The Truth About Carbohydrates, An Inside Look

Many popular diets focus on the idea of a diet low in carbohydrates as a way to loose weight. However, are we missing out on some of the benefits of carbs in the process? We’ll take a closer look at carbs in general in “Your Questions Answered” as we work through this is a great set of your questions from @science_couple Twitter: What should we know about carbs?

Question: What key metric(s) should we be looking at to evaluate carbs?

Answer: For processed foods, it is best to avoid products with Added sugar. However, starches and fiber are good forms of carbohydrates to include in your diet!

Why do carbohydrates get a bad wrap? Well, it comes down to the fact that we tend to believe that all carbohydrates are equal, when our bodies actually treat them differently. There are three main types of carbohydrates: sugar, starches, and fiber. Let’s dive deeper into each type of carbohydrate below:

Sugar: Added vs in it’s natural state

If sugar was bad for us then why do we have the saying “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away?” Well, it’s not that sugar in it’s natural state is bad, in fact our cells need glucose (or even fructose) to survive! It provides energy to our cells. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate which means our bodies don’t have to work much in order to use it. The problem is when we extract it in order to ADD it back into something else, we miss the package that sugar came in.

Where is added sugar hiding in your diet? With the new Nutritional labels that came out in 2020, they are now hiding in plain sight. The American Heart Association recommends a cut off of 6 teaspoons, but we say why stop there? It’s best to aim as low as possible, since there are plenty of natural sources of sugar. However, I wouldn’t fret over the teaspoon of sugar you add to your coffee in the morning!

Fiber: The carb that you can’t afford to cut!

So what about an Apple vs Apple juice? Well, when you make apple juice, unless it’s an apple smoothie, we remove all the fiber. This means that the sugar content stays generally the same by weight, but that the sugar is now free and available and isn’t bound to fiber.

Fiber slows down the release of the sugar into your blood stream.

So the whole apple will take longer for the sugar to be free than the apple juice.

Check out these Nutrition facts: Very similar, except for the fiber. While one whole apple is about 100g, most apple juice boxes/pouches are 6.75 fl oz (209g) which would double the amount of sugar, without the fiber!

Fiber is often considered a pre-biotic, meaning it feeds the bacteria in our guts! Soluble fiber is our gut bacteria’s food source, while insoluble fiber is what helps keep things moving. Who doesn’t like being regular?!?

The AHA recommends that adults get 25g of fiber per day, however more than that is even better! Fiber only comes from plants, so make sure to include a variety in your diet each day. Fiber should be the carbs that you start craving!

Starches: a complex fuel source

Often referred to as complex carbs, starches are made up of multiple sugar molecules stuck together. Starches help to bind things together, think about how corn starch thickens a sauce or potatoes make a creamy soup. These strings of sugar are broken down by enzymes in our saliva called amylase. The process occurs gradually and digestion occurs in our mouths, stomachs, and intestines.

Different cooking methods can speed up the release and breakdown of the starch. For example Dr. Greger, from NutritionFacts.org, writes that the “Glycemic Index of boiled sweet potatoes is half that of sweet potatoes that are baked or roasted.” The boiling process helps to pull out a portion of the starches from the potatoes into the water. If you’ve ever soaked cut potatoes before making fries you will recognize the white tinted water. That’s starch pulled from the surface of the potato. While this doesn’t significantly reduce the overall amount, the boiling process releases more of the starch.

Question: Is a low glycemic index better?

Answer: For those who are diabetic, low glycemic index foods are recommended. However, the combination of certain of high and low GI foods can also reduce blood sugar spikes.

The glycemic index is a scale used to rate how slowly (Low GI) or quickly (high GI) a food will release glucose into your blood-stream after a meal. For individual foods a generally accepted cut off is Low: 55 or less, Mid: 56 – 69, and High: 70+.

Hyperglycemia favor low GI foods

Hyperglycemia means that that your body is prone to high levels of blood sugar. This is due to issues with insulin, the hormone that opens the door to your cells for glucose to enter. Once in your cells, glucose can be used as a fuel source or stored for later use.

People with type 1 diabetes can’t produce sufficient quantities of insulin and those with type 2 diabetes are resistant to insulin. With both types of diabetes, faster glucose release from high GI foods leads to spikes in blood sugar levels. The slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods helps maintain good glucose control.

Harvard Health: Glycemic Index Foods

Hypoglycemia favor high GI foods

Hypoglycemia means that your body is prone to low levels of blood sugar. You may have this if you tend to feel light-headed or faint after not eating for an extended period of time. While low GI foods are beneficial for those seeking weight loss, high GI foods release sugar quickly, which facilitates glycogen resupply into the muscle cells after a work-out.

Note: Overall, your diet pattern should include a mixture of low and high GI foods, predominately from unprocessed plant-based sources (Think Whole Fruit, Whole Grains, Legumes, etc).

Question: What about a High fiber to carb ratio?

Answer: For processed foods, a “Good” ratio of Total Carbohydrates to Fiber is 5:1.

When in the bread or pasta aisle at the grocery store, just getting the “whole wheat” version is often not enough. In order to determine if your favorite food passes the fiber test, take a look at the Nutrition label. For a well balanced product, the number of:

Total Carbs Divided by Dietary Fiber = 5 or less

This means that the item is high in fiber in relation to the total amount of carbohydrates.

“Bad” Fiber Ratio vs “Good” Fiber Ratio Bread

Pasta may be a challenge, we found that Barilla Whole Wheat is a 5.5, which is pretty close. Let us know if you find one that tops that!

Note: Remember that this is a trick to increase your fiber intake from processed foods. If you know that you get already 50g/fiber per day or more then you don’t need to worry about this calculation because your getting your fiber through fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains!

Adding back the good Carbohydrates

If you are on a diet for weight loss, to increase energy, or to help with diabetes, consider not throwing out the fiber when trying to avoid the sugar! All carbohydrates are not created equally so take a closer look at the labels the next time you are at the store. Introduce more whole foods such as fruits and vegetables that don’t contain a label as they will contain the proper amount of fiber needed to slow the release of sugar. For diabetics it is a good idea to have a diet centered around low GI foods. However, to avoid low-blood sugar after a workout grab high GI foods.

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Resources:

• Types of Carbohydrates
  • Harvard Health: Nutrition Source
  • American Heart Association: Added Sugar
  • Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Benefits of Fiber
  • Nutrition Facts: Sweet Potatoes
• Glycemic Index
  • Glycemic Index Foundation: Establishing the GI
  • Harvard Health: Glycemic Index Foods
  • Nutrition Facts: Glycemic Index

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