The truth about carbohydrates, and why you should eat more.

By now we have all probably heard someone we know talking about how they don't eat a lot of carbohydrates anymore because "Carbs make you fat!" As someone working towards a degree as a registered dietitian, this drives me crazy! Carbohydrates should be the bulk of our diet, accounting for over half of our daily total calories. Carbohydrates supply our bodies with fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, healthy proteins, antioxidants, and disease fighting phytochemicals. So why is it that everyone is hating on carbohydrates?

With the Atkins diet currently being one of the most popular diets in the country, it seems like almost everybody blames carbohydrates for unwanted weight gain. Many people have been turning to extremely low carbohydrate diets to lose weight, and while low carbohydrate diets are usually effective for weight loss if followed correctly, they certainly aren't healthy.

It is recommended that about 60 percent of our daily calories come from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our bodies first choice and main source of energy. People who follow low carbohydrate diets are setting themselves up to constantly feel tired and fatigued. Along with a lack of energy, people who follow low carbohydrate diets are more than likely missing out on a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients that our bodies get from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Fiber is also something that people who follow a low carbohydrate diet are probably not getting enough of, and all of these nutrients are important for overall digestive health and proper immune function.

Not only are low carbohydrate diets usually low in essential nutrients that come from most fruits, vegetables, and grains, but they are also way too high in fat and protein in order to compensate for the lack of calories coming from carbohydrates. Eating too much fat and protein and not enough carbs can cause serious health issues such as heart disease, and ketosis. Ketosis is a state that your body goes into when it doesn't have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy and starts converting fat that is stored in your body into glucose to be used for energy instead. While this does help people lose weight, it is not healthy for your body, and can cause a variety of serious health problems. Ketosis is basically your body going into shock from lack of energy from carbohydrates, and results in people feeling fuller with less food, and their metabolism slowing down in order to compensate for the deficit, which can result in long term effects on a persons metabolism and body.

Problems caused by low carbohydrate diets-

Kidney Failure- Due to the extremely high amount of protein being consumed, the kidneys are constantly forced to do too much work and become easily strained. Along with the kidneys, other organs can fail too as a result of an altered metabolic state and ketones constantly being released in the body.

High cholesterol- High protein diets (especially those high in red meats and dairy products) causes an unsafe rise in cholesterol levels.

Osteoporosis and kidney stones- High protein diets have been shown to cause people to excrete large amounts of calcium through their urine, increasing a persons chance for developing kidney stones or osteoporosis.

Cancer- The lack of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains causes an increased risk for cancer since these foods contain the best cancer fighting nutrients.

So, what percentages are recommended for overall healthy? Well, about 60 percent of your overall calories should come from carbohydrates, about 15 percent from protein, and about 25 percent from fat. This type of diet is recommended by the for overall health, wellness, and disease prevention.

For weight loss and overall wellness, the quality of carbohydrates, fat, and protein should also be just as important as the percentages you are getting. Part of the reason carbohydrates have been given such a bad rap is because the majority of the carbohydrates that the average American consumes are refined and indeed unhealthy. There is a huge difference between the carbohydrates from an apple and the carbohydrates from chocolate cake. Instead of cutting back on carbs, people just need to use good judgement to pick the right ones instead of treating them like they are all equally bad.


Whole Grains!

People who are dieting tend to avoid breads more than anything else, however, whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oats are great sources of carbohydrates. These grains will supply your body with healthy unrefined carbohydrates that will stabilize blood sugar levels, give your body the energy it needs to do daily tasks, and help keep you full without supplying too many calories or too much fat. In countries where whole grains are the main dietary staple, rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are a lot lower than in America. The key with grains and breads is to avoid heavily processed and refined grains, such as white breads and white rice. Contrary to popular belief, breads and grains are extremely healthy, and is is recommended that we get 6-11 servings of whole grains a day.

Fruits and veggies!

Everyone knows that vegetables are healthy, but many people avoid fruit because they are convinced that sugar is bad. While too much sugar is not a good thing for anyone, the natural sugar found in fruits is the healthiest sugar you can possibly eat. Fruits and vegetables supply the highest percentage of vitamins and minerals per calorie. Dark leafy greens are especially important in a healthy diet, and provide a lot of cancer fighting nutrients. A colorful diet that consists of a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is one of the healthiest diets you can follow. The average American should be getting at least 5 servings of vegetables a day, and at least 3 servings of fruit.

Low carbohydrate diets have been proven useful to help people lose weight, but overall are hard on our bodies, and can be very dangerous if followed long term. I would personally recommend a diet high is complex carbohydrates, and rich in fruits and vegetables to promote healthy weight loss instead of cutting carbohydrates down to an unhealthy percentage that will more than likely leave you feel tired and irritable. Consuming whole foods, and limiting your intake of fat to 25-20% along with regular exercise is the best way to reach a healthy lean weight.