Why are we so afraid of carbs?

High carbohydrate foods in the past used to represent main cause for weight gain. However, today we know this claim is far away from being true. Naturally, one should know the difference in quality of various carbs, and also the way carbs are prepared. It is clear how fried or breadcrumbed food carries a significant energy value, and you’ll all agree there is a big difference between a wheat-bread and some cake for instance, even though both belong to carbs. Still, it is important to know that carbs have less calories per gram in relation to fats or alcohol. In that way carbs, and proteins too, contain 4 kcal/g, diet fibre 2 kcal/g, while alcohol contains 7 kcal/g and fats and oils 9 kcal/g. It is important to be familiar with a glycemic index of carbs to discern that high-quality group among them. Do you know the difference? Well, half an hour after we consummated carbs, our blood glucose (sugar) level increases. If the ingredient in question has a high glycemic index (GI), our blood sugar will abruptly increase, and after will rapidly fall down making us more hungrier in the end than we had been before.

Consummation of low glycemic index foods will make our blood sugar increase gradually, and it will gradually be decreased, meaning the feeling of satiety will be much longer and we will not crave caloric food as much. You must be wandering, if all that is true, why low-carb-diets melt pounds so effectively? Queen diet among many of similar carbs-restricted diets is the infamous Atkins diet that involves consummation of proteins and fats, while carbs are completely forbidden, so the body needs to use its own energy reserves like fat, including body fat, carbs and glucose. However, glucose molecules attach water so you may at first seem to be losing some weight, but in reality you did not loose any fat. This diet and many similar other only lead you to the uncontrolled intake of fate causing serious health problems like raising cholesterol level, increasing risk of blood system disease, even tumours. Hopefully, this article has made you change the negative attitude you may had about the carbs. And by all means, don’t be afraid of taking carbs like wheat-bread, rice or pasta, these foods will not make you fat but will give you a long-lasting feeling of satiety.

L. Rađa