Carbs- Friend or foe

Don't be misled by the blanket banning by fad diets of carbohydrates. They are an important part of a healthy diet. Carbs provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function.

What Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are found in a wide array of foods—bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, and cherry pie.

The basic building block of every carbohydrate is a sugar molecule, a simple union of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Simple Carbs only have one or two of these molecular chains, complex carbs have three or more. It was once thought complex carbs were the better carb, but it turns out things aren't that simple.

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 cross 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.

Carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index

So what's the deal with the hi/low glycemic index stuff you hear about? Clasifiying carbs as simple or complex is all well and good, but the body doesn't break down carbs along those classifications. For example, the starch in white bread and French-fried potatoes clearly qualifies as a complex carbohydrate. Yet the body converts this starch to blood sugar nearly as fast as it processes pure glucose. Fructose (fruit sugar, like from an apple) is a simple carbohydrate, but it has a minimal effect on blood sugar.

The glycemic index aims to classify carbohydrates based on how quickly and how high they boost blood sugar compared to pure glucose. Foods with a high glycemic index, like white bread, cause rapid spikes in blood sugar. Foods with a low glycemic index, like whole oats, are digested more slowly, causing a lower and gentler change in blood sugar. One of the most important factors that determine a food's glycemic index is how much it has been processed. Milling and grinding removes the fiber-rich outer bran and the vitamin- and mineral-rich inner germ, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm. Ew. Sperm.

You can't use the glycemic index to rule your dietary choices. For example, a Snickers bar is a low glycemic index food. But it is far from a health food. Instead, use it as a general guide. Whenever possible, replace highly processed grains, cereals, and sugars with minimally processed whole grain products. And only eat potatoes—once on the list of preferred complex carbohydrates—occasionally because of their high glycemic index and glycemic load.

So Should You Go on a Low Carb Diet?

If you want to lose weight you need to eat less calories than you burn. People can cut back on calories and lose weight on almost any diet—but keeping weight off over the long run is the ultimate goal. Since there is little research on the long term effects of a low carb diet and since we know that there are many healthy vitamins, minerals and fats that are in carbs or need carbs to be absorbed, I tend to think it's not a good long term plan. However, if you feel you are eating more than 50-60 percent of your nutrition in carbohydrates, it may be time to cut back. The people I have seen be most successful losing weight have kept a food journal. An HONEST food journal. Write down every item that goes in the ol pie hole. (I know its hard, I've even lied in my own food journal that only I look at!) They have weighed, measured, and monitored their food intake for a minimum of a month. The process of journaling your food can be very eye opening! Give it a try!