Are carbs really that bad for you??

fteale

It's all about balance. Of course if you have bread/pasta/pizza/potatoes as the bulk of every meal that isn't great nutritionally, but I yet to see any evidence whatsoever that eating within your daily allowance of carbs is anything other than beneficial providing you aren't on an extreme weight loss program (Atkins or IPD). If you do a lot of exercise (cardio, anyway), you need carbs to fuel it. You don't get top athletes cutting out carbs. Note ATHLETES, not weight lifters/body builders.

Some people don't do well with wheat, I am one of them, so if there's a source of carbohydrate you don't get on with, by all means cut it out, but unless you are looking for fast weight loss, or are body building, I think going extremely low carb is pointless. Some carbs, within reason, are fine.

Hirundo

More and more researches tend to show that starchy carbs could be one of the main cause of obesity rather than fat like people loves to tell us for many years .. The best person that explain it simply i have seen was the guy from "Fat Head" movie, maybe you should see that...
In any case, it's very clear that all the white starch like white bread, white pasta, potatoes and etc are transformed by our body the same way as a cube of sugar would be and there is not much more nutritious values than that... It's a lot smarter to choose your starchy carbs from whole grains with more nutrious values and fibers...

Like some people said, carbs are our body's primary fuel... It's important and it's the quality of it that matter ... you want carbs that won't be stored too fast by your body and that will full you for a while...

Fruits and veges aren't the problem, as long you stay under your carbs limits...
Careful to fruit juice, even if you do it at home from fresh fruit .. remember that a fruit juice is water with all the sugar from the fruit that you put in the glass .. it might get you to your limit of carbs faster than you would like ...

sld_6001

i think white potatoes and white rice are worse because they are "simple" carbs. They have no nutrients compared to "complex" carbs. Multi-grain and whole wheat and such for bread and pasta contain more nutrientional value, the calories might be similar per serving but you are acutally getting more value with eating them. if you want to have a balanced diet carbs are necessary. but not all carbs have to come from bread products.

ilookthetype

Carbs does not equal gluten.

^ Winner.

Celiac here, and I can eat carbs....

rbryntes

::sigh:: i was hoping to have an intelligent debate to so people can be better informed, there was no tripping people up, just fleshing out common beliefs and making counter points

The "better informed" is a bit subjective, don't you think? You have a point of view, and whgat works for you, works for you. A Low GI diet works for me - not necessarily in making me lose weight, but in feeling better, because if I eat white bread, potatoes, etc., I get a hyper- and then hypo-glycemic reaction. I used to have to take a nap about an hour after every meal. I do not when I eat a low GI diet. Clearly this works for me. It may not work for you. But it doesn't make me "ill informed" to be following this diet.

bcattoes

My friend who is a sports and fitness major knows alot about dieting and eating right..he claims that carbs ( such as wheat bread ) and pasta are terrible for you??

is this true? am i really gonna have to give up my carbs even though the carbs I eat are not so bad..thxx

Well that is really 2 separate questions. To the subject line: No, of course carbs are not bad for you. Vegetables, fruits and whole grains have carbs and are an important part of a healthy diet. There is a reason most nutrients are contained in foods that also have carbs. To the second (are pasta and bread bad for you), the answer gets more complicated. Some people have problems digesting gluten, which is present in wheat and some other grains, so obviously they should avoid it. But even if you don't have problems with wheat, when grains are ground into flour it causes them to be digested more quickly, which in turn causes your body to release a burst of insulin to process them. Repeatedly causing these insulin rushes can lead to insulin resistance. Whole grains breads and pastas are better than white, but minimally processed whole grains (bulgar wheat, oats, brown rice, etc.) are even better.

HMonsterX

My friend who is a sports and fitness major knows alot about dieting and eating right..he claims that carbs ( such as wheat bread ) and pasta are terrible for you??

is this true? am i really gonna have to give up my carbs even though the carbs I eat are not so bad..thxx

If you like dying, then yes, carbs are terrible for you.

Surely if you like dying, going by this thread and your opinion, carbs would be great!

bcattoes

There are good carbs and bad carbs. Basically any white carb (white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.) is bad. Whole grain carbs (check the ingredients list ... if it includes the word "enriched," leave it alone), even bread and pasta, are fine (and necessary) in moderation.

