News & Info

There is a lot of confusion about carbohydrates. In the past decade, “carbs” have begun to seem “evil” and something to be avoided at all costs if one wanted to maintain a normal weight and be as healthy as possible. So-called “diets” such as the Adkins and Southbeach diets became popular with the reasoning that avoiding carbs was the key to health.

Here’s a fact: Not all carbs are created equal and not all carbs are bad.

Carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet. Some carbs are vital to health – fruits and vegetables, for instance. Carbs help your body fully digest fat and protein and absorb the necessary vitamins your body needs.

Basically, there are two kinds of carbohydrates – simple and complex. Simple carbs, such as white flour, sugar (and everything made from those such as pasta, cereals, breads, cookies, cakes, candy, etc.) are digested quickly by the body.

That sounds like a good thing, right?

The problem is when one eats too many simple carbohydrates. During the digestion process, insulin is released, as well as a number of other hormones and metabolite by-products. The body is easily overwhelmed during this chemical reaction and just a few too many simple carbs can mean a lot of complications. These include fat storage, associated weight gain, muscle and blood vessel inflammation and a host of other negative health consequences. The body digests these carbs so quickly that an hour after you have eaten that 500 calorie donut you probably feel hungry again. You eat more. Eating more increases your calories which leads to more weight gain!

This is why, if given the choice, one should choose a product with a little more fat (like full fat cheese or whole milk) over a product with less fat and more sugar or flour.  Much of the old research on low-fat diets has been rebuked over the last couple years and it is now known that the best “diet” is portion control with a higher fat content (for satiety) and fewer simple carbs (or elimination of them) and some complex carbs.

Complex carbs are those such as vegetables and a number of grains like oatmeal, quinoa or buckwheat (not really a wheat). Complex carbs are aptly named because it takes a more complex process for the body to break them down which means they are not digested as quickly. With portion control, this prevents those negative health consequences that occur with simple carbohydrates.

So what do you do if you just have to have that bowl of pasta or that cookie?

You can eat it!!!

Here are some suggestions of how to eat it:

Eat the simple carbs – just have half the portion and include an unlimited amount of vegetables

Eat the simple carbs – and focus your other 2 meals and snacks on being lower in simple carbs and calories than usual

Eat the simple carbs – and exercise a little more or a little harder that day

Scientists in Sweden discovered that when people consumed 2 tablespoons of vinegar with a high-carb meal, their blood sugar was 23 percent lower than when they skipped the antioxidant-loaded liquid. They also felt fuller. (silly, but worth mentioning!)

 Warmly,

Dr. Mudge-Riley