What You Need to Know About Carbs

Don’t believe the common myth that carbs cause weight gain. If you eat too much of anything, it will cause weight gain. Gram for gram, carbohydrate, along with protein have the lowest calorie count. Fat is the highest in energy, followed by alcohol.

Low carbohydrate diets cause weight loss simply because they are low in calories, NOT because they are low in carbohydrates. 

 

Sugars, starches and fibre make up most of the carbohydrates that we eat. Sugars are simple carbohydrates where as starches and fibre make up complex carbohydrates.

 

The carbohydrates to avoid are the simple, processed carbohydrates that provide little nutrition. For example, white bread, cakes, cookies, lollies are high in carbohydrates, but they are quickly digested and cause a sharp increase in blood sugar followed by a sharp drop. 

They also contain little fibre and nutrients. Complex carbohydrates include foods like wholegrain bread, rolled oats and vegetables. These contain a number of different vitamins and minerals, plus fibre, which will help keep you full. 

 

When choosing carbohydrates avoid processed, simple carbohydrates and stick to those that are wholegrain, and nutrient rich.

GI is a buzz word at the moment in nutrition. And whilst choosing low GI foods is useful for managing weight and blood sugar, because a food is low GI does not mean is healthy. To better understand GI, here’s a bit of background.

 

The Glycemic index is a way of rating a foods effect on blood sugar. It measures the rate that glucose from food is absorbed into the blood stream. The slower the glucose is absorbed the lower the GI rating of the food. Conversely, the faster the glucose from the food is absorbed the higher the GI rating.
 

Various factors effect the GI rating of the food including fibre content, fat content, physical form (finely ground is higher GI than coarse) and starch type. 
 

So, if foods are high in fat, they can be low GI. So don’t be fooled if a chocolate bar wrapper says it is low GI, it isn’t because it is good for you, its due to its high fat content! Remember to look at the overall ingredients list and nutrition panel to check if your low GI food is really healthy!