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July 17, 2017 By Payal Choudhury 3 Comments

Carbohydrates -“Your diet’s fuel”

carbohydrate-addicts-diet-plan1

The way carbohydrates are demonized today, it’s no wonder that so many people actually fear eating them. I used to be one of them. As a recovering “carb-o-phobe,” I’m now on the flip side and advocate eating complex carbohydrates for optimal nutrition.

Carbohydrates are nutrients that act as a good source of energy for our body. It is made up of sugar, starch and cellulose and it contains hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio 2:1which is the same as that of water. Although carbohydrates can be digested a lot easier than fats or proteins, they aren’t considered indispensable for the body.

While some carbohydrates make us healthy, others can be harmful to our health, if taken in excess quantities. For example, certain carbohydrates increase the risk of diabetes and heart ailments. So why are certain carbohydrates are beneficial and others adversely affect our health?…We need to go deeper and learn about the different forms of carbohydrates.

There are many forms of carbohydrates, but the three common forms are sugars, starches, and fibres. The basic unit of all carbohydrates is a sugar molecule. Then there are simple and complex carbohydrates. While sugars are simple carbohydrates, starches and fibres are classified as complex.

We generally consume simple and complex carbs. To understand what they are about, we’ll look at the list of carbohydrate rich foods and all that is essential for.

Simple carbohydrates are sugars composed of monosaccharide (single sugar molecules) or disaccharides (two joined sugar molecules) such as glucose, sucrose, lactose, and fructose. This category of carbohydrates is best found in fresh fruits.

On the other hand, however, there is another grade of foods that contain simple carbohydrates. This class of foods is processed foods. The trouble with these foods is that they provide energy and calories in abundance. It is for this reason that these high-calorie products must be kept away. Apart from that, simple carbohydrates that the body obtains from natural foods are also easier to digest than those obtained from processed foods.

Simple carbohydrates contain one or two sugar molecules linked together and are digested or broken down into glucose faster, because the bonds in these small molecules are easily accessible to the enzymes of the digestive tract. Hence, these carbohydrates are readily absorbed.

Complex carbohydrate:

Complex carbohydrates (or polysaccharides) are made up of three or more sugar molecules that are bound together. Since these carbohydrates get digested slowly, they release sugar into the system very gradually, thus allowing the body a consistent level of energy.

Often referred to as starch, foods that contain these complex carbohydrates are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fibres. The old belief that starch is bad for the body is rapidly dying, because starches by themselves contain only 4 calories per gram, while fat contains 9 calories per gram. Also, the advantage with complex carbohydrates is that they fill you up quicker, thus allowing a reduced intake of food, which very simply leads to a reduced calorie intake.

In addition, refined carbohydrates may contain hydrogenated vegetable oils, additional fat, and processed sugars. Eating refined carbohydrates like a cookie in the morning will neither give you the energy nor give you the nutrition to maintain a balanced body.

Benefits of simple sugars:

Eating sugar gives you immediate access to fuel. There are times when this is an advantage. When the level of sugar in your blood drops, you may feel sluggish or even ill. Eating a simple carbohydrate, such as a fruit, may raise your blood sugar and give you the burst you need.

Simple carbohydrates may have the advantage over complex when it comes to preparing for exercise. Before a training session, race or game, many athletes eat a large amount of carbohydrate to provide energy. So before any workout, simple carbohydrates are your best choice. Due to the fact that they’re digested more quickly, simple carbohydrates are good for athletes who need short bursts of energy, as opposed to endurance athletes who need longer-term energy from slow-digesting carbohydrates. Examples of pre-workout meals that contain simple carbs are bananas with honey, low-fat yogurt with jelly or chocolate milk.

Complex Sugars:

There a number benefits of eating more complex carbohydrates, so it might be necessary to make some switches. Here are some examples of easy substitutions:

  • Instead of white bread and pasta, switch to whole grain bread and pasta (if the switch is intimidating at first, try mixing half whole grain and half white when making your pastas).
  • Instead of munching on chips, try raw vegetables.
  • Instead of rice, try eating more beans as a base for dishes.

