We often get conflicting advice when it comes to nutrition and diet. While fat was seen as the enemy from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, it is now widely accepted as an important part of our diet. Instead, the argument rages around carbohydrates. Carbs are perhaps one of the most widely debated–and vilified–nutrients, which is strange considering they are a crucial source of energy, important for digestive health (fiber is found in carbohydrates), provide fuel for the brain and nervous system, regulate blood sugar, and play an important role in supporting cell structure and function. If you look around the world, carbohydrates are in almost all foods across cultures. They are found in fruits, milk, yogurt, cheese, beans, lentils, nuts, vegetables, pastas, rice, oats, quinoa, bread, and much more. Carbs play a crucial role in overall health.

However, carbs are also found in sugary snacks and processed foods. It is therefore important to stress that not all carbs are created equally. There is a difference in the quality of foods that contain carbohydrates. Unsurprisingly, carbs found in whole, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, fruits, whole grains, and legumes are considered healthier than the refined carbs found in processed food and added sugar. This is because whole, unprocessed carbs contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which provide important nutrients for the body. Conversely, refined carbs and added sugars are stripped of nutrients, cause rapid blood sugar spikes, and can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease. They are often referred to as “empty calories.”

Today, we are going to take a closer look at what carbohydrates are, how your body uses them, and why it’s important to minimize your intake of processed foods and sugars and instead focus on consuming whole foods for sustained energy and overall health.

The Science Behind a Carbohydrate

To get sciencey for a minute, a carbohydrate literally means a “hydrated carbon molecule.” In their most basic form, carbs are a mix of carbon atoms + water molecules, and are the common unit of generating energy in our bodies–or in other words, they provide the fuel for our bodies. This may start to get confusing, but bear with me. The simplest form of a carbohydrate is a single sugar molecule, or what is known as a monosaccharide. There are many types of monosaccharides, but the three most common ones are glucose (the main type of sugar found in the blood, which I will refer to often in this post), fructose (the type of sugar found in fruit and other plant foods such as honey, sugar beets, sugar cane, and vegetables), and galactose (the type of sugar found in milk). These are also referred to as “simple carbs” or “simple sugars.” When two of these simple sugars–or monosaccharides–link together, they form a more complex sugar molecule known as a disaccharide. The three most important disaccharides are lactose (found in dairy), maltose (found in bread), and sucrose (found in table sugar).

Individual sugar molecules can also combine into far more complex structures known as polysaccharides, which consist of hundreds of thousands of different linked glucose units (reminder, glucose is the main type of sugar found in the blood). Polysaccharides are the form of carbs found in grains and vegetables. To make it even more complex, polysaccharides can be generally divided into two categories– “digestible” and “indigestible.” Digestible polysaccharides include starch (defined as glucose units found in plants) and glycogen (defined as glucose units stored in liver and muscle tissues). Indigestible polysaccharides consist of fiber, which are found only in plants. Foods contain two types of fiber, including insoluble fiber (a type of carb that the body can’t break down) and soluble fiber (which dissolves during digestion to create a gel like substance, and can be broken down by gut bacteria in the colon).

This is just a very simple, bare bones overview of the different types of carbohydrates. If your head is spinning like mine was when I first started learning about this topic, just take a minute to appreciate how truly complex and incredible our bodies are. And if that was jiberish to you, then don’t worry, I explain what this means in practical terms below.

How Your Body Uses Carbs

Our bodies are very efficient at processing carbs and absorbing sugars. As I mentioned above, glucose is the main type of sugar found in blood. Glucose is also a vital source of energy for many of our body’s functions, and helps regulate the brain, nervous system, and other metabolic processes. In order for your body to function normally, it is very important to maintain steady blood glucose levels. When your body recognizes too much glucose (sugar) in your blood, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin then signals cells in the body’s tissue, especially muscle and adipose (fat) cells, to take up glucose from the blood, which then helps to lower blood sugar levels. Insulin also promotes the conversion of excess glucose into glycogen in the liver and muscles to be saved for later use (as mentioned above, glycogen is a stored form of glucose). If there is already too much stored sugar, then your body will convert the extra sugar to fat for storage.

