|
Whether you're trying to lose weight or just want to eat healthier, you may
be confused by the news you're hearing about carbohydrates. With so much
attention focused on protein diets, there's been a consumer backlash against
carbohydrates. As a result, many people misunderstand the role that
carbohydrates play in a healthy diet.
Carbohydrates aren't all good or all bad. Some kinds promote health while
others, when eaten often and in large quantities, may increase the risk for
diabetes and coronary heart disease.
What are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates come from a wide array of foods - bread, fruit, vegetables,
rice, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, corn, and cherry pie.
They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and abundant ones are
sugars, fibers, and starches. The basic building blocks of all carbohydrates are
sugar molecules.
The digestive system handles all carbohydrates in much the same way - it
breaks them down (or tries to break them down) into single sugar molecules,
since only these are small enough to absorb into the bloodstream. It also
converts most digestible carbohydrates into glucose (also known as blood sugar),
because cells are designed to use this as a universal energy source. This is why
carbohydrates can make us feel energetic. Carbohydrates fuel our body. Your body
stores glucose reserves in the muscles in the form of glycogen ready to be used
when we exert ourselves.
Carbohydrates are the highest octane - the most desirable fuel source for
your body's energy requirements. If you don't have an adequate source of
carbohydrate your body may scavenge from dietary protein and fat to supply
glucose. The problem is when you've depleted your stores of glycogen (stored
glucose in muscle and lean tissue) your body turns to burning muscles or organs
(lean muscle tissue) and dietary protein or fat to provide blood glucose to
supply energy needs. When this happens, your basal metabolic rate drops because
you have less lean muscle tissue burning calories and your body thinks its
starving and cuts back on energy requirements.
So you should continue to eat carbohydrates discriminately selecting those
which have the greatest health benefits.
The carbohydrates you consume should come from carbohydrate-rich foods that
are close to the form that occurs in nature. The closer the carbohydrate food is
as Mother Nature intended, the greater the density of other vital nutrients. If
you are looking for health-enhancing sources of carbohydrates you should choose
from:
Fruit: rich in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium and often
vitamin E.
Vegetables: fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, often vitamin E, potassium
and a wider variety of minerals than fruit.
Whole grains and grain foods: rich in fiber, protein, and some B vitamins and
are very rich in minerals.
Legumes: an excellent source of protein, fiber folate, potassium, iron and
several minerals. Dairy foods: protein, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus,
potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin B12.
You can also source carbohydrates from processed foods such as soda pop or
soft drinks, snacks such as cookies and chips, and alcohol. These generally are
considered to be a poor food choice and should be consumed rarely. The
carbohydrate source (sugar and flour) in these food choices has been highly
refined processed. A diet rich in refined carbohydrates and processed foods has
been associated with heart disease and onset of type 2 diabetes.
Why are these sources of carbohydrates to be avoided?
1. They are calorie dense and contribute a large number of calories in a
small amount of food. For example a 7oz bag of potato chips or corn chips have
approximately 1000 calories. Most women on a weight management program will be
aiming for 1200 daily calorific intake. So, this is what we mean by calorie
dense and nutritionally scarce.
2. They offer little appetite-holding power because they have no fiber or
protein. As a result you end up searching for food again soon after your first
serve.
3. They contribute nothing to your nutritional profile except calories. This
means you have fewer calories left for foods that your body requires for good
health.
Whenever possible, replace highly processed grains, cereals, and sugars with
minimally processed whole-grain products and ensure you have at least five
serves of fruit and vegetables daily.
Rather than cut out carbs completely for a very short-term gain (usually
weight loss), there are greater long-term health benefits in learning how to
distinguish good carbs over bad carbs and incorporating healthy carbohydrates
into your weight loss program.
(c) Copyright Kim Beardsmore
Kim Beardsmore M.B.A., B.Sc. (Biochemistry) writes for the online weight
loss, health & fitness magazine Weight Loss Health. For free resources,
tips and healthy recipes to help you lose weight and gain energy, visit http://weight-loss-health.com.au
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com |
