Despite the popularity of low-carb diets, carbohydrates are needed for metabolism and proper body function. They help our body carry out metabolic functions and allow our brain to perform at its best! While a low-carb diet is good sometimes because it lets your body burn up the carbohydrate reserves stored in your body fat, following it all the time leads to something called ketosis. In ketosis, your body feeds off of itself to get required nutrients to continue functioning. In other words, your metabolism will cannibalize your muscles and eventually your vital organs for nutrition, much in the same way that the system of an anorexic or malnourished person does.
Carbs are an ideal energy source for the metabolism, since they are easily converted to glucose. Glucose is the type of sugar our body uses for energy, and it is made more easily from carbs than from fats or proteins. Good fats and proteins have their places, and a balanced diet is still essential for your health. Too many carbs upset your body’s blood sugar levels and can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia or diabetes, energy crashes, mood swings... lots of stuff you generally don’t want to deal with.
What is a carbohydrate? Well, a carb is sugar, also known chemically as a saccharide. There are two types of carbs, simple (sugars) and complex (starches). Simple carbs are monosaccharides (1 sugar molecule) and disaccharides (2 sugar molecules joined up), and are water-soluble; they can be broken up using water. Complex carbs are either oligosaccharides (3-10 sugar molecules joined) or polysaccharides (everything else) and are not water-soluble. Complex carbs require amylases, which are digestive enzymes, to be broken up. Simple carbs are easier to digest, since there is either only one chemical bond to break or none at all. They are good for quick energy, but the downside is that they are responsible for tooth decay. Complex carbohydrates are harder to digest because of the multiple chemical bonds that must be broken. Since they take longer to break down, they aren’t very good for a quick burst. They do, however, provide long-term energy throughout the day and help you feel fuller for longer periods of time, particularly when paired with lean proteins and good fats.
Carbohydrates, when digested, are converted to glucose. This causes the pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin, which is what regulates glucose uptake in your cells. When you have too much glucose, it gets converted to glycogen and stored as fat around your body or in your liver. Then, when you need that energy, your body converts it back to glucose with the pancreatic hormone glucogan and uses it as if the glucose was just ingested. The slower the release of hormones, the more stable the energy gained is. Consistent excessive carb intake will lead to a buildup of body fat, just like over-eating from any food group will. The worst carbs to intake are refined starches and sugars. They are more quickly metabolized, which can lead to crashes, headaches (that would be your brain telling you that you don’t have enough sugar for both it and your body), an increased appetite, less control over your appetite, and a cellular need for more carbs—what we refer to as cravings.
Generally you should look to get about half your daily caloric needs from carbs, and about 1/3 of your total food intake being comprised of complex carbs (starches). Refined sugars need to be limited—only about 10% or so of our diets should be refined sugars. In other words, having a chocolate bar is fine, but you can’t live on junk food and expect to stay healthy. Not like that is anything new, right? But it is a little easier to make healthy food choices when you know what the effects of that food will be on your body at a cellular level. So have a cookie. Balance it out by drinking water or tea instead of a soda, or having oatmeal with strawberries for breakfast instead of frosted cereal in the mornings. Little changes are good, and eventually add up to a lot of healthy habits!
Here are some links for you all, so you can see what are good carbs and which are bad carbs. Happy eating!
- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/complex-carbohydrates-list.html
- http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/List_of_Carbohydrate_Foods_with_Good_Carbs_Grams.shtml
- http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/carbohydrates-full-story/
- http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetic-food-list-best-worst-foods
- http://www.weightlossforall.com/complex-carbs.htm
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