Good vs Bad Carbs?
Many people and diets out there have completely turned away from carbohydrates as a whole, but why is that? I know so many people that eat carbs (carbohydrates) on a regular basis and are insanely ripped?
WHY IS THAT? Are they eating the "good" carbs and I'm eating the "bad" ones?
in fact, there's no such thing as a "good" carb or a "bad" carb, they just might not be the carb you need for your goal. OR, you might be eating carbs at the wrong times of the day. In order to understand this we have to dig in to simpler version of what a carb is and what they do in our bodies.
CARBOHYDRATE - Organic compound in foods that include sugars, starch, and cellulose. They are broken down and release energy in the body.
CARBS -> BROKEN DOWN TO GLUCOSE -> ENERGY PROVIDED TO BRAIN AND MUSCLES -> EXCESS GLUCOSE IS STORED
Now, carbs used to fall into categories of simple or complex, but now they are categorized based on a scale called the Glycemic Index. This chart allows for us to understand which foods that contain carbs will digest more slowly or quickly in the body. This is IDEAL for anyone exercising because for example, you would want to eat a meal with a high GI rating within 24 hours after exercise in order to help replenish glycogen stores.
Here are a few links to lists containing 60+ different foods and where they fall on the GI Scale.
SO how do we use the GI Scale? Well what is your goal and do you have any underlying conditions preventing you from freely consuming carbs?
If your goal is weight loss, and you are exercising regularly, having carbs is absolutely OK! in fact it will provide energy for your body that it needs in order to perform at optimal levels. We just need to look at that GI Scale and figure out which carbs we are capable of eating and when. Here is an example of a simple breakdown of how you can plan out your meals for the day depending on when you workout:
If you workout in the morning:
Breakfast- Low to Mid GI / Lunch- Mid to Hi GI / Dinner- Low GI
if you workout in the evening
Breakfast- Mid to Hi GI / Lunch- Low to Mid / Dinner- Low GI
In conclusion, you CAN HAVE CARBS and theres no such thing as good or bad carbs. Just all depends on when you're having the carbs, what your goal is, and where the carbs fall on the glycemic index. I hope this helped to some of you!
Sources and links for more details:
Better Health / Harvard / USDA / University Health News / The Good, Bad, and Wholegrain