Are Carbs the Devil?

You don't need anyone to tell you that there is too much conflicting information about carbohydrates. Carbs have been demonized and extolled by different experts and it's still not very clear to the general public what role carbs should play in their diet. Are carbs good or bad? The simple answer to this is some carbs are good.

Let me explain.

First a little info about macronutrients. You learned about these in high school health class but you probably forgot all about them (okay so you never really paid attention in health class). Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients found in food. The other two are fats and proteins. Usually, on the back of processed foods, there is a label with a break down of the amounts of carbs, fats, and proteins. Some foods have more of one macronutrient than the others. Steak, for instance would be mostly protein and fat with no carbohydrates in it at all. Veggies, on the other hand contain mostly carbs with very little fat and protein.

So, why are some carbs bad and some good?

Let's first break down what happens when your body digests carbohydrates. Carbohydrates raise your blood glucose levels which in turn raise your insulin levels. Blood glucose is simply the sugar in your bloodstream. Your muscles and brain use glucose as energy. But too much glucose is toxic to your body. Insulin is released to counteract the high blood sugar. It causes your body to store that excess glucose into your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen to be used later. When your muscle and liver stores are full, your body will then convert that glucose into fat to be stored in your fat cells. Without insulin, your body's cells would be swimming in glucose which is poisonous in high amounts. That is why it is so urgent that type 1 diabetics take insulin along with their meals. Type 1 diabetics cannot produce insulin on their own so they need to inject it from an external source.

If you followed that last paragraph, you understand that carbohydrates raise blood sugar, which raises insulin, which raises fat stores. The less carbohydrates you eat, the less fat you gain. It is best to limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat to very low levels if you want to lose body fat. But this is not enough because all carbs are not created equal. Some sources are better than others.

The best types of carbohydrates to eat are those from vegetables: romaine lettuce, carrots, beets, tomatoes, kale, spinach, etc. That is because vegetables contain a lot of fiber slows the digestion process so that your blood sugar doesn't spike. Blood sugar spikes are bad because they are followed by an insulin spike which severely drops your blood sugar and makes you hungry all over again. The fiber makes it so that your blood sugar slowly goes up and remains relatively stable.

The next best carbohydrates are from fruits. Don't eat too many fruits those because they contain more simple sugars than veggies. Simple carbs more easily spike your blood sugar because they are digested more rapidly. Eating too many fruits in one sitting shouldn't be a problem for most people. Have you ever tried to gorge on fruits? It's pretty hard. After the first three apples your done eating. Personally, I don't like to eat a lot of fruit, but when I do I like to eat a few berries with my breakfast of steak and eggs.

The absolute worst carbohydrates are those from grains and sugars. Yes, that's right. Grains. Yeah, I said it. I want to repeat this a few times so it sticks. Grains are not healthy! Grains are not healthy! Grains are not healthy! Whew. Nice to get that out. I know this is treading on sacred ground for some people (especially vegetarians and especially vegans) but if you follow the paleo logic you would know why this is so. There are a whole myriad of reasons why grains are bad but let's stick with the blood sugar part. Your body digests the carbohydrates very rapidly, just like it does with the carbohydrates in Skittles. Got that? For example, you eat a loaf of bread, your blood sugar will soar just like it does with any candy you pick up from the drug store. Try and think of bread and other grain products as sugar. The two slices of bread between your sandwich are like two slices of sugar. The bowl of cereal your eating is like a bowl of sugar. Don't punish your body by eating this crap.

Don't be to confused about it all. Just keep it simple by adhering to a few simple rules. Eat mostly veggies, a few fruits, and little to no grains and sugars. Carbohydrates aren't all bad, it just depends on the quantity and quality of the ones you eat.