What are good carbs and bad carbs........

auntkaren

Can you give me an example of what foods are considered good carbs and those that are bad carbs? Why are they called bad carbs?

auntkaren

Can you give me an example of what foods are considered good carbs and those that are bad carbs? Why are they called bad carbs?

vicky1

bad carbs or simple carbs are things like white rice, pasta, white bread etc these are all processed and your body can turn them to fat easily I think it is to do with the sugar value of a carb.

Good carbs are complex carbs like wholewheat bread, potatoes, wholewheat pasta, brown rice etc. your body has to break these carbs down so you are sustained for longer.

I think fruit comes under simple carbs so I think it is wrong to call them bad carbs as fruit definately isn't bad for you.

There seems to so much attn paid to carbs since the atkins diet came about I think it is all about everything in balance is the way to go don't starve your body of anything dunno thats just my take on it.

songbyrdsweet

I'd suggest checking out a GI chart. GI measures the effect of a food on your blood sugar. A high-GI food causes a large spike in blood sugar, and should be used sparingly. A medium or low-GI food creates smaller increases and can be used more often. Most of your carbs should come from low-GI foods. A lot of fruit is actually low-GI.

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

^^ That's a GI chart, it should be able to help.

I should also add that the fat content of a food can change its GI....so for instance, a Snickers bar is low-GI, but it's high in fat so the blood sugar doesn't spike as quickly. That doesn't make it nutritious though.

auntkaren

Thank you

jcummings69

Well according to that chart white rice and brown rice are only a few points off. So how come white rice is so much worse than brown rice?

astridfeline

Well according to that chart white rice and brown rice are only a few points off. So how come white rice is so much worse than brown rice?

Brown rice retains the outer hull which is all fiber. Fiber is a great nutrient, it makes you feel fuller faster, it aids digestion and elimination.

songbyrdsweet

Well according to that chart white rice and brown rice are only a few points off. So how come white rice is so much worse than brown rice?

Astride is right...you also need to look at total nutrient content. But a lot of what people think is based on the huge generalization that "white is bad and brown is good." Fruit and white starches get a bad reputation when in fact their GI profile varies greatly.