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Carbohydrates Chatter

Carbs are all around and in both healthy and unhealthy foods. Carbohydrates appear as a buzz word in diets. Some people say they are not eating any carbs, while others work on a plan of depleting carbs. There are simple and complex carbs.

Complex carbs are comprised of sugar molecules that are long “complex” chains. These take longer to break down in the body and produce more lasting energy than simple carbs. Both types of carbs are in a lot of foods.

How Do Carbs Stack Up?

Simple Sugars
These are the sugar overload foods like candy that spike your blood sugar fast. Limit to 1 tbsp/day.

Refined Grains
This refers to grains or grain flour that are modified. White rice and pasta fit into this processed group. Limit this to two ½ cup servings each day.

Whole Grains
Whole grains contain the complete grain kernel. Think whole-grain pasta and whole-grain bread. This grain increases what you can have daily to up to 3 servings.

Fruit
The fruit has fructose and yes this falls into the list. Fruits are higher in carbs than low carb veggies but not as high as bread and pasta. If you have 5 servings of carbs a day then the fruit should be only 2 of those.

Starches
What falls into this basket? Potatoes, corn, and bananas to name a few. It is not those by themselves that are the issue, it is more how they are cooked that changes everything.

Legumes
Beans, chickpeas, peas, and peanuts fit into this list even though some of them have protein and fiber. It is beneficial to work some of these into your day.

You can survive without sugar but it would be hard to cut all carbs out. It would not be healthy to eliminate them all. Carbs are everywhere.

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