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Are Carbs Bad For You?

If you’ve ever taken part in one of those popular diet plans, raise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase, “carbs are bad for you.”

Now i’m not sure why carbs are always to blame when it comes to trying to lose weight, because last time I checked, unhealthy eating is usually the reason for that.

But for some reason, attacking carbs tends to be the easy thing to do.  One could make a strong argument that carbs are essential to your diet.

Especially if you are someone that is new to exercise and thinking about being active.

What Are Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are one of three types of macronutrients that are found in food, the others being protein and fat. Pretty much everything you eat contains at least one of these three nutrients so it’s easy to understand how important it is to your diet.  There are three different types of carbs found in food: sugar, starch and fiber.

Sugar! – Our favorite part when it comes to eating food.  Sugar can be found in most foods that we eat, whether it is naturally from foods like honey, milk, fruits or unnaturally from something like table sugar.

Regardless of where your sugar comes from, you want to make sure you are managing your sugar intake as too much can be bad for you.

Starch – is a type of sugar usually found in foods that come from plants.  Such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread.  The great thing about starch is that it provides a slow and steady release of energy throughout the day.

Which is why you will hear about how long distance runners like to carb load the night before a marathon on foods like pasta to get them ready.  It gives them the energy they need to last through the whole race.

Fiber – is great at slowing down your digestion, thus causing you to feel fuller for a longer period of time.  It is suggested that you maintain a proper diet that consists of fiber especially if you are someone that is trying to lose weight.  Fiber is usually found in vegetables, whole grain bread, carrots, celery and many others.

Why You Need Carbs

Energy Duh! Carbs provide a great source of energy for your body to use for any activity that is done during the day. Although protein and fat can be used as energy in replacement of carbs, making sure carbohydrates are the main source of energy in a healthy and balanced diet is vital.

During a workout, if you ever notice yourself losing energy, taking something high in carbs will help give you that boost you need.

That is why it is always important to make sure you have the proper fuel to get through any intense workout.

Carbs provide that boost needed to power through those tough workouts.

All Carbs Are Not Your Enemy

When eating certain foods, you want to make sure you are consuming the right kind of carbs.  You want to make sure you stay away from refined or processed carbs like white bread, potato chips, french fries and of course soda.

Even diet soda if you are thinking about cutting corners.  Click here to learn why diet soda may be more harmful to you than you think.

Should You Cut Down On Carbs

When deciding if you should cut down on carbs, it depends on your activity level.  I will preface this next statement by saying that weight management is more about calories consumed vs calories burned.  

So if you are someone that currently is not active when it comes to exercise, then you might want to manage your carb intake as the calories can add up quick.  

If you are someone who is active, you will need a lot of carbs to maintain energy through your workouts and any other activities you perform during the day.  

Carbs can be a great source of energy as stated earlier, and if you are very active, your body will burn those carbs very quickly.  So I wouldn’t worry too much about consuming too many carbs during the day as long as you keep yourself active.

I hope you found this article helpful and as always, make sure to leave any comments below on how you make carbs a part of your healthy diet.