Carbohydrates. The Real Deal.
If you are like I was, confused about what the heck the deal with carbohydrates are anyway? I mean I have heard they are bad for you but then there are the stories about runners “carbing” up on spaghetti dinners the night before a big race. It had me forever confused until I finally took control by educating myself and going through health coach certification to make sense of it all.
Part of my mission is to help people understand more about their health and how what they put in their body effects their minds. The ideas come from how my mind processed things, which was in the eyes of a confused consumer. Having the education now I love to go back and help make sense of it all as it relates the everyday person wanting to understand more in a confused society that bombards us with new information at lighting speed. I am going to attempt this today with explaining the difference between “good” carbs and “junk” carbs.
Carbohydrates or “carbs” for short is made up of sugars, starch, fiber. The sugar part of a carb quickly converts to energy (think of kids and candy). Starch carbs have a more “complicated” structure which take your body longer to digest. Fiber is a Carb that your body can’t digest for energy but the fiber in the food does many other wonderful things for your body, including helping you feel full longer.
Carbohydrates fall under 1 of 2 categories Complex Carb and Simple Carb (Junk Carb). 1) Complex Carbs which are good for you and include Green Light Foods (fruits and vegetables) and Yellow Light Foods (nuts, seeds, whole grains, etc.). They are absorbed more slowly which provides steady levels of energy released over time. This is why it’s better to eat vegetables with a whole grain than other junk carbs.
I like to use the example my son enlightened me to when he expressed that when I make his smoothie before school with peanut butter, almond milk, banana and flax seed he is able to make it 3 hours easily until lunch without hunger on his mind but when he grabs the school breakfast such as a crescent stuffed with jelly (toaster strudel ring a bell) that he is hungry shortly after. That is because it was a 2) Simple Carbohydrate (aka JUNK CARB) mostly sugar!! No nutritional brain value. No wonder he gets bored, he is starving and the sugar sends him into a crash mid-morning some days. Friends our food system is backwards see where I am going with this? Whoever thought doughnuts were good idea? I digress. Back to carbs!
Here are some examples of “RIGHT CARBS” found in Green and Yellow Light foods.
-Beans and legumes (beans, lentils, peas)
-Whole grain pasta
-Potatoes with skin
-Sweet potatoes
“JUNKY” Carbs are Red Light foods and do not have much fiber or protein. In most case it’s zero nutritional value. Sugars found in soda, cookies, candy, cakes are digested quickly so they make you feel hungry soon. Your blood sugar rises and falls and makes you crave it all over again.
Our bodies need carbohydrates because they provide us with energy to think, move, play and learn. But we need to fuel them with healthy food vs toxic processed food. Knowing that the type of Carb I put in my body completely makes a difference in my mood, energy levels and brain power this enough cause for me to make changes I hope it does you too. One thing that motivated me to eat better was to keep in the forefront of my thought process: Toxic brain equals toxic mind and healthy vibrant brains equal happy healthy beings.
Love and Light~
Amber
Pic Below: Acai House Bowl that will be featured at Vibe Organic Juice Bar