If your blood glucose levels are ever too low, then the pancreas signals the liver to release glucose units from stored glycogen in the bloodstream for energy, bringing your blood glucose levels back to equilibrium. This intricate system of insulin and blood glucose regulation is crucial for overall health. Problems such as diabetes can arise when your cells stop responding effectively to insulin, know as insulin resistance, or when there is insufficient insulin production. In diabetes, blood glucose levels can become chronically elevated, which can have various health implications. Maintaining blood glucose within a relatively narrow range to ensure a steady supply of energy to cells is incredibly important. However, simple sugars and processed foods can disrupt this process, which we dive into below.

Simple Carbs a.k.a Simple Sugars

As I mentioned above, the type of carb you eat matters. Highly refined and processed foods like sugars, soda, crackers, and bottled sauces are considered simple carbs. Simple carbs, also called simple sugars, are rapidly digested by the body, spiking blood glucose levels in the blood and causing rapid release of insulin, which can lead to obesity and heart disease over time. In today’s world, processed foods are everywhere and make up a large portion of many people’s diets. Processed foods have usually had nutrients stripped away and even more sugar added in, which means that they offer empty calories and almost no nutritional value. “Added sugars” refers to non-naturally occurring sugars that are added to a product. Products like flavored yogurts and salad dressings have a surprising amount of added sugar, which is why it’s super important to always read food labels and look for products that have zero added sugar.

When consumed in excess, these sugars may have negative health affects. I know what you are thinking–it sounds like all sugar is bad. But that is where you are luckily mistaken. There are foods containing simple sugars that are actually important sources of nutrients. You may have already guessed it, but the best natural source of simple sugar is fruit. Sweet, delicious fruit. The sugar found in fruit is good because fruit contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which slows the release of sugar into the blood stream. The same is true for milk and yogurt products, which have protein, calcium, and other vitamins and minerals. The combination of carbohydrates, fiber, and other nutrients in fruits and dairy can contribute to a feeling of satiety, helping to regulate appetite and prevent overeating.

While fruits and dairy can be important parts of a balanced diet, I want to note that it’s always important to listen to your body and eat what is right for you. If you have a lactose intolerance, then dairy is probably not the right choice. The message here is not that you should eat more fruit and dairy, but rather that it’s important to minimize your intake of added sugars and focus more on sugars obtained from natural sources.

Complex Carbs

Complex carbs are the most beneficial form of carbohydrates. These include whole foods such as barley, oats, brown rice, whole wheat bread, nuts, seeds, lentils, beans, root vegetables, and cruciferous vegetables, which include a unique blend of bioactive components including resistant starches, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. Complex carbs usually have large amounts of fiber, which helps slow glucose release into the blood stream and creates less of an insulin spike from the pancreas. Fiber has many other health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and protecting against heart disease, helping maintain weight, and aiding in the general health of the digest tract (aka it helps you poop). Many studies have shown that the intake of dietary fiber and whole grains is also inversely related to obesity, type two diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, which means they are crucial components of a balanced diet.

As you probably already guessed, some complex carbs have more health benefits than others–for example, potatoes have a lot of starch, but not as much fiber as other vegetables like broccoli and carrots. That is why including a variety of foods in your diet is so important. When it comes to bread and pasta, selecting whole grain products over refined ones ensures a higher fiber content. A key term to look for in a bread label is “whole grain” or “whole wheat flour.” When possible, stay away from “enriched wheat flour,” “multigrain,” or “natural,” which are used as marketing tools but don’t actually mean that whole grains have been used in a product. Buying bread from your local bakery vs the grocery store is also a great way to minimize artificial ingredients and shelf stabilizers, with the added benefit of supporting a local business.

Conclusion

The biggest takeaway I hope you gleam from this post is that you should eat less processed foods and simple sugars, not less carbs. Super sugary foods have little nutritional value and are one of the main ways we consume more calories than we need. So many of our favorite desserts, dressings, snacks, cereals, and drinks contain far more sugar than what are bodies can properly metabolize. It doesn’t mean we need to cut out dessert and sugar completely, it just means we should be more mindful of our overall consumption. So eat the croissant! Enjoy the ice cream! But also make sure to include a variety of vegetables, whole grains, fruit, legumes, and beans in your diet.

Wherever you stand on the war on carbs, I encourage you to consider your individual health needs, preferences, and goals and to focus on the quality of carbohydrates you are eating. Consuming a variety of carbohydrates as part of a balanced diet is important for meeting your body’s energy needs, maintaining stable blood sugar levels, and supporting overall health.

I know this post covered a lot of information, so please reach out with any questions. Carbe diem!