Fruits and vegetables are also carbs, and no healthy diet should be without those.

So basically white carbs and "enriched" wheat carbs are the ones to stay away from.

curious as to why a white potato or white rice would be worse then lets say a sweet potato or brown rice?

The glycemic load. An average russet potato has a GL of 26, an average sweet potato is 17. White rice has a GL of 23, brown rice is 18.

bcattoes

the theory is that white foods are usually processed, as in white rice, white flour, etc. they are very easy for your body to digest and cause a spike in insulin production which in turn cause sugar which in turn gets stored as fat. also these foods because they have been processed have been leeched of all their nutrients, which is why manufacturers have to enrich them to at least try to put some vitamins back into them. white potatoes are kind of okay. brown rice, whole grains etc have not been processed and therefore take a lot longer for your body to digest and don't cause an insulin spike. they also still have all the nutrients and fibre a body needs.

If it ain't white, it ain't right.

The whiter your bread, the sooner you're dead.

Acg67

There are good carbs and bad carbs. Basically any white carb (white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.) is bad. Whole grain carbs (check the ingredients list ... if it includes the word "enriched," leave it alone), even bread and pasta, are fine (and necessary) in moderation.

Fruits and vegetables are also carbs, and no healthy diet should be without those.

So basically white carbs and "enriched" wheat carbs are the ones to stay away from.

curious as to why a white potato or white rice would be worse then lets say a sweet potato or brown rice?

The glycemic load. An average russet potato has a GL of 26, an average sweet potato is 17. White rice has a GL of 23, brown rice is 18.

so using GL we can rank foods on which is better then others?

bcattoes

There are good carbs and bad carbs. Basically any white carb (white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.) is bad. Whole grain carbs (check the ingredients list ... if it includes the word "enriched," leave it alone), even bread and pasta, are fine (and necessary) in moderation.

Fruits and vegetables are also carbs, and no healthy diet should be without those.

So basically white carbs and "enriched" wheat carbs are the ones to stay away from.

curious as to why a white potato or white rice would be worse then lets say a sweet potato or brown rice?

The glycemic load. An average russet potato has a GL of 26, an average sweet potato is 17. White rice has a GL of 23, brown rice is 18.

so using GL we can rank foods on which is better then others?

Yes, to a point. Naturally nutrient content would play a part, but GL is very important.

rtmama

i think white potatoes and white rice are worse because they are "simple" carbs. They have no nutrients compared to "complex" carbs. Multi-grain and whole wheat and such for bread and pasta contain more nutrientional value, the calories might be similar per serving but you are acutally getting more value with eating them. if you want to have a balanced diet carbs are necessary. but not all carbs have to come from bread products.

since when is a white potato a "simple carb"?

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-potatoes-white-flesh-skin-baked-i11357

I believe everything in moderation. I still occasionally eat white rice and potatoes and sometimes even *gasp* white pasta. Food should be enjoyed not feared.

shakybabe

I'm just looking into this issue too as I don't seem able to lose weight.

For now I'm going mainly gluten free, so no bread unless its gluten free and no pasta.. I am still eating rice and potatoes though but limiting them to not more than once a week and replacing mashed potato with mashed swede somedays or oven chips with sweet potato or turnip chips.

We'll see in a few weeks if its made any difference by the time I need my next food shop.

botography

In my case and I can only speak for me, I have to be very careful with carbs. Once I start, I am an addict. So I try to select the carbs that are deemed most healthy. I will eat wheat bread instead of white, as an example. I stay away from cookies and cakes as another example. I have no science behind my decision other than I shed pounds lots faster if I avoid them and lean toward protein.

bcattoes

i think white potatoes and white rice are worse because they are "simple" carbs. They have no nutrients compared to "complex" carbs. Multi-grain and whole wheat and such for bread and pasta contain more nutrientional value, the calories might be similar per serving but you are acutally getting more value with eating them. if you want to have a balanced diet carbs are necessary. but not all carbs have to come from bread products.

since when is a white potato a "simple carb"?

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-potatoes-white-flesh-skin-baked-i11357

I believe everything in moderation. I still occasionally eat white rice and potatoes and sometimes even *gasp* white pasta. Food should be enjoyed not feared.

