Carbs get a bad rap in our current diet culture. With low carb diets and especially the
popularity and success with keto diets, many are jumping on the low carb
bandwagon. But what is meant by low
carb?
There are many ways people do low carb. Some plans are just naturally low carb by the
composition of foods that are included in the plan. The Mediterranean diet, whole 30, and weight
watchers would be an example of these types of plans. Then there are stricter carb diets like Keto
where people set a number of carbs they eat each day- some more strict and
others less strict.
Many people with the Western diet seem to do well with these
plans- why? Because by and large we over
eat these foods and they cause a great amount of inflammation in our
bodies. Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice,
sweets- processed and refined sugars especially- are very simple carbs and I
would take a guess that Americans generally eat 2-3 times a serving at each
MEAL. For example- each slice of bread
is generally a serving size. We have 2
with a sandwich, right? So 2
servings. Then add some French fries on
the side- a serving would typically be 10-11 fries. Most people I know will eat at least double
that. So we have 4 servings of simple
carbohydrates for one meal and no other nutritional value except whatever is on
the sandwich. But we call that a
meal.
So what happens when we cut the bread and the fries? We’re still hungry, and if we replace them
with things like veggies then we can get all sorts of nutrients that we need
and lose weight in the process.
We can talk all day about these things- but my main reason
for sharing with you today is that NOT ALL CARBS ARE BAD. I said it!
This is why while I tend to follow a low carb lifestyle I will never cut
out all carbs.
Carbohydrates break down to simple sugars that our brains
NEED for fuel. The rest of our bodies
can use any other source of fuel but the brain HAS to have carbs. But we can make smarter choices.
The smarter choices we can make are things like complex
carbs instead of simple carbs.
Potatoes
are a great examples. White potatoes
don’t have much fiber in them and break down straight to sugar in our blood
stream and spike our insulin levels (which can lead to insulin resistance,
extra belly fat, and diabetes). They
also don’t have many nutrients in them.
Sweet potatoes have a ton of fiber which make them take longer to break
down which makes your insulin curve longer (which is the goal with sugar
balance) and has extra nutrients also compared to white potatoes. This makes sweet potatoes a better choice
(unless you’re like my husband and eat them with marshmallows on them).
A fruit example would be Apples vs. Peaches. Apples are fiber filled along with sugar
filled- so especially if you combine it with a protein that will keep the
insulin curve long!
My suggestion is to follow a health plan that is just
naturally lower carb, or do low carb smart by paying attention to the choices
you make. Don’t count yourself as a
total failure if you have any carbs, just keep it reasonable and make the best
carb choices. And at times give yourself
a break. If your holidays aren’t every
day then you can have a few fun times.
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Blessings in health and happiness!
