For as long as we can remember, carbohydrates have not have the greatest of reputation in the health circle per say. Not only were they, more often than not, blamed for issue like weight gain and diabetes, a lot of times they were even completely excluded from the diet itself, citing that the diet without carbs is healthier.
Though the last statement isn’t untrue, vilifying a particular group of food might end up doing people more harm than good. Carbs are definitely not the enemy. Have a look at some of the main reasons why carbs should not be cast away like they have been.
• Not all carbs are the same
All of you, at some point or another might have heard the words “simple and complex” carbs. Well, like the sub heading mentions, carbs are not of just one kind. So let us examine these terms better shall we? Simple carbs or reined carbs are essentially the carbohydrate that are found in things like cakes, biscuits, sugar etc. They also include white coloured foods like pasta, rice, white bread etc. The main component of these carbs are sugars which, when broken down, get very quickly absorbed by the body, and as a result cause issues like sugar spikes, weight gain, cravings and low energy.
Contrary to that, complex carbohydrates are much more nutritious than simple carbs and contain nutrients like fibre, provide energy to the body and get digested by the body slowly. This makes them exceptionally good at controlling blood sugar levels, for weight loss and help you avoid hunger pangs. Things like legumes, oats, nuts, and whole grain foods contain complex carbs.
• Veggies also have carbs!
We know that having been brainwashed into thinking that carbs are bad for you, is something that takes time to come out of, but the moment you feel like your nutritionist/dietician or even your trainer is advising you to not consume vegetables in your diet, then you really ought to starting searching for a new person to look up to.
Just because vegetables contain carbs in them does not make them unhealthy. Apart from carbs, vegetables are also filled vital nutrients like vitamins, fibre, minerals, antioxidants and the likes. Each and every experienced nutritionist will always tell you to atleast fill a half of your plate with as many veggies as you can in as many colours you can find.
• Brain food to the rescue
Did you know that our brain actually depends on the consumption of carbohydrates because that is one nutrient that helps it to run well. Since carbs are broken down into glucose, the glucose itself is used by the brain as a fuel. If in case the brains starts to get less glucose because of less carb consumption, then it will end up affecting a lot of brain activities like concentration, decision making and even memory.
We are sure that by now you are already convinced that carbs do form an essential part of the diet, though moderation is always the key to a healthy and happy diet, so do remember that!
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