Carbohydrates

Are carbohydrates really all bad? Not if you choose complex carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

Good News About Carbohydrates

Believe it or not, there's good news out there about carbohydrates! And the news is that they aren't all bad! And we don't mean that as cake is good, bread is good, pasta is good, either. We can all agree that most carbohydrates do taste good. But there are two kinds of carbohydrates--complex carbohydrates (also known as good carbohydrates) and simple carbohydrates (also known as bad carbohydrates).

Simple carbohydrates are the ones that we all love. In fact, most of the foods we refer to as "comfort foods" are high in simple carbs. This is because carbs cause your brain to produce serotonin, which is a "feel good" chemical. Simple carbs include virtually all desserts--the ones made with white (refined) sugar anyway, pasta, white breads, white or instant rice and sugary cereals. These foods take no time for your body to digest. Typically, they'll give you a quick burst of energy, but soon afterwards, you come down from that sugar high. Where does that leave you? Feeling lethargic and craving more carbs. The reason for this rush then drop in energy is due to the fact that they are made op of molecules that are easy for your body to digest. That means it doesn't take your body as long to digest whatever you ate, and once it's digested, you are hungry again. These spikes in your blood sugar levels cause your body to produce excess insulin, and over a period of time you could build up a resistance to insulin and become diabetic.

Complex carbs also produce make your brain produce serotonin, but they are harder for your body to digest, so digestion takes longer, meaning you feel full longer. This is very stabilizing for your blood sugar, and you won't over-produce insulin. Complex carbohydrates include vegetables, most fruits, whole grain or whole wheat breads, whole wheat pasta, brown or long grain rice, oats, nuts and whole grain cereals.

So as you can see, not all carbs are bad. Choose the right ones and enjoy!