Carbs Uncovered – Separating Fact from Fiction for Healthier Choices

In part two about Blood  sugar we look and uncover the truth about carbohydrates with  and learn why they are not the diet villains they're often made out to be. We're peeling back the layers of misunderstanding to reveal the essential roles that carbs play in fueling every tissue in our body - from our brains to our muscles. Tune in as we differentiate between simple and complex carbohydrates, and discuss the importance of whole grains, fruits, and legumes in our diets. You'll discover that carbs are indispensable to your brain, kidney, muscles, and heart, and that cutting them out isn't the panacea for health that many claim.

Get ready to challenge the common misconceptions about 'good' versus 'bad' carbs as we navigate through the murky waters of refined carbohydrates and their impact on nutritional value.  join chef for a informative session that promises to equip you with the knowledge to make smarter, more informed decisions about the carbohydrates you consume. By the end of this episode, you'll be empowered to embrace a balanced, healthful approach to carbs and appreciate their critical role in a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks for journeying with me :-) see you soon 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 2:09

Hello my peeps, and welcome to another health and wellness episode. So our last health and wellness episode we discussed the use of herbs as it relates to regulating your blood sugar, and coming out of that, I got a host of questions for people asking me about carbs and all the things that they think about, you know, blood sugar, etc. So I decided this episode. I am going to discuss carbs with you. I am going to discuss carbs. What are carbs? What is the rule of the carb, understanding carbs, what are the different types of carbs, distinguishing between carbs, and basically just a discussion about are carbs bad or are they? You know, no, all carbs are not bad, so let's get into it. So, until first and foremost, what are carbs? Well, your carbs are. How do I put this? I need to think about it because there is some confusion about carbs. So let's just look at the facts. The scientific facts.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Carbs are one of three macronutrients found in food, but you know we use like an umbrella term to. That means foods that are rich in carbohydrates, but the literal definition of the word refers to the carbohydrate molecule itself. Thus, grains are not carbohydrates. Grain is a food source of carbohydrates. Yeah, I know, I know, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's get into it. And I know my mind was blown too when I was, when I was studying, and came across this a few years ago as a my fact. It was the topic of an entire lecture. An entire lecture was dedicated to this.

Speaker 1: 4:50

So one thing you need to understand with carbs, carbohydrates are chemically broken down and used by your body as the main energy source. They can't they're used by all body tissues. For example, your digestive system converts carbs into simple sugar like glucose, which is your blood sugar and that is used to power the brain and other organs. Well, while using your carbs for energy, the body can use other macronutrients for other job, such as protein for tissue growth and repair. So they all work together. Your brain, your kidney, your muscles and your heart functions. They depend primarily on certain types of carbs, and we'll get into that. So this eliminating carbs from your diet it's not always a good thing. The energy produced by carbs is 4 calories per gram. Ironically, protein is the same 4 calories per gram and fat is 5 calories per gram.

Speaker 1: 6:27

You have your indigestible carbs, which come in the form of fiber. Those are necessary for intestinal health and a lot of your health promoting functions in your body. So what are common food sources for carbohydrates? Your fruits, your vegetables, your nuts, your grains, your milk seeds and, of course, your legumes. But there are three types of carbs Sugar, starch and fiber. They are desert, they are, and we usually break them down in simple or complex carbs, depending on the chemical structure. I'm trying to keep it simple, which is why I'm choosing my words. I wish I'd written it down first.

Speaker 1: 7:27

So you've also probably heard the term refining carbohydrate, and that refers to carbohydrate rich foods like whole grains that have been processed to remove the starch and fiber, thus reducing the nutritional value and concentrating the calories. So you notice, I said before, the three main types of carbohydrates are sugar, starch and fiber. So when you get your whole grains, they already contain all three types of carbohydrates. When they refined it, what they do is they remove most of the starch and the fiber and leave the sugar, and that's when your refined carbs become dangerous. These refined foods are often combined with additional fats. That changes them substantially from anything found in nature. Hence what your doughnuts, your cakes, need.

Speaker 1: 8:33

I go on. Yeah, so that's what happens. When you say when all carbs, but your concept of being all carbs. You're not having your whole grains. That's good for you needed. You need it for brain and kidney and muscle and heart functions. You need your carbs. So what do I go into next?

Speaker 1: 9:03

Ok, let's discuss some more on carbs. This concept that carbs are there are some you know their whole food contains, so good or bad, that we add a pursue or we just avoid it altogether, is quite unhelpful to tour bodies. What I tend to promote is a holistic perspective, which, ok, let's discuss Low carb diets. So low carb diets suggest limited carbohydrate intake in general. What we need to remember is that there are critical differences between carbohydrate-rich refined foods and carbohydrate-rich whole-plant foods. Evidence, scientific evidence studies made have shown and supports the health benefits of simple and complex carbohydrates consumed in whole-plant foods.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Refined carbohydrates are associated with a variety of health problems, including weight gain. So it's not that you can't have carbs, it's just you have to look at it in a realistic way as to how it depends on your body needs. Low carb diets are usually high protein diets and they are largely premised on the assumption that all carbs induce weight gain. But studies have shown and tell a difference and these are actual studies that you can do your research yourself, so I only refer to those kind of studies. One such population-based study took place in China, japan and the United Kingdom and the United States, and it was conducted by Dr Linda Van Horn of Northwestern University. What they found? That, without any exception, a high complex carbohydrate, high vegetable protein diet is associated with low body mass, and high protein diets were associated with a higher body weight, whereas refined carbohydrates, which foods do, raise the insulin levels and can promote obesity when combined with fat, as often.

