Stop cutting out all the carbs, you may be doing more harm than good

Poor carbs! They get such a bad reputation.  First, fat was the enemy in the 90’s, and now we’ve turned on carbs.  The good news is that carbs aren’t bad for you; in fact, most healthy eating styles, from the Diabetic Diet to the Mediterranean Diet, encourage carbohydrates.  The caveat is, some carbs are better than others.

So, What Exactly are Carbs?

Let’s take a step back! Food is made up of macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Most food is made up of a combination of two or more macronutrients.  Take almonds for example: 1 ounce contains 6 grams of protein, 14 grams of fat, and 6 grams of carbs.  So, carbohydrates are found in a LOT of foods.  And that’s a good thing!  When a person consumes carbohydrates, our bodies break the food down and carbs enter our bloodstream as glucose.  With the help of insulin, it’s absorbed in our cells as energy for things like physical activity, brain function, or breathing.  The Dietary Guidelines recommend carbohydrates make up 45-65% of total calories, so for a 2000 calorie diet, this would be 900-1300cal.  This works out to be 225-325 grams of carbohydrates spread throughout the day.

Common Sources of carbs

• Fruits: apples, bananas, berries, oranges, etc
• Vegetables: potatoes, corn, peas, etc
• Dairy: milk, yogurt
• Grains: bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, rice
• Beans, peas and lentils
• Snack foods and sweets: chips, pretzels, cookies, crackers
• Beverages: juice, soda, sports drinks, energy drinks

Which Carbs should I be Eating?

Great question! Carbs can be broken into two categories:  Simple and Complex.  

Simple carbohydrates comes from two sources.  One source is found naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables and dairy and the other source is from simple sugars added to foods like table sugar, honey, corn syrup.  The CDC’s recommendation for added sugar is not more than 6 teaspoons for women (100cal) and 9 teaspoons for men (150cal) per day.  While added sugars do provide energy to our cells, they come with no other health benefits like vitamins or minerals.  They would be considered empty calories.  The sugars found in fruits, dairy, and vegetables are packaged with fiber, vitamins and minerals making them a better choice.  

Complex carbohydrates also come from two sources: starches and fiber.  Starches are found in grains and vegetables like potatoes, peas, and corn, and these starches are used for energy.  Fiber is found in grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans and is used for blood sugar control and a healthy gut.  Complex carbohydrates have been shown to have numerous health benefits:

• Helps with blood sugar control
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduced risk for heart disease
• Improved athletic performance
• Regular bowel movements and a healthy gut
• Improved Sleep

Ready to up your complex carbohydrate intake?  Try some of these tips

• Swap refined grains for whole grains.  Food items like breads, bagels, crackers, pretzels, etc. made with white flours can be substituted with whole grain products.  However, you first need to read the ingredient list. The first ingredient should say “Whole [insert name of grain]” . It could be wheat, rye, bran, doesn’t matter, but if it just says wheat or enriched white, it’s a simple carbohydrate.  Try changing your cereal to Shredded Wheat or Cheerios.  Swap your bread for a whole grain version, or switch your English Muffin’s to 100% Whole Wheat.  
• Make ½ your plate fruits or vegetables.  The MyPlate guideline actually is right!  Increasing your fruits and vegetables at meals will allow you to cut back a little on protein (we only need about 3-4 ounces per meal) and the starches should clock in around an ounce, which isn’t much.  Take pasta for example, instead of eating two cups, a better idea is to eat a cup and increase the volume with vegetables. You still get to eat the same amount of food, but more is coming from complex carbs.
• Bring on the beans.  Swap your protein at a meal for beans occasionally.  Try a black bean burger, put beans in your salad, dip your carrots in hummus.  Instead of just protein, beans provide protein AND complex carbs.  
• Snack smartly.  When you’re grabbing a snack, how about whole grain crackers or fruit with a protein like cheese or peanut butter.  Instead of simple carbs, like rice cakes, pretzels, or Cheez-its, take the opportunity to get some healthy carbs in.
• Check the added sugar.  Labels are required to list Added Sugars under the Total Sugars on the Nutrition Panel.  Check to see how much of the total sugars come naturally in the food, or are added.  Ideally as little as possible.  Remember, the recommendation is to keep it to 24-36 grams total daily.  For example:  Regular Cheerios has 2g of added sugar, vs Frosted Cheerios has 12g added sugar- that’s ½ the recommended intake for some people, gone, at breakfast!

Bottom line:you don’t need to buy low carb bread, in fact a bread made with whole grains would be more beneficial to your body.  You don’t need to sub brown rice with cauliflower rice every time- try mixing them together to get the benefits of the complex carbs from the rice and the vitamins and minerals from the cauliflower..  And for the love, eat a potato.  They have so much nutrition in them, plus they’re filling and delicious!

Let us know your favorite complex carbs!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy

This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.  We’re here to help.