The Carbohydrate Conundrum

"Is butter a carb?" No Regina, no it’s not. I love a good Mean Girls reference, but any who. I feel like the low carb or no carb diet trend is the one that I rant the most about (nearly on a daily basis... not kidding). Carbohydrates are often touted as bad for you, and I am here to set the record straight.

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source, and I personally know that I wouldn't make it a day consuming a low carb diet. When I hear people say, “I am cutting carbs from my diet,” I cringe a little and think to myself, “well then, do you drink milk, eat yogurt or fruit, eat any vegetables?” Because chances are these people are consuming carbs without being educated on the many sources.

What matters the most is the amount and type of carbs we consume. Carbohydrates fall into one of two categories; simple and complex. Simple carbs include cakes, cookies, pies, pastries, white bread, and white rice; these are the carbs that should be limited or treated as "sometimes" foods. Complex carbs are whole grain breads and pasta, fruits, veggies, beans, potatoes, milk, and yogurt. Choose these types of carbohydrates often, as they have more nutrients and fiber.

The current Dietary Guidelines recommend that 45%-65% of total calories come from carbohydrates. I am not joking when I say that I have seen people on social media, who are on low-carb diets, say they are limited to 20 grams of carbs per day (by the way 15 grams is 1 serving of carbohydrate, so I find this nearly impossible to do)! I typically eat at least 45 grams per MEAL. These same people say that they snack on pork rinds, but can’t eat bread… I can’t make this stuff up people! It’s no secret that eliminating an entire food group will result in immediate weight loss, but this rapid weight loss is not healthy and this “diet” is not sustainable long-term for most people. And since portion control is not utilized, people tend to resort to their previous ways of overeating which will result in gaining back the weight that has been lost, plus some.

While it is true that many people do overeat this macronutrient, the most important thing to remember is portion size and consuming the types of carbs that nourish our bodies the most. Now I’m all for cutting back on highly processed carbs and added sugars, but I see no sense in cutting out major food groups that provide a plethora of nutritional benefits (think B vitamins, fiber, vitamin C, protein, etc). What’s wrong with whole wheat bread, pasta, strawberries, or brown rice? Nothing I tell you, nothing! So my advice to you is eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, and make half of your grains whole grain. Below are a list of good for you carbs with appropriate portion sizes. Hope this helps!

1 slice whole wheat bread

1/2 cup of oatmeal (cooked)

1/3 cup of pasta or rice (cooked)

1/2 hamburger bun or English muffin

1/2 cup of beans or starchy vegetable

1/4 of a large baked potato

2/3 cup of plain fat-free yogurt

1 small piece of fruit (4 ounces)

1/2 cup of canned or frozen fruit

#nutrition