Understanding Carbs and Your Weight

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding carbs these days. If you want to be healthy and look good, can you still eat them? Why are so many people opting to go low-carb or even almost eliminate carbs from their diet?

Understanding Carbs and Your Weight

The topic of carbs confuses people because so many types of foods fall under the category of carbohydrates. It helps to break down carbs into categories – complex and simple carbs.

Complex carbs contain plant fiber and take longer to digest. The fiber actually helps us process these foods in a good and healthy way so they can be used for energy. Examples of healthy foods that contain complex carbohydrates include vegetables and fruits, such as whole corn, whole wheat, whole oats, sweet potatoes and orange squash.

Simple carbs absorb straight to the bloodstream rather than being slowed by the process of digestion. White sugar, corn starch, and processed white flour that’s present in white bread and enriched pasta fall under the category of simple carbs.

Keep in mind that any time sugar, even simple carbs, is paired with fiber, digestion of the carbohydrates is slowed down considerably. You might compare it to drinking alcohol. You’ve probably been told that it’s better if you enjoy an alcoholic beverage when paired with food. The same goes for simple carbs.

If you’re trying to lose weight, think of carbohydrates as a fuel source that you must burn off, otherwise the energy from the carbs will accumulate in your body and add fat to your frame.

Complex foods like corn or carrots, as well as fruit, count as carbs in that they deliver sugar-based energy to the body. But eating these foods in limited amounts, getting needed exercise, and combining strategically with other foods for balanced nutrition, means that you can enjoy some carbs as part of a healthy diet and still lose weight.

Also remember, your brain feeds and thrives on glucose which is converted from carbs. Just make sure you are choosing complex carbs and rich fatty acids which are converted to Ketones to feed your brain too! If you eat low carb or Keto, those fats are critical too!