3. Good Carbs - Bad Carbs

If you are planning to lose weight, you need to look at what your body requires to ensure that you have a balanced diet.  Your three main food groups are fats, protein and carbohydrate, all essential to keep our bodies working healthily and effectively.
Today we're looking at CARBOHYDRATE - the Slow carb, the Fast carb, the Necessary carb.  What does it do for us?  Well it has a pretty important job and is responsible for;

• Energy- carbohydrate is used as fuel. It feeds every cell in the body
• Keeping blood glucose levels normal for metabolism
• It helps with absorption of calcium
• Lowering cholesterol levels, but only carbohydrate containing fiber (fruit, vegetables, beans, oats, whole grains). Cholesterol sticks to fiber in the gut, this prevents the absorption of cholesterol and then it is passed through the bowel as waste.
• It nourishes gut bacteria which are necessary for a number of very important functions.

When you eat carbs, they are converted into glucose for energy use or stored.  Different types of carbohydrate are converted at different speeds;

Slow Carbohydrate - Fruit (not fruit juice) vegetables, beans, whole grains like barley, wild rice, pasta, nuts and seeds.
Slow carb has a slow conversion time and affects insulin production at a slower, balanced rate.  There is less fat storage due to the slow release of glucose. Slow carbs are more filling,they contain more fibre and soak up water, hence you eat less and feel more content.

Fast Carbohydrate - White bread, biscuits, white flour, crisps, corn flakes, sweets, fructose, rice cakes, fruit juice(fresh or concentrate)
Fast carbs convert quickly and have a rapid effect on insulin levels, which can be toxic on the body unless you are an athlete requiring energy immediately. If it isn't required for energy it is stored in muscle, liver and body fat cells. Please look at my previous Posts for an explanation on the balance of glucose and insulin.  This type of carb does not stay in the stomach for long, there is no fibre content and it is quickly absorbed, leaving you feeling, less full and possibly craving more fast carbohydrate

The G.I ( Glycemic Index) of carbohydrates
The G.I of carbohydrate indicates how fast or how slowly it is converted into glucose, once in the blood stream. The Index compares the effects on blood sugar after eating carbohydrate and after eating pure glucose. A food with a G.I of 30 raises blood sugar levels 30% as much as pure glucose.  A Low G.I carbohydrate gives a low rise in blood glucose and in turn a low rise in insulin levels and a High G.I carbohydrate produces high levels of blood glucose and insulin - the higher your blood glucose level, the more insulin is produced to reduce it to "normal levels".

To keep your blood sugars stable it is advisable to choose your carbohydrates between the Low G.I - 55 or lower ranking and the Medium G.I ranking 56-69.  This will also help to keep you to feeling full if you are on a reduction diet, keep lower blood sugars so you won't be building up stores of fat, it can also help prevent carb cravings and hunger.

To search the G.I of other foods click on  www.glycemicindex.com 

You may also find this film by The University of California, informative.  I know I did!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moQZd1-BC0Y
Let me know what you think.  We need to talk about the Food Industry and it's effects on Global Health. Who is responsible?