All About Carbs - The Good, the Bad, and the Necessary
It seems like not that long ago everyone was on a “no carb” diet. But if you asked them, “well, what’s a carbohydrate?” they would most likely say things like bread and pasta. While those are one type of carbohydrate, they are not the only ones. Additionally, you need carbs to maintain a healthy diet. So we want to take a few minutes to dispel a myth we hear ALL the time:
All Carbs are Bad.
While some carbs are better for you than others, they are certainly not all bad for you. The key is understanding the difference between types of carbs and how they affect your overall health.
Simple carbs are healthy carbs like fruits and vegetables. (Did you know those are carbs?) They provide healthy nutrients and the fiber that we need.
Complex carbs are high in fiber and starches which you need for a variety of reasons, most importantly digestive health. Complex carbs keep you fueled longer - which is what you want if weight loss is one of your goals. Some complex carbs that are high in fiber include nuts, beans, and whole grains. Foods high in starch include whole wheat bread, oats, peas and brown rice.
Now for the worst.
Refined carbs start out as a high-fiber complex carb and are processed by reducing or removing the fiber and many healthy nutrients. They are reduced into carbs like sugar, white flour, white rice, and white pasta. The refining process can cause a spike in your blood sugar, increasing appetite and creating inflammation that can lead to chronic disease.
If you would come up to us at a party and say, “Lisa and Priest, what can I do right now to be more healthy?” we would say - unequivocally - eliminate refined carbs from your diet. Say goodbye to soda, many packaged treats like cookies and fruit snacks, most breakfast cereals (you know the ones covered in sugar), as well as white flour and white rice.
Did anything on this list surprise you? Did you know fruits and vegetables are actually carbs?
So if you’re trying a “carb free” diet, what you are likely really doing is cutting out refined carbs. Which is great! But you need complex carbs to stay healthy, so please keep eating those.
And we have a program coming up that is all about carbs - our Green Feasting Cleanse. A raw vegan cleanse includes nothing BUT carbs. Think of how much fun it would be to tell your friends you’re actually on an “all-carb diet.”
Our summer Green Feasting Cleanse begins on June 19th and you can spend a week learning more about simple and complex carbohydrates and how they impact your health.