{"id":61066,"date":"2018-11-28T17:52:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T22:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=61066"},"modified":"2018-11-28T17:52:57","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T22:52:57","slug":"do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Carbs Get a Bad Rap?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We live in a world of extremes. In the last few decades, we have been treated to low carbs, high protein, low fat, low sugar, no sugar, high carbs, gluten free, etc.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s as if the quick fix elimination diet is the only way to achieve what we want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the statistics are telling us that most people who are trying all these radical approaches to diet are not achieving much of anything.\u00a0 <\/span>Certain foods are perceived to be super-foods and the cure-all for all that ails us while others have picked up a reputation for being avoided at all costs.\u00a0 <\/span>For some reason, too many people consider carbohydrates as evil doers, as the food group that causes us to be overweight or obese and the food that can cause diabetes.\u00a0 <\/span>But there\u2019s a lot more to the story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carbohydrates are found in a wide array of foods – bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, cakes and crackers. The most common and abundant forms are sugars, fibers, and starches.\u00a0 <\/span>The basic building block of every carbohydrate is a sugar molecule. Some contain hundreds of sugars. The digestive system handles all carbohydrates in much the same way – it breaks them down (or tries to break them down) into single sugar molecules, since only these are small enough to cross into the bloodstream. It also converts most digestible carbohydrates into glucose (also known as blood sugar), because cells are designed to use this as a universal energy source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carbs are absolutely needed and are a chief source of energy and nutrition. But what type of carbs are you eating and how much? Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are necessary and crucial to consume.\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand, refined grains (the bad carbs) offer very little in the way of nutrition and can cause insulin resistance over time. Whole grains digest slowly and therefore insulin is secreted in a slow and even way. When we eat too many white-flour or refined-sugar products, we cause insulin spikes. Don’t be misled by fad diets that make blanket pronouncements on the dangers of carbohydrates. They provide the body with the fuel that it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function, and they are an important part of a healthy diet. But some kinds of carbohydrates are far better than others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And now just a few weeks ago, we heard of a study telling us that too many carbs are not good, and too few carbs are, likewise, not good and that there is a middle ground.\u00a0 <\/span>In a recent study for Lancet Public Health, Dr. Sara Seidelmann and colleagues examined the association between total carbohydrate intake and mortality in over 15,000 adults in four U.S. communities over approximately 25 years. The authors then went on to meta-analyze data from seven multinational cohort studies, representing a total study population of well over 400,000. <\/span><\/p>\n

They concluded that moderate intake (50%-55% of total calories) of total carbohydrate is associated with lower mortality than either higher or lower levels. This reaffirms the merit of moderation as opposed to fads, which go to extremes. That study, publicized in the British medical journal The Lancet, seems to substantiate the fact that we do indeed need to eat carbs.\u00a0 <\/span>But where this study falls short is that it doesn\u2019t differentiate between kinds of carbs.\u00a0 <\/span>Much like the flawed original food pyramid, there isn\u2019t any way to distinguish between good choices, like whole grains, brown rice, vegetables and fruits versus white pasta, white bread and processed sugar.\u00a0 <\/span>This is a very big mistake.\u00a0 <\/span>We definitely need carbs, but what kind we eat makes a very big difference in terms of our health. <\/span><\/p>\n

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, a founding director of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and founder and president of True Health Initiative, makes the following point.\u00a0 <\/span>He says that the study is misguided and harmful. If we simply focused on wholesome foods in a balanced and sensible way the level carbohydrate consumption would be all but moot. He goes on to indicate that quite high and rather low intake of carbohydrate can both happen with eating\u00a0 <\/span>better and worse carbs; worse patterns, sadly, prevail in modern societies, both affluent and poor. Affluent societies derive many of their carbohydrate calories from refined flour and added sugar; poor societies, particularly in Asia, may be food insecure and as the authors note, derive calories disproportionately from white rice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The better patterns, particularly for high carbohydrate intake, may, however, be associated with exceptionally good health outcomes. That type of pattern is associated with wonderful cardiovascular health. Thus, while fundamentally sensible, and indisputably preferable to the misguided extremes that are currently prevalent, the case for moderate carbohydrate intake might discredit much better alternatives.\u00a0 <\/span>In other words, what Dr. Katz is saying is that if one would eat only healthy carbs and keep poor quality carbohydrates to a bare minimum, then maybe even a high quality carb diet could be even more beneficial that the moderate amount of all carbs this study indicates.\u00a0 <\/span>Here are a few tips from the Harvard School of Public Medicine on how to include carbs in your day:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Start the day with whole grains.<\/b> Try a hot cereal, like whole oats, or a cold cereal that lists a whole grain first on the ingredient list and is low in sugar. Learn how to be a savvy reader of breakfast cereal labels. Sugars are often times hidden. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Use whole grain breads for lunch or snacks.<\/b> Confused about how to find a whole-grain bread? Look for bread that lists as the first ingredient whole wheat, whole rye, or some other whole grain – and even better, one that is made with only whole grains, such as 100% whole wheat bread. <\/span><\/p>\n

3. Bag the potatoes<\/b>. Instead, try brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries (with the entire kernel intact), whole wheat pasta, or another whole grain with your dinner. <\/span><\/p>\n

4. Choose whole fruit instead of juice.<\/b> An orange has two times as much fiber and half as much sugar as a 12-ounce glass of orange juice. Juice can also be less filling. <\/span><\/p>\n

5. Bring on the beans<\/b>. Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as a great source of protein.\u00a0 <\/span>They can be cooked in a very tasty way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Combined with the right type of proteins and fats, carbs are an essential ingredient to keep you feeling full in addition to the essential nutrition that it brings. Another advantage?\u00a0 <\/span>Including whole grains, veggies and fruits in your overall diet will help prevent constipation and new research indicate how these foods are very important to keep you microbiome (gut bacteria) in proper balance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Balance and moderation are really important. That goes for our eating and our exercise too.\u00a0 <\/span>Absolutely eliminating an entire food group might bring a short term fix, but it will also bring long term failure.\u00a0 <\/span>What is even more important is that there will be a negative effect on your long term health.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t be taken in by fad diets and fake rumors about what is good for you and what is not.\u00a0 <\/span>We all need proper nutrition to avoid illness and disease.\u00a0 <\/span>So make sure you are getting your proteins, healthy fats and yes, healthy carbs as well so you can \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We live in a world of extremes. In the last few decades, we have been treated to low carbs, high protein, low fat, low sugar, no sugar, high carbs, gluten free, etc.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if the quick fix elimination diet is the only way to achieve what we want.\u00a0 But the statistics are telling us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":61067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nDo Carbs Get a Bad Rap? - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do Carbs Get a Bad Rap? - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We live in a world of extremes. In the last few decades, we have been treated to low carbs, high protein, low fat, low sugar, no sugar, high carbs, gluten free, etc.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if the quick fix elimination diet is the only way to achieve what we want.\u00a0 But the statistics are telling us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-28T22:52:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/carbslife12.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/\",\"name\":\"Do Carbs Get a Bad Rap? - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/carbslife12.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-28T22:52:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/do-carbs-get-a-bad-rap\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/carbslife12.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/carbslife12.png\",\"width\":360,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\",\"name\":\"Alan Freishtat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Freishtat\"},\"description\":\"Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. 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