Energizing Carbohydrates
Oh, carbohydrates. There are dieters who have demonized you. Carbs make you
fat! There are athletes who have thanked you. I need to carbo-load! Same
nutrient, opposing points of view. What’s a person supposed to believe about
pasta and pancakes?
First, this shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing discussion—that is, you either eat
carbs or you don’t. Your policy should be based on an understanding of what
carbs are and what they do. They take many forms—fibre is one and so is sugar
—and the form dictates how they work in the body. All forms of carbohydrates
serve as an immediate source of energy. When your body needs to get calories to
your brain, heart, muscles, and more, it takes quickly accessible carbohydrates
and converts them to energy. So that’s good. But when you have too much of
that fast-track-carb-turned-to-glucose, you’re suddenly at risk for all the issues I
talked about in chapter 1—insulin problems, too much circulating blood sugar,
fat storage, and more.
So the way to think about carbohydrates is to separate them into two groups.
Complex carbs are the ones that take a long time for your body to break down
and digest. Simple carbs are the ones that your body converts to blood sugar in a
New York minute.
How do you know which is which? The foods rich in carbs that come in their
natural form are complex—beans, 100% whole grains, vegetables. The foods
that are processed with added sugar or are stripped of some of their minerals
(meaning that they’re not 100% wholegrain) are the ones you want to avoid.