Low Carb Crib - Carbohydrate

What You Need To Know About The Carbohydrate Craze

The word carbohydrate means carbon plus water.

In addition to fat and protein, carbohydrates are essential nutrients.
They're also the most popular nutrient -- and the most controversial nowadays.
Read on to see what a carbohydrate diet can do for you, and what one to choose.

Why low carbohydrate diets appeal to so many people

Low carb diets are popular because people lose weight quickly on them. They do this by cutting their carb intake down to 20 grams a day or less, which will eventually send your body into ketosis, which is when your body burns fat for energy instead of carbs. This is very drastic because most people need 130 grams of carbs each day for good nutrition. So you can understand why a carbohydrate counter is helpful on a low carb diet.

The problem is that most of us eat far more than that. Why? Well, aside from tasting good, most people don't know what foods have high carbohydrate counts. Sugar is the most common kind of carb, so most dieters avoid desserts unless they are of the sugar-free variety. But a lot of people don't realize there are a lot of carbohydrates in less obvious foods like white breads, pasta and white rice. If you decide to start a low carbohydrate diet, you'll soon learn where the carbohydrates are in everything.

Rocking the carbohydrate craziness... smartly

Another reason carbs get a bad rap is because people don't know that some carbs are actually good. There are actually good carbs and bad carbs. Good carbs (also known as complex carbohydrates) are harder for your body to digest, so it takes longer, thus supplying you with energy longer, and making you feel full longer. Good carbs are usually high in fiber as well, which is known for making you feel full longer. Addicted to carbs but want to cut down?

To lower your intake gradually, start small. Replace white bread with whole wheat or whole grain bread, replace regular pasta with wheat pasta, and use long grain or brown rice instead of white.
The difference in flavor is slight, but they're a lot better for you. Then start to incorporate more vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, beans, sprouts, etc. into your diet. With these good carbohydrate foods you'll be better off.

Does this mean you should cut out bad carbs (also known as simple carbs) altogether? Not entirely, no. But you want to limit them. When you do have them, have very small portions. And there are some bad carbs that actually aren't bad for you, like milk, strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, kiwi, cherries, melons, peaches, plums, raspberries, apples and pears. (Notice that a lot of the foods listed here are high-fiber foods.)