BY AYOUB OUBARKA
Carbs get a bad rap these days. Everyone is always "cutting the carbs." Truth is, your body needs carbs.
In fact, carbs play an important role in weight loss! You just need to know which carbs to eat and which to
avoid.
Here's the deal: carbs are rated with something called a glycemic index. This is just a fancy way of rating
how quickly the carbs turn into glucose (blood sugar). The higher the number, the faster the carb turns into
glucose - which is bad. Think of it like logs burning in a fireplace. You don't use lots of small kindling in
your fireplace all night - that would burn through a ton of wood quickly. You want big, slow-burning logs...
just like you want big, slow-burning complex carbohydrate molecules. They take a long time to burn in
your furnace. There are simple carbohydrates that are bad, and complex carbohydrates that are good.
Simple carbohydratess like white bread (highly refined and processed), white rice, and candy break down
and convert to glucose fast and easy. That's why you're hungry shortly after eating them. Come on... you
know you've eaten tons of rice at a Chinese restaurant and then felt hungry half an hour later. Your fuel
burned up quickly because you ate a lot of simple carbs like white rice.
Complex carbohydratess, on the other hand, work differently. Complex carbs like whole wheat bread
take a long time to break down into glucose. Your body has to expend a good deal of energy to break them
down. They keep you satisfied longer (they keep your blood glucose levels up for a longer period of time).
Since complex carbs take longer to break down, the sugar isn't released into your blood as quickly. This
allows your body to burn off it's stored body-fat for energy instead of utilizing that rush of glucose that
comes from simple carbs.
•Good Carbs: whole grain breads (bagel, English muffin, roll, pita, flour tortilla, waffle), whole grain cereals - unsweetened, brown rice, buckwheat, couscous, low-fat granola, grits, Jasmine rice, wild rice, cornstarch, whole grain flour, whole grain pasta.
•Bad Carbs: Starchy vegetables (corn, green peas, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, squash), french fries (forget about them!) most crackers (melba toast, oyster crackers, saltines, even whole-wheat crackers!)
Again, you don't have to totally avoid these bad carbs. I love green peas and sweet potatos. Just remember
that they're going to unleash a rush of glucose into your blood stream. Plan on working out after your
Thanksgiving meal.
You need carbs. Don't go on one of these crazy diets that has you eliminating carbs completely from your
diet. Your body needs carbs. Your brain needs carbs to function properly. As with all things, eat a healthy
amount of the right kinds of complex carbs, and just keep an eye on your calories.
Carbs get a bad rap these days. Everyone is always "cutting the carbs." Truth is, your body needs carbs.In fact, carbs play an important role in weight loss! You just need to know which carbs to eat and which to
avoid.
Here's the deal: carbs are rated with something called a glycemic index. This is just a fancy way of rating
how quickly the carbs turn into glucose (blood sugar). The higher the number, the faster the carb turns into
glucose - which is bad. Think of it like logs burning in a fireplace. You don't use lots of small kindling in
your fireplace all night - that would burn through a ton of wood quickly. You want big, slow-burning logs...
just like you want big, slow-burning complex carbohydrate molecules. They take a long time to burn in
your furnace. There are simple carbohydrates that are bad, and complex carbohydrates that are good.
Simple carbohydratess like white bread (highly refined and processed), white rice, and candy break down
and convert to glucose fast and easy. That's why you're hungry shortly after eating them. Come on... you
know you've eaten tons of rice at a Chinese restaurant and then felt hungry half an hour later. Your fuel
burned up quickly because you ate a lot of simple carbs like white rice.
Complex carbohydratess, on the other hand, work differently. Complex carbs like whole wheat bread
take a long time to break down into glucose. Your body has to expend a good deal of energy to break them
down. They keep you satisfied longer (they keep your blood glucose levels up for a longer period of time).
Since complex carbs take longer to break down, the sugar isn't released into your blood as quickly. This
allows your body to burn off it's stored body-fat for energy instead of utilizing that rush of glucose that
comes from simple carbs.
•Good Carbs: whole grain breads (bagel, English muffin, roll, pita, flour tortilla, waffle), whole grain cereals - unsweetened, brown rice, buckwheat, couscous, low-fat granola, grits, Jasmine rice, wild rice, cornstarch, whole grain flour, whole grain pasta.
•Bad Carbs: Starchy vegetables (corn, green peas, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, squash), french fries (forget about them!) most crackers (melba toast, oyster crackers, saltines, even whole-wheat crackers!)
Again, you don't have to totally avoid these bad carbs. I love green peas and sweet potatos. Just remember
that they're going to unleash a rush of glucose into your blood stream. Plan on working out after your
Thanksgiving meal.
You need carbs. Don't go on one of these crazy diets that has you eliminating carbs completely from your
diet. Your body needs carbs. Your brain needs carbs to function properly. As with all things, eat a healthy
amount of the right kinds of complex carbs, and just keep an eye on your calories.
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