Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs
Why are good carbs like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains (especially cooked whole grains) so good for us? Let us count just some of the many ways.
Good carbs are:
Low to moderate in calorie density, which means we can eat filling amounts and satisfy our hunger, but not worry about going overboard on calories.
High in an enormous variety of nutrients.
Devoid of refined sugars and refined grains. In America, refined sugars like corn syrup now make up more than 20% of the calories we eat each day. That’s a big problem because our human bodies evolved over centuries and centuries to metabolize unrefined carbohydrates. We’re equipped to handle corn. We’re clueless about high fructose corn syrup. Daily tsunamis of sugar in our bloodstream are directly linked to our current epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
High in naturally occurring fiber, which helps lower not only blood sugar and insulin levels but also LDL bad cholesterol. Fiber-rich foods also help you fill up on fewer calories so that you can lose weight more easily. A high-fiber diet also helps prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, and certain cancers. Americans average just 12 to 15 grams of fiber a day. Nutrition experts say we ought to be getting at least 35 to 50 fiber grams daily.
Low in sodium.
Low in saturated fat.
Very low (often zero) cholesterol, and no trans fats.
Fake, processed (bad) carbs, the carbs consumed by most Americans, are:
High in calorie density. (Just a few bites of a corn dog or energy bar, and you’ve taken in a bunch of calories.)
High in refined sugars (whether white sugar, corn syrup, or so-called “natural” sugars like honey and added fruit juices).
High in refined grains like white flour.
Low in many nutrients.
Low in fiber.
High (often very high) in sodium.
Sometimes high in saturated fat.
Sometimes high in cholesterol and trans fats.
From the bullets above, it’s easy to see how a diet rich in good carbs can lead to a lean body and good health. And how a diet of processed carbs like white flour and sat-fat-rich foods like 16-ounce steaks and cheeseburgers has busted not only our health but our health-care system.