Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, What's The Difference

There's been a ton of information in the past few years when it comes to carbohydrates in your daily diet. And a lot of it is very confusing. We all know people, myself included, who went 'low carb', lost a ton of weight, only to put it back on when we returned to our 'normal' eating habits.

The fact is that carbohydrates are an essential part of your daily food intake, providing your body with the energy it needs. But there is a definite difference between 'good' carbs and 'bad' carbs.

Basically it comes down to this. The less refined a carbohydrate is, the better it is for you. And the lower the Glycemic Index (GI) value of the carbohydrate, the easier the carbohydrate is on your blood sugar level.

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale that classifies carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on your blood sugar (glucose) level. The faster a carb is converted to glucose and absorbed into your blood, the more refined it is. Carbohydrates that have a low GI are converted to glucose much more slowly, so they're absorbed into your bloodstream at a much lower rate and over a longer period of time.

Let me give you an example. You go to a fast food place, order a burger, fries and a soda. All three contain refined carbohydrates; the burger bun contains processed flour, the fries are made from potatoes and the soda contains so much sugar you don't even want to know. They all have a very high GI.

Your blood sugar will surge, causing your pancreas to release too much insulin to clean up the sugar. Your blood sugar will then plummet, sending signals to your brain just hours later that hey, you're hungry again. And you eat again, and start the cycle all over again.

It's a vicious cycle; one that has caused record levels of obesity in this country and abroad, with all its accompanying health problems including diabetes, the rate of which is skyrocketing, particularly among children.

So which carbs are good and which are bad? Here's a list to get you started;

Good - Whole grains - choose breads, pasta and noodles that are made with whole grains, not refined flours. Whole grain flours contain just that, whole grains, including the bran and the germ of the grain. They're high in fiber, thus keep you feeling fuller for longer periods of time and release glucose to the bloodstream gradually rather than a full scale assault like that described above.

Good - Fruits and Veggies - your mother was right, eat your vegetables! Most fruits and veggies are low in calories and packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. You should get a minimum of five servings a day.

Bad - basically anything that contains refined carbohydrates. I'm not saying that you should give them up altogether, an occasional piece of chocolate won't do you any harm. But a steady diet of chips, fries, white bread, chocolate, soda and candy won't give your body the nutrition it needs and will just add pound after pound of unwanted flab.

About the Author

This article was written by Shawn Wilson, a member of the customer support team at Datepad, where internet dating is always free. Datepad has a massive directory of informative dating articles along with a great list of dating site reviews on their dating blog.

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