AW Stories of the Month

December, 2014 – Are Carbs Really Bad for You?

December 11, 2014

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Are Carbs Really Bad For You?

By Jon Lipshaw

Carbs seem to have a bad reputation but are they really bad? The truth is some are bad and some are actually good for us and vital for bodily function. According to Healthyeating.sfgate.com, “carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel source. The brain and nervous system require a constant supply of glucose from carbohydrates in order to function optimally.”

There are three types of carbs: sugars, starches and fiber. All these carbs are made of sugar molecules. According to Livestrong.com, “sugars, or simple carbohydrates, contain just one or two molecules of sugar. The complex carbohydrates — starch and fiber — consist of many molecules of sugar.” According to Atkins.com, “The best kinds of carbohydrates are those that do not raise blood sugar quickly, nor raise it too high but provide lots of nutrition.”

The carbs that are bad for us are much more abundant than the good carbs. Bad carbs to stay away from are foods like pizza, bread and french fries just to name a few. Basically anything that contains enriched flour is not an ideal carb to be eating. Enriched flour is bad for many reasons; one of the reasons is that if you live in America then the enriched flour that you eat is likely bleached and processed to the point of no nutrition. Flour companies compensate for the lack of nutrients such as iron by putting it back in. It’s interesting to note that in the European Union (EU) they don’t allow bleached flour. If a farmer in the EU wants enriched flour he or she must let the processed wheat sit out for 10 days to naturally turn white without bleach.

Healthy carbs aren’t hard to get into your diet. Some of these include quinoa, oats, whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. All these healthy carbs contain fiber which tends to stay in the stomach longer and they slow down the absorption of sugars and starches. Refined carbs such as enriched flour have been striped down of all its nutrients and fiber which is why it’s an unhealthy carb.