8):715-28. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwv268. Epub 2016 Mar 28. PMID: 27022032; PMCID: PMC4832052.
