Diet Advice On Carbs And Their Real Nature

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have certainly heard about how bad carbs are for you and why you should avoid carbs if you are trying to diet. However, there are different kinds of carbs – good and bad ones. Good carbs are part of a healthy diet, and can help your overall health.

What are carbs after all?

Carb is the shortened version of the much more difficult sounding carbohydrate, a molecule that mainly consists of carbon. A “Carb” is another common name used for all sorts of sugars. Carbs were long viewed as an enemy by all the weight loss fanatics around the world, but recently thanks to nutritionists and the development of dietetics, there have been some revelations about carbs. The outcome of it all is that carbs are not necessarily bad for us. Let’s take a look at the benefits and the drawbacks of carbs

The benefits of carbs

• Carbs give you energy: Indeed the good thing about them is that they can keep your energy levels high. This is the process of carbs becoming glucose that’s another name for blood sugar. We also need carbs for our brain to work properly.
• Controls weight: You need fiber to function normally and carbs are some of the very few natural resources of these fibers. High fiber content foods are good because you won’t become hungry all the time and therefore they are necessary to consume even if you are on a diet.
• Improves heart health: Eating natural carbs will help control your heart’s health. These healthy choices include fresh fruits, quinoa, bran, whole wheat
• Helps with digestion: Natural carbs would improve your digestion too. Whole wheat and whole grain products and fruits are a great help in improving digestion and for you to maintain a healthy digestion.

What’s the difference between good and bad carbs?

Processed carbs are however not too good for your health and body.  Let’s see some of the best examples of processed carbs and the ways to avoid them.

• White sugar: This is what’s used for the making of all sorts of sweets which are not too good for you. Go for a healthier alternative whenever you can. These include birch sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, all in all sugars which come from a natural resource.
• White rice:  This is another common mistake even fitness fanatics commit to. White rice is much worse than brown rice which is richer in carbs, vitamins and does so much better for your health than the ordinary processed rice.
• Pasta and pastries: Try to limit your daily pasta intake to a minimum and the same goes for pastries too which are often made with the addition of white flour and sugar.
• Sweetened beverages: The artificially sweetened ones. Artificial sweeteners are even worse than white sugar; therefore, if you want to drink something refreshing that’s not water, then go for an all-natural fruit or vegetable drink that comes with natural sugar content.

We hope all these advice and tips would serve you well. If you follow these tips, you should be able to avoid bad carbs and only consume healthy doses of good carbs.

Here is a great book that details a variety of good carb recipes that will help you: