Carbs: Ts & Cs

There are good carbs and bad carbs.

Carbs should be limited to less than 30% of daily calories. If you understand carbohydrate metabolism, you can make healthier food choices for you and your family.

All carbohydrates digest to sugar: Starch (found in bread, rice, potatoes, maize, noodles, pasta, and other starchy foods) is made of sugar molecules all joined together. When you eat starch, your digestion system breaks the bonds between the sugars and these smaller sugar molecules are absorbed into your bloodstream.

Eating carbohydrates affects your blood sugar level. And, eating carbohydrates affects your insulin level.

Eating excess carbohydrates can make you fat. Eating the wrong carbohydrates can make you sick. What are bad carbohydrates?

Unhealthy carbohydrates generally have undergone some form of processing. An example is white wheat flour. The husk and germ is removed from the wheat kernel before the remaining seed is ground into a powder. Almost all the fibre, protein, minerals, and vitamins are removed during this process.

How do you choose the right carbohydrates? Healthy carbohydrates are unprocessed. They contain all the nutrients of the original vegetable, seed, or grain.

Good carbs include:

• Whole wheat (including whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta)
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes (with skin)
• Starchy vegetables like squash, beetroot, carrots, whole corn kernels, peas
• Wild, red and brown rice
• Whole grains: spelt, farro, rye, buckwheat, bulgur wheat, millet, quinoa and barley
• Oats and oat bran

Avoid WHITE carbohydrates if possible. Don’t choose foods made with white flour. Rather eat whole-grain bread and wholewheat pasta. Avoid white rice.

When planning your meals, think of the vegetables, protein, and healthy fats as the base components. Enjoy your carbs as a side-dish.