If loving carbs is wrong, I don’t wanna be right :p
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Today we turn our attention to carbohydrates because I know they are the most controversial macronutrients, and many of us have become confused about their inclusion in our diet. What are they? Are they 'good' or 'bad' for our health? Are they getting you fat?
What are carbohydrates?
We can easily translate it as any food that the Ketogenic diet excludes. But is that okay? What do you think? Let's dig in…
Our cells' favorite food is simple carbohydrates and oxygen. Yes, simple carbs, meaning fruits and some variety of vegetables. To better understand, carbs are present where we feel sweet on the tongue. In addition to these, there are also complex carbohydrates, which need to be broken down into simple carbohydrates in the small intestine, such as: starches, legumes, whole grains.
Did you know that…
We have 2 teaspoons of sugar in a slice of bread, but we don't feel its sweetness. The same goes for potatoes!
Removing carbohydrates from your diet means starving your cells. As a species, we were conceived as fruit-eaters. Why do we feel good when we eat something sweet? Nature naturally directs us to the favorite food of our cells.
In the case of carb free diets, the body suffers, enters a state of ketosis, and we feel the effects immediately: headaches, migraines, severe fatigue and fainting. In addition to the short-term effects, the body becomes acidic and forms long-term illnesses.
Are they bad for the body?
We should not be afraid of carbohydrates, at least not of those from whole foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains), which can be properly managed by the body. These sources are packaged with fiber and other components that slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood.
What we should, indeed, pay attention to in our diets are processed carbohydrates (fruit juices, pastries, white bread, white flour pasta, white rice, products with added sugars), that are nutrient-free and rich in calories . They cause a spike in blood sugar , and soon after a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to another craving for sweets (or food). It's a so-called blood sugar roller coaster. The more whole foods we eat, from nature, the faster we get full (because they have a lot of fiber and higher water content, which takes up space in the stomach) and we ingest fewer calories.
The more refined, processed foods we eat (white flour, sweets, etc., which also have a small percentage of water due to thermal preparation), the harder we get satiated, so we eat more and, automatically, we ingest more calories. So, carbohydrates end up fattening us when they come from refined foods and come in a larger amount than that body needs .
How many carbohydrates should we have in our diet?
The World Health Organization recommends consuming 44-65% of your daily energy needs (or calories) from carbohydrates.
For an adult with normal physical activity, the percentage of carbohydrates: fats: proteins is recommended to be 4: 1: 1 . It can differ depending on your weight, physical activity and goals (if you want to lose weight, gain muscle mass, maintain yourself). However, carbohydrates are always first on the list.
Recommendations
- Reduce products with added sugars or white flour from your diet. Replace them with whole grains: fruit (check out here a nice recipe), sweeteners made from fruit (such as date syrup or molasses, occasionally), whole wheat flour, oatmeal, buckwheat or other whole grains;
- Don’t shy away from fruits or whole grains. Instead of cookies or croissants, eat some overnight oats with plant milk and fruit in the morning (or a warm oatmeal for the colder days), make a smoothie, or put some avocado / hummus and a few vegetables on top of a slice of wholemeal bread (not multigrain / black / graham or any other names have, read the label…);
- Make sure your plate is always made of half vegetables. For example, I recommend trying some vegetables with pasta, instead of pasta with some vegetables (if you understand what I mean
);
- The brain consumes 120-150 g of carbohydrates / day, so we need carbohydrates to be able to think, but, more than that, to be able to move and carry out our daily activities. To get an idea of the number of macronutrients you need to eat daily, use macronutrient calculator and the application chronometer to see if you reach your goal. Careful!! This is only short-term (a week, say, until you get an idea of your diet), so as not to become an obsessive thing;
- Fruits don't keep you full? Even though it's not an ideal combination, add a source of fat next to the fruit (in the form of a few nuts / seeds / 1 lb. peanut butter, etc.). This way, you increase the digestion time with 2-3h.
Sources:
- GHID ALIMENTAŢIA SĂNĂTOASĂ, Societatea de Nutriție din România: http://old.ms.ro/documente/Ghid1_8318_6022.pdf
- Carbohydrates in human nutrition. (FAO Food and Nutrition Paper – 66), World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/nutrientrequirements/9251041148/en/
Lavinia Dinca
Nutritionist
English 
Română