Good vs bad carbs?
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gimmekimchee_x
Posts: 24 Member
Is this a thing? There are good and bad fats, right? Like fat from a greasy pizza vs fat from an avocado, for example. One is better than the other, right?
I was wondering if the same idea applies to carbs or are carbs just carbs? Like carbs in a carrot and carbs in a tortilla for example, is one better than the other? Does that play a factor in a keto diet at all?
I was wondering if the same idea applies to carbs or are carbs just carbs? Like carbs in a carrot and carbs in a tortilla for example, is one better than the other? Does that play a factor in a keto diet at all?
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Keto restricts to 20gm carb so if you take seeds or carrot your intake carb will be complete. In general, There are good carb and bad carbs.0
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short answer: yes (for type) and no (for keto).
long answer: for the first question, i will go with "yes, there are 'good' carbs and there are 'bad' carbs". for keto, no, it does not play into it other than what you choose to subtract from the total (e.g. fiber & sugar alcohols). there is debate about the first among the lower-than-SAD-carb eating approaches.
i think the important part of the question is what will work for _you_ rather than as a wide-gamut answer. there are people on the group that are fine with sugar alcohols and do not track them; there are those that do not react well and avoid them or count them in their carb intake.1 -
For me, good carbs are the ones that are nutrient dense. Looking at my daily macros I try to make sure that they are coming more from veggies and the like and not incidental sugars or nutrient poor foods like refined grains.3
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Yes! A “good” carb would be the carb from say a Brussels sprout, and a “bad” carb would be from cheerios. But, once eaten carbs are metabolized the same way. They all are broken down into sugar and used for energy in the “sugar burning” population.
The goal of Keto is to restrict carbs enough to make your body use fat for energy (ultimately burn the fat in our body already, not what we eat). The body actually prefers to be a “fat burner”.
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@KarlaYP is that across the board, that the human body prefers burning fat to carbs, across the board or more on a body-by-body basis? (apologies on not having read up on that yet; i know that my impression is that it tends to be body-by-body. if that is wrong, i apologize). i know for sure that my n=1 prefers it.0
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I’m sure that would always be a body to body thing @zanyterp. Nothing is ever for everyone. But from what I’ve read (I’m bad at recall of specific books and authors) the body prefers that state. Look at how many of us are seeing improvements in our health from it. Even those who aren’t doing it for health reasons, we never know what they’re preventing by being Keto.
Sorry to hyjack your post OP!2 -
I like to think of these things in the good and bad way as well but there are so many directions this kind of topic can go. Avocado fat is great in the moderation but transfat not so great etc.
For me, the biggest thing I look at in carbs are their glycemic load/index scores. How fast is that breakdown going to hit me for the purpose of keeping my blood sugar happy. When I am inside an hour of a Hot Yoga class and want a boost I am cool with taking a Glucose Tablet for the nearly instant fuel I will get. When I'm sitting on the couch doing nothing I want no carbs or as little impact as possible.3 -
I generally consider good carbs to be any whole carb and bad carbs to be any processed carb. Carbs exist in nature in conjunction with the nutrients needed to digest them, but when we process them down and strip them of their nutritional value, then they become junk food, not real food. White sugar, white flour, polished rice, these things are calories without any nutritional value. Which isn't to say I never have these things, but I recognize them as junk food and limit the intake to occasionally rather than making them a staple in my eating. I try to stick to veggies for carbs, sometimes potatoes or rice, very rarely sugar or pasta/bread.5
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I was listening to a podcast the other day and they said if you can eat it raw and unprocessed (broccoli, carrot, Brussels sprout) go for it. I would add if it fits your macros and doesn’t mess with you.3
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I agree that the best (in terms of health and nutrition) carbs are carbs that are whole foods and still have their natural fibre and nutrients intact. The worst carbs are the highly processed and refined ones like flours and man made sugars. ymmv
I think whether carbs are good or bad comes down to you individual health needs. I am (was) diabetic so BG us an issue for me, plus I am a celiac and tend not to absorb nutrients as easily (plants are less bioavailable), and sugars tend to cause inflammation more than other foods which does not help my AI issues. Other people wi be able to use carbs better.
But... I am if the opinion that carbs are one of the least useful or healthful macros for all, above alcohol but below protein and fat. JMO4 -
Carbs are absolutely not essential - there are lots of people who do zero carb and find it works well with their body...whole societies in human history were zero carb or seasonally zero carb and they thrived and multiplied and lived generation after generation. No one really NEEDS carbs to survive and thrive as a human, just as no one really NEEDS to eat animal products to survive and thrive as a human...we are quite adaptable creatures and the real trick is finding that magic spot where you as an individual thrive most.1
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I'd say, any "empty" carbs are bad. There's little to no other nutrients coming with it. The idea of a good carb is if it comes along with other nutrients that are good for you. They still have to be limited tho1
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Thank you everyone
every answer was helpful. 2 -
gimmekimchee_x wrote: »There are good and bad fats, right? Like fat from a greasy pizza vs fat from an avocado, for example. One is better than the other, right?
Just to address this, one of these fats is probably better than the other. But, I am willing to bet you think it's the avocado. It's actually the grease from the cheese and meat on the pizza. The best fats are saturated animal fats. Avocado and some other plant oils like olive oil are probably fine. They're definitely a step down from lard, butter, or tallow. The worst possible fats are vegetable and seed oils. Well, vegetable-based transfats are even worse than those, but I lump all those vegetable oils together.
There are different quality fats. You would be much better off drinking a cup of grease drained off a pizza than a cup of vegetable oil.3
