Dr Erin: Should I be afraid of carbs?
It seems like everyone is talking about carbs these days. Good carbs, bad carbs, no carbs, all carbs…it’s hard to get a handle on what all of this hoopla is all about. Carbs is a nickname for one of the macronutrients called carbohydrates. The other two macronutrients are fats and proteins. A balanced diet contains all three macronutrients, within proper proportions. People who do not eat a balanced diet often have limited energy and start suffering from malnutrition within a few months. It’s especially important to eat a balanced diet when healing from an injury or engaging in sports.
Most doctors agree that the average individual should consume about 30% of their calories from fats, 30% of their calories from protein and the remaining 40% from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates is a big category and includes everything from the sugar in candy to pasta to vegetables. The problem most of us have with carbs is that we eat too many of them in the candy or pasta form and not enough in the vegetable or whole grain form. This is where the terms simple and complex carbs comes into play.
Simple carbs digest easily and have very little vitamins with them. They include sugar, pop, white bread, white rice, white pasta and potato chips. These are the carbs that people crave. Our diet should include very little or no simple carbs. Complex carbs digest more slowly and have lots of nutrients packed inside of them. They include whole potatoes, vegetables, whole wheat, brown rice and other whole grain products. This is where your 40% of calories from carbs should come from.
So the next time you go to the grocery store, make sure that you load up on complex carbs and you should soon see your waistline become a little trimmer and your body a little happier!