Good Carbs, Bad Carbs?
What’s the difference between eating a white bread egg sandwich and a whole grain tuna sandwich? Or the difference between fish and chips and salad and beans?
All the foods above contain carbohydrates but some of the options contain good carbohydrate foods (whole grains and vegetables), and some, not so good. In the past five years the reputation of carbs has swung wildly. Some say they are bad, and some say they are good. So which is it?
The short answer is that they are both.
Fortunately, it’s easy separate the good from the bad. We can reap the health benefits of good carbs by choosing carbohydrates full of fiber. These carbs that get absorbed slowly into our systems, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. Examples: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans. And the best news is that we can minimize the health risk of bad carbs by eating fewer refined and processed carbohydrates that strip away beneficial fiber.
Here are 5 Carbs to Stay Away from :
1. White Bread
A refined grain is created when a whole grain is finely ground and stripped of its bran and germ, the elements that contain fiber, vitamins and minerals. White bread is made from refined grains, which are low in magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, fiber and essential fatty acids. Even though some manufacturers add vitamins back in, natural whole grains are still a superior choice.
2. White Rice
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health compiled data from seven studies that followed 352,384 subjects for up to 22 years and kept track of what they ate using food questionnaires. The subjects came from all over the globe, with three of the studies done in Asia, three in the United States and one in Australia. The results indicate that people in Asia who ate the most white rice were at the highest risk, showing a 55 percent increase in type 2 diabetes over other Asians who ate the least white rice. Opt for brown rice instead as that’s the healthier choice.
3. Soda
All of the carbs in soda are from sugar (or high fructose corn syrup). There is approximately 240 calories per 8 ounce serving, to be exact and many soda drinkers would drink more than 8 ounces. Try around 20 ounces which is almost three times the calories, a whopping 600 calories! So, soda is definitely a carb to avoid.
4. Baked Sweets
Cupcakes and cookies are full of sugars and fats. They are the worst sort of sugar and processed flour. They don’t contain much in the way of good carbs, like fiber. That is, of course, unless you choose whole grain baked goods with bits of fruit, to give them fiber and a healthy dose of not-as-bad sugars.
5. Potatoes
Potatoes themselves are not the enemy. All the stuff we load them with are! Bacon, Sour Cream, Cheese, etc.. all of these are loaded with fat, which has turned this healthy plain baked potato into a carb to avoid. A better choice would be a sweet potato without all the fat and trimmings!
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