It's not, but your body processes it as if it was.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/carbohydrates-full-story/index.html#what-are-carbohydrates

Dividing carbohydrates into simple and complex makes sense on a chemical level. But it doesn't do much to explain what happens to different kinds of carbohydrates inside the body. For example, the starch in white bread and French-fried potatoes clearly qualifies as a complex carbohydrate. Yet the body converts this starch to blood sugar nearly as fast as it processes pure glucose. Fructose (fruit sugar) is a simple carbohydrate, but it has a minimal effect on blood sugar.

SRH7

Bump

Kikilicious84

the theory is that white foods are usually processed, as in white rice, white flour, etc. they are very easy for your body to digest and cause a spike in insulin production which in turn cause sugar which in turn gets stored as fat. also these foods because they have been processed have been leeched of all their nutrients, which is why manufacturers have to enrich them to at least try to put some vitamins back into them. white potatoes are kind of okay. brown rice, whole grains etc have not been processed and therefore take a lot longer for your body to digest and don't cause an insulin spike. they also still have all the nutrients and fibre a body needs.

If it ain't white, it ain't right.

HAHAHA LMAO

keengkong

While training for a marathon, I was told to make sure to eat at least 60 % of my calories from carbohydrates.

sharonsjones

this whole argument drives me bonkers.

Guys, everything in moderation. Wheat is not the enemy. Carbs are not the enemy, protein is not the savior.

it's a case of being smart about your health choices. Unless you have a specific medical condition that precludes a certain food type, all macronutrient food types are fine if you have them in the correct amounts.

the world obesity level didn't rise dramatically because of grain (at least not in the direct sense, I'm not talking about the increase in grain output and transport, which is the other side of the coin), if that was the case it would have risen long ago (we as a race, have been processing grain and corn for thousands of years). It has risen because people eat to much food, and eat to much processed food, that's it, plain and simple. The truth is, most people eat a high percentage of their diet from pre-made foods that are low nutrient density, high caloric value foods without ever knowing what's truly in them as a staple for their diets, this is true the world over. If the world started paying attention to their food choices, and stopped eating foods just because they "fit into their daily lifestyle" then we'd be far better off as a community.

-Banks

Bump! Too much of anything is bad for you!!

TK421NotAtPost

My friend who is a sports and fitness major knows alot about dieting and eating right..he claims that carbs ( such as wheat bread ) and pasta are terrible for you??

is this true? am i really gonna have to give up my carbs even though the carbs I eat are not so bad..thxx

If you like dying, then yes, carbs are terrible for you.

Surely if you like dying, going by this thread and your opinion, carbs would be great!

LOL!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

joejccva71

Carbs are not bad for you. Going over your calorie intake and plopping your a** on the couch over a lengthy period of time is bad for you.

Complex carbs vs Refined carbs is a big debate. Neither will make you fat if you don't go over your calorie intake depending on your muscle glycogen. Complex carbs stay in your system longer making you feel fuller because they are slower to digest.

I can eat very low carb for 3 days, workout at high intensity and deplete my muscle glycogen for those 3 days, then eat over 1000g of carbs in just ONE MEAL on the 4th day, go over my calorie intake by even a few thousand calories, and not gain a single pound nor get fat.

It's not practical, but the point is...no carbs are bad for you.

bluefox9er

If you like dying, then yes, carbs are terrible for you.

Carbohydrates are your bodies most readily available form of energy. Your body can use 3 sources of energy: Carbohydrates, Fat, and Protien. The expression "carbs are the enemy" comes from the idea that your body typically burns off carbs before burning off fat, because its easier to break down for energy. Less carbs, means your body tries to burn fat instead.

The thing is you body needs carbohydrates (unless you are sufferening a medical condition, might be different). Your brain needs carbs, because its function is based off carb usage, not fat usage. The brain can use fat, but its much much more difficult than carb usage.

In short, you need to eat carbs. A well balanced diet, of low carbs low fat is good, but you do need some at the very least.

yay..the voice of reason AT LAST :-) moderation is the key. i watch calories,fat and protein. as a vegetarian, it's not easy. my basic rules are: eat as little as possible of that which is processed, and eat as much as I like of anything that comes out of the ground ( and preferably green).