Since baby Bastian (my friend Karol’s baby) was born, we get together “to celebrate” the months of the baby. I know, I know some people think we are crazy, but we just see it as an excuse of getting together and talk. We get there after work and we literally rush to take the picture with Bastian and the month celebration cake before he falls asleep… which happens in 3, 2, 1, and he’s gone sleeping. So yes it is just an excuse to see each other, talk just about anything and of course, have a piece of CAKE.
One day we were talking about carbs, the good ones, the bad ones, and in general. I don’t remember if we started talking about them before we had the cake or after. But I was telling them that when I run carbs for me are like gas to a car, I can’t function without them.
Before going into the good ones and the bad ones, let’s explain what Carbohydrates are, they are sugars, protein, starches, fats, and fibers found in fruits, veggies, grains and milk products. They are one of the basic food groups (we need them in order to have a healthy life), they are macronutrients that help our body to obtain energy. Sorry, I should have said they are the main source of energy, and are essential for proper body functioning.
Good Carbs, these are the ones that get absorbed slowly into our systems, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. English Marynelly please… good carbs are whole grains, vegetables, fruits, brown rice, whole oats, whole rye, and beans just to give you some examples. Good Carbs are complex carbohydrates, so they require time to break down or dissolve into glucose, they are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and they are beneficial to the health of the body.
Bad Carbs, these are the ones added to foods during processing. Bad Carbs are also called simple carbohydrates, they rank higher on the glycemic index and are stripped of the minerals, vitamins and fiber during the refining process that they have to go through. In just a few words they are high in sugars and white flour. These types of carbs include refined grains such as muffins, white bread, hamburger buns, pizza crust (yes, please share a moment of silence for that one), pretzels, etc. They supply a large amount of calories and have a negative effect on our body’s blood sugar levels. Other type of bad carbs include baked goods, chips, high fructose, sodas, and others. Sorry but they have no nutritional value, just empty calorie intake. But I have to be honest, sometimes when I run 17 miles I forget all that and I eat a pizza, I guess it’s called balance, ha.
The daily amount recommended for adults is 135 grams, that’s according the National Institute of Health. However, everyone is different so let’s try it this way: The daily carb intake should be between 45 and 65 % of total calories. One gram of Carb equals about 4 calories, so if you are follow a diet of 1,800 calories per day you should be looking between 202 and 292 grams of carbs. People with diabetes should not eat more than 200 grams of carbs per day. Consult a Doctor for more accurate details about this.
We can always minimize the health risk of bad carbs just by eating fewer refined and processed food and carbohydrates. Always go for fresh, your body will thank you for it. But I guess once a month we can splurge into a little bad carbs intake, Bastian would want us to do it! So we only do it for him.
Welcome autumn… Have a great weekend everyone!
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