Should you really be c
If you see bread and pasta as the enemy, think again. They fuel our bodies and help us lose weight, says HANNAH EBELTHITE
WE ALL know that cakes, biscuits and white bread are high in carbohydrates. So too are chips, crisps and pastries. If you find these foods are derailing your good health intentions, it seems logical to think that drastically cutting back on carbs might be the sensible solution.
Going low-carb has gone from being a diet fad to a mainstream choice, taking over from eating low-fat or counting calories as the fashionable way to lose weight. Diets such as Atkins first popularised this but today it’s social media that stokes the low-carb fire. “Health” bloggers may rave about clean eating and ditching wheat and sugar, hailing low or no-carb eating as the key to burning fat and shedding pounds. But are they right – should we see carbohydrates as the devil in our diet? We look at the evidence. They are one of the three main nutrients in our diet, the others being protein and fat. “Hardly any foods contain just one macronutrient and most contain a combination of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in varying amounts.
Your body needs all three to function properly,” explains dietitian Jennifer Low.
“There are three main types of carbohydrate: sugars, starches and fibre. Sugars and starches are broken down by the body into glucose before being absorbed into the bloodstream. From there, glucose enters the body’s cells with the help of insulin which is released from the pancreas.”
Glucose helps make energy to fuel the body. Unused glucose can be converted to glycogen, which is found in the liver and muscles or it can be converted to fat for long-term storage. “As for fibre, this is the part of food that is not broken down.
“It helps you to feel full and this can help you maintain a healthy weight,” says Jennifer. Carbohydrates are our body’s basic fuel – like petrol in a car. They should account for about 50 per cent of our energy intake (about 250g a day). “Glucose from carbs is the main source of fuel for our brain and muscles,” says Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association (BDA). If you’ve ever been really hungry or experienced brain fog, low mood and fatigue on a low-carb diet, it’s because your glucose supply is low. Your brain needs carbs.
“Carbs are particularly important for people who are physically active,” adds Jennifer. “A diet too low in carbs can lead to a lack of energy during exercise, early fatigue and delayed recovery. Likewise, you need to replenish depleted energy stores after exercise with a carb-rich snack, such as a banana smoothie.”
Carbohydrates provide other important nutrients too. Vegetables, pulses, wholegrains and potatoes (skin on) all provide fibre to help promote bowel health, reduce the risk of constipation, lower cholesterol and help us feel full.
They also provide us with vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron and B vitamins.