‘Smart’ carbs you can eat
Filling up on carbohydrates can prevent the body from putting on weight – just choose the right ones, says Anna Magee
It is now more acceptable to admit that you’re in AA than to order a pasta dish or to dip into the bread basket. Because carbohydrates are evil, aren’t they? Thanks to popular carb-avoiding diets such as the Atkins and more recently the Paleo, the dietary virtues of meat and fat has meant shunning starches such as rice, bread, potatoes and pasta – even poor old porridge, once considered the breakfast of champions.
Carb-phobia is rampant. In the last 12 months, bread sales in supermarkets have dropped by 8.9 per cent, according to a report by market analysts Nielsen. Even in Italy, sales of pasta have dropped by a staggering 25 per cent since 2009.
But our carb drought isn’t working. Not only is Britain the fattest nation in Europe, we’re also more tired, more hungry and more depressed than ever. “In terms of everyday health, dropping or cutting carbohydrates can make people feel fatigued, because muscles like glycogen as a fuel,” explains Dr Alex Johnstone, a lecturer in nutrition at the University of Glasgow.
Carbohydrates turn into glycogen in muscles, which gives us that “oooomph” needed when we exercise. “Carbohydrate is also the preferred form of fuel for the brain, too,” says Dr Johnstone. It’s one of the reasons people get headachey, foggy-headed or irritable on high-protein, no-carb diets, especially at their outset.
Carbohydrate-free diets have been found to affect gut health, too. “Eating no-carb, high-protein can lead to the production of potentially harmful compounds called n-nitroso in the gut,” says Dr Johnstone. Indeed, studies have found that very high protein diets may increase the risk of colonic disease thanks to such compounds. “Eating slow-release carbohydrates can act as a buffer to help protect the gut from these.”
Indeed, a growing number of nutrition experts are calling time on the “war on carbs”, claiming that eating the right types could be the key to keeping us more satisfied, help us lose weight, increase our energy and even stop food cravings. For these experts, white and processed carbohydrates such as sugars, pasta, commercial breads and doughs, rice and potatoes should be replaced by slowly digestible carbohydrates, served in their most natural states.
“Rapidly-digesting carbohydrates raise insulin levels higher than if you were eating a natural diet,” says Dr David Ludwig, professor of nutrition at Harvard School Public Health and author of Always Hungry (Orion £20). And your muscles love it because it redirects fuel to them. “Insulin is the ultimate fertiliser for your fat cells and directs too many of the calories you’re eating straight into them, then locks the door.
“The key is to eat foods that lower insulin levels by replacing processed carbs with slow-acting carbs,” says Prof Ludwig. “That makes your fat cells open up and release all the pentup calories into the bloodstream. Your brain says: ‘I like this, I have good access to fuel so I can turn off hunger
and cravings’. And your muscles love it because it redirects fuel to them for fitness and exercise and helps build lean muscle.”
In her latest book, Smart Carbs (Orion £16.99), TV presenter Davina McCall distinguishes between “dumb” and “smart” carbs in much the same way that Dr Ludwig names them “fast” and “slow”.
“Smart carbs is just a new name for the types of carbs we’ve been telling people to eat for years,” says Fiona Hunter, the registered nutritionist who advised McCall on the book. What makes these carbs “smart” is threefold. First, they’re low on the Glycaemic Index, or GI, which relates to how quickly they turn to glucose in our blood stream; low is usually considered 55 or less.
“Second, they’re higher in fibre, so you get fuller with smaller portions, which is great for weight loss,” she says. “Lastly, they’re higher in nutrients, so a sweet potato will contain more minerals like betacarotene and B vitamins than the bog-standard white spud.”
Among the hottest smart carbs are a group of slow energy-releasing ‘‘heritage’’ grains, which includes quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). “These grains are released as glucose very slowly into the bloodstream,” says Prof Ludwig. “White bread, or even what passes as wholegrain bread in supermarkets, is made from flour that’s been pulverised into tiny particles that your body will digest very quickly, making you hungry again fast,” he explains. ‘‘‘Ancestral’ or ‘ancient’ grains are more nutritious than today’s wheat. Modern wheat has been “hybridised” to make delicious-tasting bread “for immediate taste-gratification, but it’s not supporting health”.
Dr Ludwig suggests three servings of slow carbs a day for optimum health and weight loss. Fiona Hunter advises about 50 grams per serving – about a fistful. So, next time you’re in a restaurant, why not order that exotic-sounding grain or bread? Just ask the waiter how to pronounce it…