Are Carbohydrates Good or Bad?

Are carbohydrates good or bad?  Are they the culprit for thickening American waistlines?  When you think of carbohydrates, does your mind conjure up heaping mounds of bread, pasta, potatoes and rice?  These are the foods that will make you fat.  Right?  Well – yes and no.  Avoiding carbohydrates is not healthy either.

It is true that the typical American diet is loaded with too many of the wrong kinds of carbohydrate.  So yes – getting less of those is a good thing.  Both the amount and type of carbohydrate makes a difference.

All food is made up of some combination of carbohydrate, protein, fat and water.  They are all important for our good health.  Where we get into trouble is with volume and processing.  We get too many carbs (and too many calories) in processed forms:  chips, cookies, candy, soft drinks, fruit drinks, etc.  These foods make us want more and they digest quickly, leaving us hungry again soon. 

Breads, pasta and rice – when refined – are also quickly digested.  With this group of foods, I suspect the main culprit is quantity.  They are easy to overeat, especially when compared to whole grain foods which are simply more filling.  Popular diets like Atkins and South Beach reduce calories by cutting out those excesses. 

But low carbohydrate diets don’t differentiate type of carbohydrates, which makes a difference.  They promote relying on protein, but your body can only use so much.  When it gets more protein than it needs, it just removes the nitrogen and treats the remaining string of cells like any other carb.  Then your kidneys have to safely process all that extra nitrogen.

If your dinner is primarily meat and vegetable, you will typically eat a larger portion of meat than you would have if you had included a whole grain starch with the meal.  Vegetables are filling but their low calorie level can leave you searching for snacks later.  If you include a complex carb with dinner, you can eat less meat and still be satisfied.

Carbohydrates can be some of the healthiest food you eat - if you choose wisely.  Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dried beans are rich in the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that our bodies need to keep us healthy.  Cutting these out robs us of the efficient energy produced by plants, soil and sun.

An easy way to think about healthy carbs is that, in general, less processing is better.   Juice is a good example; it is a condensed form of fruit without the fiber.  In a glass of orange juice you get the juice of several oranges, but if you ate an orange you probably would eat just one.  A little juice is fine, but fresh fruit is better. Avoid fruit flavored beverages because they are mostly sugar and water with a few additives.

Whole grains are trickier to buy than you would think.  There are whole shelves of multi-grain products – but the main ingredient is usually wheat flour, which is white flour.  Don’t rely on the front of a package.  Read the label: look for a first ingredient that is whole wheat, whole rye, whole oats, sprouted wheat or another whole grain.  Also check fiber content.   True whole grains usually have at least three grams of fiber in a serving.

Better yet, use whole whole-grains.  Brown rice is a good choice but branch out.  Try red or black rice, quinoa, barley, millet, faro, wheat or oat berries.  I like to cook a combination of grains in my rice cooker.  They have a delicious, chewy texture that makes white rice seem boring.  Rice cookers make it easy because they cook and then hold the grain until you are ready to eat, so that timing is not a problem.  Some of the grains, like quinoa, faro and whole wheat couscous cook quickly.

Dried beans and legumes are another healthy source of whole grains.  They are high in fiber, high in protein and nutrient rich.  I have made Wednesdays beans-and-rice day at my house.  I bought a pressure cooker so I can use dried beans, but canned beans are fine, especially if you choose the lower sodium version.  Try substituting rice or potatoes with baked beans or bean salad. I have some good recipes on my website.

What about potatoes?  Because potatoes have a high glycemic index, meaning that they raise blood sugar, many experts recommend avoiding them.  Yet, like other whole foods, they contain lots of nutrients.  My recommendation is to go ahead and enjoy them, but only once or twice a week, and in their whole form.  When mashed, you will typically eat twice as many potatoes.  Try the purple and blue varieties; they contain the same type of antioxidants found in blueberries.  And sometimes have yams or sweet potatoes instead; they have less impact on blood sugar and add nutrient variety.

Back to the original question: Are carbohydrates good are bad?  Sugar and refined carbohydrates clearly do not promote health, especially in quantity.  Whole-food carbohydrates are good for you, and the diets that include them are healthy and satisfying.  My clients are surprised at the results they get when they add more healthy carbs to their meals:  they usually have less cravings and less impulse to snack between meals.  When your meals are satisfying, the other foods are less tempting.  This is a good thing!

Kathy Nichols is the Healthy Habits Coach. Kathy blends her background as a registered dietitian with life coaching to help you create healthy and sustainable habits. Contact Kathy at 707 431-7524, Kathy@HealthyHabitsCoach.com or www.HealthyHabitsCoach.com. Blog: www.HealthyHabitsCoach.wordpress.com