Good Versus Bad Carbs: Revealing Myths

Although they are delicious and irresistible, carbohydrates can be terrible if your goal is to lose weight. We do not need to tell you that they increase the risk of suffering from diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, heart failure and diabetes, right? Well, there are good and bad carbs. Let’s take a look.

On many pages on the internet you can find people who claim that carbohydrates make you fat and sick.

You will also find some others who claim that carbohydrates are indispensable for optimal health.

So, are there good carbs or not?

Myths about good versus bad carbs

Myth 1: Carbohydrates inevitably make you fat

When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into different types of sugar, including glucose. As this level in your blood increases, your pancreas begins to secrete more insulin.

This allows the cells to absorb and convert glucose into energy. On the other hand, insulin is also involved in fat storage. For this reason, we are talking about bad carbohydrates that cause weight gain.

However, not all carbohydrates are the same. Consider the following: an apple and a donut have about 25 grams of carbohydrates.

What do you think will cause the glucose level to increase rapidly? The donut, of course.

Unlike the apple, which has 4.4 grams of fiber, the donut contains only 0.8 grams. The fiber helps to delay the absorption of glucose in the blood.

On the other hand, thanks to the fiber, the apple will make you happy longer, which translates into good carbohydrates.

For this reason , the type and quality of carbohydrates you eat will determine how your body responds to them.

Myth 2: It is not natural for humans to have a high carbohydrate diet

We got the idea that carbohydrates are bad based on the fact that people previously had very little carbohydrates in their diets.

If we look more closely, however, the intake of carbohydrates has varied according to the latitude in which they lived.

For example, it is said that the Inuit tribes, who did not have access to fruit and varied food, ate a very small amount of carbohydrates.

However, it is known that they got in you carbohydrates by chewing the skin of whales, walrus liver, berries, dried fruit and seaweed when available.

Carbohydrate intake varied widely among ancient cultures. Although some had to make an extra effort, everyone ate good carbs.

Myth 3: You can only lose weight if you follow a ketogenic diet

It is believed that the less carbohydrates you eat, the faster you will lose weight. Of course, by switching from a diet rich in carbohydrates to one that is low in fat, you will easily lose body fat.

However, consuming less and less carbohydrates does not necessarily lead to weight loss faster.

In some people, weight loss with a ketogenic diet is greater because they end up reducing calorie intake because they either eat more high- fiber foods or eat less than they need.

However, another group of people do not lose as much weight as certain hormones are regulated, such as cortisol, which increases when you do not eat good carbohydrates.

Although this mechanism is normal, cortisol production can be adverse to health if:

• You suffer from adrenal fatigue.
• You do not get enough exposure to the sun.
• Stress affects your well-being.
• You do not sleep regularly enough.

Keep in mind that the drastic reduction in carbohydrates without improving your diet and lifestyle does not necessarily accelerate weight loss.

Myth 4: Eating too few carbohydrates can not harm anyone

Although many people are very good at having a low carb diet, it can adversely affect your health.

During pregnancy, for example, it is necessary to eat enough carbohydrates to ensure that the baby’s brain develops properly. Without carbohydrates, you will probably increase your protein intake.

If this reaches an intake that is higher than 25% of the total calories, your baby may be born with low weight. You may even increase the risk of perinatal mortality.

In athletes, it can lead to lower performance, increase weight or even make them need more time to recover after training.

When you have hypothyroidism and follow a low-carbohydrate diet, insulin levels go down. This causes your body to be unable to convert the inactive T4 hormone correctly to the active hormone T3.

For this reason, the symptoms of hypothyroidism may suddenly appear. You can also affect the production of substances in your intestinal flora, which can lead to various problems, from obesity to skin diseases.

Good versus bad carbs, Myth 5: Low carb diets are dangerous and useless

A low carb diet is a powerful therapeutic tool against:

• Being overweight
• Type 1 and 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Traumatic brain injury
• Epilepsy
• Alzheimer’s
• Parkinson’s disease
• Anxiety
• Depression

It is possible that many of these diseases are generated by consuming refined carbohydrates, but you can not judge all carbohydrates in the same way, because not all are bad.

Therefore, it is important that you learn how to reduce the bad ones as well as how to incorporate the good carbohydrates into your routine.

Consult your doctor regarding your ideal diet according to your needs.