Z. Johnson
The new trends in nutrition and changes in lifestyle has made us believe that carbs are among the harmful things to eat. This has led us to do restrictive diets, to the point of creating overwhelm and anxiety. Scientific evidence has shown that carbs are not dangerous, but actually needed for our body to work properly. Various statements support the idea of restricting carbs from your diet. But, is this really worth doing? I will explain why it is important to not eliminate all the carbs from your diet, especially if you workout regularly.
Carbs are the main source of energy
Your body needs fuel to function everyday. From a simple task like moving to even thinking, we need energy . When eating carbs, the liver breaks them down into sugar, and that’s where the energy comes from. Therefore, cutting them out all together could lead you to lower performance and productivity.
Most carb foods contain other essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals and fiber. Carbohydrates are needed to promote healthy digestion, good blood circulation, among others. Your brain will prefer to use carbs primarily, rather than fats. When these are not provided in the appropriate proportions, the body will then produce ketones in the liver (from fats).
Carbs are important for a good performance during workout and exercise
Since the primary source of energy is carbs, you should think how exercise performance would be affected if you skip them. This is especially true for athletes and high endurance contestants. It is scientifically proven that the lack of carbs directly impacts muscle function and performance. You don’t want to miss out on the great benefits of getting fuel to your muscles, so think twice before skipping carbs.
Carbs are found almost everywhere, even in foods you may not think of
Most of the foods you eat everyday have carbohydrates. Starchy vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, other foods like milk, whole grains, and green veggies, are major sources. Eliminating them is really not a good idea, as you will be missing the other essential nutrients. For that reason, you should consider the food as a whole. Assess what you can gain, what you can lose. It is about making careful smart choices. Make sure you identify which will be more beneficial to your health.
Don’t judge a food by its “carb”! There are different types
From a variety of foods, you can basically find two main types of carbs:
Simple carbs:
You can commonly find them in table sugar, sweet foods (pastry, candies, soft drinks, etc). If you try to avoid any carbs, consider the ones in this category. Experts suggest that we must eat less than 10% of our total intake. Exceeding in the amount of sugar from our diet has proven to strike serious problems. Some common cases include high blood sugar (causing diabetes), weight gain and nerve diseases, just to mention a few.
Complex carbs:
On the other hand, these are types of foods you should be eating regularly . Some typical examples include whole grains, fruits, starchy vegetables, bread, cereals, pasta. In this list you can find lots of additional nutrients, like fiber. For a normal digestion, avoiding constipation, keeping good blood sugar and cholesterol levels, fiber is essential.
You want to chose more whole grain foods. For example, switch white bread for the whole wheat one. Another option is having more grains. Consume more beans and lentils (which provide vegetable protein), fruits and veggies. Also, eating high fiber foods cuts down on anxiety and cravings. It is known that consuming fiber regularly makes us feel more “full” or satisfied after we eat.
Keto Diets? My point of view
Ketogenic diets are becoming more popular due to some positive effects that have been found recently. However, there is also a downside to following such a regimen.
Positives:
- Keto diets promote a higher consumption of protein, which is another important macronutrient we need. Protein and fat consumption can lower the risk of ingesting excess amounts of sugar, thus leading to overweight and diabetes.
- These type of regimens advocate eliminating processed foods and only eating nutritionally dense foods.
- People who suffer from epilepsy and other nerve conditions may benefit from ketones.
- Those who are lactose intolerant or celiacs (gluten intolerance) may benefit from this.
Negatives:
- It is a very restrictive diet, cutting out most of the key vitamins , minerals and fiber. By all means these should be part of a regular diet. This regimen cuts out most of the dairy products, leading to lower calcium consumption.
- Keto diets promote more fasting, which could cause a rebound effect.
- The most common effect is lack of nutritional balance, which can negatively impact hormones, performance, muscle mass and energy levels.
- You will barely find variety, as it is very high in fat, people may tend to choose “unhealthy fat” foods such as bacon and other saturated fats. If not done properly, this could lead to high blood cholesterol levels and heart disease.
- It is very difficult to sustain in the long term, as the body could develop a self defense mechanism to start “craving” carb foods again.
Finally, it is better and more sustainable to live up to a diet that contains all the necessary nutrients for our body, in the appropriate proportions, including variety and making sure we make smart choices. You will learn more about this topic later. I always recommend to listen to your body, if there is any type of food you don’t tolerate, then it can be excluded. I honestly don’t advice making restrictive diets, unless you have a certain special condition that requires it. In that case, you should always first do a medical check up with your physician, and consult a nutritionist before going for any restrictions. Just be happy to enjoy all the types of food you can, in a healthy way!
