Carbohydrate rich foods
Here is the first part of your carbohydrate series.
They do get a bad wrap but their role in the body is for storage and transport of energy or glucose. They are involved in processes of your immune system, fertilization, blood clotting and development.
Generally carbohydrates are not considered essential as we also make energy from protein and fats but carbohydrate rich foods are also rich in other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and water and therefore are important in your diet.
So what are your carbohydrate rich foods?
They are grains, such as wheat or rice, beans or legumes, fruit, vegetables, sugar and other natural sweeteners.
Are there better types of carbohydrates?
There are complex or simple carbohydrates.
Examples of complex are whole fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes. That is food in its whole state meaning foods with lots of nutrients that have not been stripped out. So yes they are better for us.
The best out of these are above ground high fibre vegetables. Not only are they rich in nutrients such as antioxidants but also they cause a slow release of glucose or energy because of the extra fibre. I’ll talk more about glucose when I review simple carbohydrates.
Grains are consumed by most cultures but have only been part of human consumption for the last 6000 years. As the population on the planet grew man created means to feed humanity, in the form of grains. Your genetic code was set before the advent of agriculture also biologically your human body is still of that of the hunter-gatherer that fed mainly on animals and vegetables.
Here is the second part of our carbohydrate series.
These days, over 95% of grains are highly processed, an industry that is only 100 years old. Processed grains come in the forms of white flour, white bread, cakes, soft drinks, fruit juice, cordials, cereals, chocolate, sugar and it’s products and anything that contains other sweeteners such as fructose, syrups whether made from corn or maple and palm sugar. This usually means a lot of the goodness is destroyed leaving simple carbohydrates or sugars.
So lets review the effects of these simple carbohydrates on your health.
Simple carbohydrates have a limited storage capacity in your body as a result they are converted into fat and stored by insulin. Insulin is a hormone released by your pancreas to lower high glucose in your blood. Insulin also lowers hormones, which help you burn fat. So the more carbohydrates you eat the fatter you get and the harder it is to burn off the fat. It also causes you to be hungry. You will crave sweets in particular because insulin brings your glucose right down. The roller coast of sugar highs and lows begins and then you may feel depressed, headaches, dizzy, brain fag, nightmares and night terrors (particularly if dinner meal or snack is higher in carbs than protein and not enough fat) and a general feeling of unwell.
There are some grains, which are better than others such as low gluten, or gluten free grains. Gluten is a protein found in grains, which seems to cause digestive problems such as bloating and anaemia in severe cases. Gluten is found in the following grains: wheat, rye, oats and spelt. Spelt contains the least amount of gluten. While all types of rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa are gluten free. Amaranth and quinoa, known as ancient grains, are richer in calcium and magnesium, iron, amino acids and fibre than common wheat and are so versatile in cooking. Check them out next time you are in your local health food store.
Here is the third part of our carbohydrates series. Parramatta Personal Trainer
Let’s talk more about other types of simple carbohydrates such as natural sweeteners? Are they all the same? Are they really a problem?
In one simple answer -yes. Whether brown or white or evaporated cane juice all sugars essentially behave the same in the body, as do sweeteners. They cause many acute and chronic health problems. Acute symptoms being brain fag, headaches, sluggishness and chronic problems such as tooth decay, diabetes, obesity and rapid ageing.
Apart from categorising carbohydrates as simple or complex, another popular classification is Glycaemia Index, which ranks carbohydrate-rich foods based on their effect on your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion have the highest glycaemic indices. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have a low glycaemic index.
Choosing food based solely on glycaemic index has many pitfalls.
The GI of a food varies depending on the kind of food, its ripeness, the length of time it was stored, how it was cooked, and its variety. The GI of a food varies from person to person and the GI of a mixed meal can be difficult to predict. For example, fats and proteins can make a meal sit in the stomach longer, which reduces a food's GI.
The insulin index is a similar, more recent classification method, which ranks foods based on their effects on blood insulin similar pitfalls maybe seen.
In summary the best carbohydrates are all above ground fruit and vegetables and whole grains second.
There’s is a common misconception that carbs are bad for you and that carbs after 6pm or something of the likes is bad. In my opinion this misconception is wrong if you consider that food is classified as fuel for your body and your body is an engine. That engine requires consistent refuelling and thus the notion of no carbs after 7 is wrong because all food is food and carbs are just another food.
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