Speaker 1: 11:58

You know, if we're on the western side of the globe, that's usually a problem, and carbohydrates in whole foods tend to have the opposite effect. What you'll find is, in a lot of less developed countries, the access to refined carbohydrates is low, hence they tend to have the opposite effect while they're having this high carb diet. So bottom line is carbs are not the problem. Processed food is the problem. Attacking all carbohydrate-rich foods ignores the natural function of the nutrient, and that's what we need to remember. Ultimately, the bottom line is we need to eat more of some carbohydrate-rich foods, that is, whole-plant foods, like your whole fruits, your brown rice or bulgur, for example, and less of others, which is like fruits such as fruit flavor candy I'm laughing because those are my weakness. That's my weakness, anyway. White rice and white flour. I know white rice and white flour, but from a holistic perspective, equating a essential nutrient, which is carbohydrate, and the whole food that contains them, with highly processed, refined foods, confirms the issue, confuses everyone, so that's why we decided to discuss it today.

Speaker 1: 13:53

One of the dangers we find is and dangerous is low carb diets limit consumption of plants, the healthy foods that are consistently linked with low disease rates. Meanwhile, these low carb diets encourage excess consumption of protein and fat, and that creates a dietary imbalance consistently associated with high rates of chronic disease. I've always told my clients, when you have a blood sugar issue, the first thing you need to look at is your fat intake, because your fat levels actually compounds the stress on your body that then promote your diabetic state and your diabetic reactions and your diabetic diagnosis. One of the big tools in attacking or counteracting diabetes is lowering has been proven that lowering your fat intake actually helps your diabetic state. So, to repeat, the three main types of carbs are sugar, starch and fiber, and we do need them in a balanced state, and they are broken down as simple or complex, depending on their chemical structure. So let us look at the simple and the complex. What are the examples of those? We're not going to get too deep today. We can have a third episode.

Speaker 1: 15:55

Okay, or simple carbs, simple sugar, your glucose, your fruit and your galactose. Or your sucrose, your lactose and your maltose. These two, how do they affect the body? When you get these by eating whole foods like your brown rice, etc. They produce a natural source of quick energy. However, if you get any of these from processed foods, they cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. So the carb, basically the carb you get from the donut, is different from the carb you get in your brown rice, your quinoa. And when you get your carbs from these whole foods, you have to remember, in whole foods, these they occur naturally, they combine fiber and other nutrients. When you get your carbs from processed food, they are concentrated and these are your table sugar, your fruit juice, your corn syrup, because the fiber and the water and other nutrients are removed during the processing, during the process of refining this carb.

Speaker 1: 17:49

So it's always best to eat an orange instead of drinking orange juice. It's always best to eat an apple rather than have apple juice. You're getting there, understanding you. So when I see people that go I don't eat a lot of fruit. Doesn't fruit have sugar? Yeah, but it's not the bad sugar. If you're in a chronic diabetic state, yes, any sugar is going to attack your body, but if you are in the preventative state, if you're not a chronic diabetic patient, eating an orange, eating an apple, is 10 times and always best because it contains all the naturally recurring carbs that you need.

Speaker 1: 18:32

Okay, let us look at or or simple, complex, simple carbs, sorry. These complex carbs usually compose of three or more sugar molecules and complex carbs tend to be bigger and therefore your body breaks in more down, more slowly than the simple carbs. Flooded stature, correct combino naturally complement other important nutrients Complex carbs. They provide longer lasting energy and it helps you to feel full. See, you know I have an appetite. If at night, if I feel a hunk, hungry, the first thing I do is grab an apple. It gives you that feeling of fullness after you eat it and it's fibrous, so overnight it does nothing but be good to your body.

Speaker 1: 19:43

And I can tell you you have eczema. People wonder why I eat so many apples. It's because of my eczema, and when you look at me you don't think I have eczema, but I've developed a pattern of eating. I started very young in eating for my skin because I'm vain. I would have fucked it. I just like make my parents to be attractive and not blotchy.

Speaker 1: 20:11

And yeah, your complex carbs provide longer lasting energy and they provide a fiber, and the fiber is also integral to the smooth working of the intestinal tract and the elimination of toxins and cholesterol. Who would have thought that? Did you hear that Complex carbs contain fiber and you need the fiber to move things along in the intestinal tract and it helps to eliminate the toxins and the cholesterol. Boom, boom, boom. So what are the? What are complex carbs? Your vegetables, your legumes, your unrefined grains, your quinoa, etc. And your whole fruits. Eat your apples. Eat your fruit. Eat your oranges. Eat your fruit. What else can I tell you in this short time? I'm definitely gonna have to find do a third episode, but I think we can end there. It's a continuation.

Speaker 1: 21:47

We discussed carbs. I let you digest some of the things I just said. I knew your brain is probably exploding if you bought into low carb, low carb, low carb diets. But what I try to do with my clients who are intent on having no carbs is. I can assure you they get their veggies in tons. They get their veggies. They do get their whole grains, like my, I tell lunch I use cornmeal and fruit, no added sugar. Cornmeal fruit make these simple cornbreads and they think it's nice of, it's a fun little you know tiny bite of dessert, but it's rich in cornmeal and fruit or some kind of fruit, itself unrefined, unbooked and all, and it helps. So we're going to end it there for today. I've been rambling for 20 minutes. I hope I did provide some information and we will continue the series. We've spoken about regulating our more blood sugar with herbs and know I have discussed the use of carbs and what carbs are, etc. Etc. So I'm going to end it for today and I'll see you next time. Bye.