Also diets rich in fibre help to keep us ‘regular’ which also promotes greater intestinal health and, in turn, helps to guard against a number of illnesses including colorectal cancer. Immunity is strengthened. It contributes to Energy, Digestion, Metabolism, Sleep, Filling fibre, Brain function, and Nervous system function.

Well, to distinguish simple and complex carbohydrates and how they are processed by the body, one might think that foods containing complex carbohydrates are actually healthier than those that have simple carbohydrates. However, this is not always true. Rice is rich in starch which is a complex carbohydrate, while fruits contain fructose which is a simple sugar. But we all know that between the two, fruits are a better option when it comes to eating healthy.

Thus, we see that not all carbohydrates are bad. In fact, a balanced diet that has a fair share of carbohydrates, is essential for a healthy you. So let go of your carbohydrate fears and feel good about including some of these foods and reap the benefits that good carbohydrates have to offer.

 

March 30, 2016 By Princee Kalra 3 Comments

‘Do not blame the fats for what the carbohydrate did!’

carbohydrate-foods

More than calculating calories it’s imperative to count the composition of each meal with respect to carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Let us Centre our attention on carbohydrates. India is a carbohydrate rich country but, carbohydrate over time is not doing much good to us. All our concerns lie with consuming excess carbohydrate. Carbohydrate (Sugars & Starches) forms a greater proportion of our diet and hence there is manifestation of carbohydrate toxicity which in turn is leading us on the road to impaired insulin levels, weight gain, hormonal imbalance & cardiovascular diseases.

Carbohydrates, like any other nutrient are beneficial only if consumed in the right proportion. The right amount of carbohydrate for most Indians is about 55-60% of total calories with emphasis on complex variety as against 70-72% being consumed at present.  Much of the benefits attributed to carbohydrate foods come from slow digesting, complex variety. They are high in fibre, low in fat and a good source of vitamins hence a crucial part of diet.

Balancing carbohydrate intake is central for managing our diet. So how do we know if we are having the right proportion?

  • Firstly, we need to distribute carbohydrate in our main meals plus in our snacking hours. Piling up carbohydrates during main meals and skipping it at snacks creates a problem.
  • Ditch the wheatflour in chapatti and white rice in main meals atleast thrice a week, try variety of complex carbohydrates such as

Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Ragi or Red Millet (Nachni), Corn or Maize, Quinoa, Oats, Barley, Semolina(Rava), broken wheat and brown rice. These taste great in our age old recipes such as Sorghum bread, Mix flour cutlets, Ragi or Red Millet Porridge, Mix Flour breads, Brown Rice steamed Idlis, Semolina Pancake, Corn bread, Pearl millet roasted crispy breads!!

  • Avoid refined carbohydrates like Bread (sandwiches), Maida(is a finely milled refined and bleached, closely resembling Cake Flour (Biscuits, Bakery Items, Noodles, Fried Breads (Puri, Bhatura, Naan), Pasta, White Sauce), Sugar (White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Soft Drinks, Energy Drinks, Sugar Containing Breakfast Cereals, Sweets, Chocolates).
  • Simple carbohydrate such as Fresh fruits are great but avoid fruit juices, 1 glass fruit juice has triple the amount of carbohydrate!
  • Please do not consider Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam (Suran), Colocasia (Arvi) as vegetable, consider it in a carbohydrate rich cereal group. Limit adding of these in vegetables – we love potato mixed with all possible vegetables and even cereals.
  • Do not get tricked with Wheatflour written on food products, Wheatflour is essentially Maida(is a finely milled refined and bleached, closely resembling Cake Flour). Choose food products that have atleast 75% whole wheat flour (WHOLE word is important)! (Oops, do check your brown breads ;))
  • Do not eliminate carbohydrate from your diet just to have a temporary goal satisfaction. Balance is important. It is not the carbohydrate that is immoral but our very low intake of protein and wrong fats, so be smart and choose your foods wisely.

•          Lastly do not eat carb alone – couple 1 serving carb with 1 serving protein & 1 serving vegetables.

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