Carb question

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toots99
toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How can I look at something and be able to identify it as a bad or high carb? I mean, I can look at most things and be able to identify it as mostly sugar (jellies, juices, condiments, etc.), or I can look at something and tell if it's bad fats (sauces, creamy dressings, etc). But I don't know how to look at something and identify it as bad or high carbs-wise. Does that make sense?

Any tips? Are there good carbs and bad carbs? The only thing I've heard about recognizing carbs is it's mostly white food - white bread, white pasta, flour, etc. I don't know how true that is though.

Replies

  • trivette
    trivette Posts: 2 Member
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    You're right bad carbs are mostly anything white. All white bread and flours and white rice. When looking at bread or rice if the first ingredient says something like enriched white flour...AVOID it. The first ingredient should be whole wheat. Even some breads that say wheat are not truly whole wheat. Also for the most part any carbs found in processed food items like salad dressings, etc are mostly bad for you.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Thank you!

    If someone can, please take a look at my food diary and politely let me know if I am making 'good' carb choices, or if there's some things I can choose differently or what. I just don't know enough about carbs and would like to learn more.
  • burbmama
    burbmama Posts: 51
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    I am watching my carbs...the bad ones. I was looking at your food diary and it is similiar to the way I eat but I had a question....I have never seen carbs that high on chicken. Was that the same on the label. I think something might be wrong with that... :)
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    I am watching my carbs...the bad ones. I was looking at your food diary and it is similiar to the way I eat but I had a question....I have never seen carbs that high on chicken. Was that the same on the label. I think something might be wrong with that... :)

    Oh thank God you said something! I have been wondering why the carb count on chicken was so high, but didn't think to question it because I entered the info in myself, a few months ago. Silly me never thought to double check myself. I muct have entereed the amount of potassium (which is right above it) in the wrong box. Whew! That makes me feel a lot more settled! :laugh:
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
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    The way my Doctor and naturopath put it is if the carbs are not grown (nuts, fruits, veggies) they are bad for you.

    There are very few "bad" fats though...........
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
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    Chicken should be 0 carbs unless it is breaded or injected with some type of sugary solution..............

    Plain, raw chicken is 0 carb.
  • Jesusfollower72
    Jesusfollower72 Posts: 95
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    Something to consider, the more "processed" a food is, typically the higher it will be on the glycemic index (which is one way to measure a good vs bad carb). For example, eating a whole apple will have a lower glycemic index than applesauce, and applesauce would be lower than apple juice. That's one reason why flour is higher on the glycemic index because you're body doesn't have to do as much to break the food down so it's absorbed faster.
    I hope that helps.
    God bless,
    Karen
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    The way my Doctor and naturopath put it is if the carbs are not grown (nuts, fruits, veggies) they are bad for you.

    There are very few "bad" fats though...........

    Makes sense, and will be easy to identify those foods.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    Options
    Something to consider, the more "processed" a food is, typically the higher it will be on the glycemic index (which is one way to measure a good vs bad carb). For example, eating a whole apple will have a lower glycemic index than applesauce, and applesauce would be lower than apple juice. That's one reason why flour is higher on the glycemic index because you're body doesn't have to do as much to break the food down so it's absorbed faster.
    I hope that helps.
    God bless,
    Karen

    It does help. I try not to eat too much processed stuff, but I'm not always on point. Baby steps.

    So the more work your body has to do to break it down, the better it is? I'm not sure I understand how the absorption rate is involved...can you explain that to me?

    Thanks for the help, everyone.
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    Options
    Something to consider, the more "processed" a food is, typically the higher it will be on the glycemic index (which is one way to measure a good vs bad carb). For example, eating a whole apple will have a lower glycemic index than applesauce, and applesauce would be lower than apple juice. That's one reason why flour is higher on the glycemic index because you're body doesn't have to do as much to break the food down so it's absorbed faster.
    I hope that helps.
    God bless,
    Karen

    It does help. I try to to eat too much processed stuff, but I'm not always on point. Baby steps.

    So the more work your body has to do to break it down, the better it is? I'm not sure I understand how the absorption rate is involved...can you explain that to me?

    Thanks for the help, everyone.

    Instead of absorbed, a better word might be "metabolized". The less work your body has to do to break it down into a usable form the worse it is for the body.............

    The cooking, baking process takes a lot of work away from the body having to digest it so it goes into the blood stream faster and can cause blood sugar spikes.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    Options
    Something to consider, the more "processed" a food is, typically the higher it will be on the glycemic index (which is one way to measure a good vs bad carb). For example, eating a whole apple will have a lower glycemic index than applesauce, and applesauce would be lower than apple juice. That's one reason why flour is higher on the glycemic index because you're body doesn't have to do as much to break the food down so it's absorbed faster.
    I hope that helps.
    God bless,
    Karen

    It does help. I try to to eat too much processed stuff, but I'm not always on point. Baby steps.

    So the more work your body has to do to break it down, the better it is? I'm not sure I understand how the absorption rate is involved...can you explain that to me?

    Thanks for the help, everyone.

    Instead of absorbed, a better word might be "metabolized". The less work your body has to do to break it down into a usable form the worse it is for the body.............

    The cooking, baking process takes a lot of work away from the body having to digest it so it goes into the blood stream faster and can cause blood sugar spikes.

    Very helpful, thanks for the info!

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