Eating For Health

Carbs – so many myths about carbs.   Come January, you hear about people going on diets and many people say they are “cutting my carbs”.   Are there carbs you should cut back on?   Yes, but there are also carbs you should be adding to your diet, not cutting.   Healthy carbs add important nutrients to your diet.   And carbs are your body’s fuel.   Low carb diets can mean low energy diets.   I love carbs and we aren’t cutting carbs in our family.   Recently, I was out eating lunch with my two daughters.   The waiter asked, “would you like a bread basket?”    We all responded in unison, “YES!”   And we enjoyed every piece of bread in that bread basket. So, what are the “healthy carbs” and what are the carbs we actually should be cutting back on? What are carbs? I showed a video in the nutrition class I teach that asked people on the street, “What are carbs?”   Most people really couldn’t answer that question. ...

So many myths about carbs.    Are carbs good or bad for your health?   A student in my class, Nicole Hamby, has been asked to be a guest author on this blog site.   Her paper on Good vs Bad Carbs is below.        Carbohydrates have been given a very bad reputation. However, it is not the actual carbohydrate that is bad, but what we have created them into with all of our processing. Instead of eating brown rice or whole wheat bread, Americans have chosen to consume the refined processed versions. Not only do these processed foods now lack essential nutrients but some of them can contribute to obesity and type II diabetes. Perhaps instead of grabbing a handful of jelly beans, which contains refined simple sugars, a piece of fruit would be much more beneficial to help prevent some of these diseases. While fruit may contain some simple sugars, it is natural, unrefined, and packed with vitamins your body needs. Whole grains, which are comp...